The Russian invasion|The response of the outside world

Saturated with fate ahead of the EU summit: "Decisive moment"

On Thursday afternoon, the EU summit begins in Brussels, and the agenda includes discussions on increased military and financial support for Ukraine, writes The Guardian.

The EU leaders are also expected to talk about the continued possibilities of confiscating frozen Russian assets and instead sending them to Ukraine.

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, writes in a letter to the summit participants that "we are facing a decisive moment" and calls on the member states to prepare for defense.

According to The Guardian, Michel's words reflect a growing awareness that the EU must intensify its support for Ukraine in order for the country to win the war.

According to German Zeit, EU enlargement, the war in Gaza and further concessions to European farmers are also on the agenda.

..................................... 

EU move could give Ukraine 30 billion a year: "Don't fight with banknotes"

The proposal that the EU should give Ukraine the return on frozen Russian assets could give Kyiv around SEK 30 billion a year, several media reports.

Foreign Minister Josep Borrell is hopeful that the member states will soon reach an agreement, as Ukraine is in dire need of weapons to defend itself.

- Soldiers don't fight with banknotes, he says according to CNN.

According to Reuters, the final sum depends on how interest rates develop globally.

The possibility of providing Ukraine with the money is one of the issues discussed at the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday. 

.......................................

Macron flexes his "political muscles" in odd press pictures

Emmanuel Macron's latest press pictures are causing quite a stir. In the pictures, the French president is being boxed with great force while his biceps are tensed.

The French newspaper Nice-Matin describes the images as astonishing and unique. The newspaper compares it to the propaganda images from the Kremlin that usually show a bare-chested Vladimir Putin riding a horse or practicing judo.

Several media outlets note that the images are posted the day after Macron took a tougher line against Putin in particular, regarding sending Western soldiers to Ukraine. The BBC describes it as Macron flexing his "political muscles".

Philippe Moreau-Chevrolet, an expert in political communication, says that Macron wants to show that he is ready to fight.

- Macron is a technocrat who is forced to go the populist route to try to challenge Vladimir Putin on his own home turf, he told the French news agency AFP.