• 5 a.m.: EU finalizes plan to support Ukraine

The European Union is finalising a €2 billion plan this week to finance joint purchases of artillery ammunition. The project is expected to provide Ukrainian forces with at least one million 155mm shells and replenish the strategic stocks of EU countries, some of which are close to exhaustion.

"We don't have white smoke yet," an EU official said Sunday. "Two member states, the Netherlands and Italy, still have reservations, but there is no blockage. They should be able to be lifted for the meeting of foreign and defence ministers on Monday in Brussels," a diplomat said. The agreement will then be submitted to EU leaders for their summit on Thursday and Friday.

  • 4:28 a.m.: Vladimir Putin receives Xi Jinping

Russian President Vladimir Putin is waiting more than ever for a sign of support from his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, whom he receives in Moscow on Monday.

This visit, Xi Jinping's first since his reappointment for an unprecedented third term, should be touted by Russia as an illustration that it has a powerful ally willing to stand by him against hostile Westerners.

  • 1:33 a.m.: Justice Ministers' Conference to Fund ICC on Ukraine

The mobilisation of additional resources to support the International Criminal Court's (ICC) investigation into alleged war crimes committed in Ukraine is expected to be announced at the international conference of justice ministers in London on Monday.

The ICC has launched an investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the context of Moscow's war against Ukraine. On Friday, it issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova for the war crime of "unlawful deportation" of Ukrainian children.

To carry out its investigations, the ICC needs financial and technical resources and last December, its prosecutor Karim Khan, who will be present at the London conference, called on the international community to increase its support for the institution.

  • 0:46: London and Kiev to sign agreement on digital trade

The United Kingdom and Ukraine will virtually sign a digital trade agreement on Monday aimed at facilitating trade between the two countries, as part of Britain's support for Kiev in the face of the Russian invasion.

The agreement allows Ukraine "guaranteed access to financial services crucial to reconstruction efforts" through the "facilitation" of data flows, according to a statement from the British Department of Commerce.

In addition to this agreement, the United Kingdom announces the extension of the elimination of customs duties on all imports of Ukrainian products until March 2024.

With AFP and Reuters

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