Europe

MOSCOW, January 19. /TASS/: Ukraine’s military used 14 brigades in the Artyomovsk (Bakhmut) and Soledar areas, with their battles with Russian forces resulting in a loss of 60%-70% of their personnel, military expert Colonel Vitaly Kiselev, of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) has said.

MOSCOW, January 19. /TASS/: Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and his Belarusian counterpart Viktor Khrenin discussed measures of strategic deterrence and the training of the regional group of forces, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

"Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu held a telephone conversation with Belarusian Defense Minister Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin. The two defense chiefs discussed current measures of strategic deterrence and progress in the training of the regional group of forces," the statement reads.

BERLIN, January 19. /TASS/: Germany is not a party to the conflict in Ukraine but it will continue to provide Kiev with the necessary military assistance, Germany’s new Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday in Berlin, speaking to reporters after being sworn in.

GENEVA, January 19. /TASS/: Finland and Sweden will become full members of NATO this year, said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Thursday.

BARCELONA, Jan 19 (NNN-BSS/AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron meets Spain’s Pedro Sanchez for a joint summit in Barcelona Thursday, with Paris seeking Spanish support for its uncompromising stance on a dispute over US protectionism.

The summit takes place as France braces for a disruptive nationwide strike over a controversial pension reform drive, battening down the hatches for a “hellish” day of protest over plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.

STOCKHOLM, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The Swedish government announced a new package of military aid to Ukraine on Thursday that will include armoured infantry fighting vehicles and the Archer artillery system.

The package is worth 4.3 billion Swedish crowns ($419 million) and will also include light, portable NLAW anti-tank weapons, mine-clearing equipment and assault rifles.

"Ukraine's victory in this war is of almost indescribable importance," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a news conference, adding that Ukraine was fighting for the freedom of all of Europe.

MOSCOW, Jan 19 (Reuters) - An ally of President Vladimir Putin warned NATO on Thursday that a defeat of Russia in Ukraine could trigger a nuclear war, while the head of the Russian Orthodox Church said the world would end if the West tried to destroy Russia.

Such apocalyptic rhetoric is intended to deter the U.S.-led NATO military alliance from getting even more involved in the war, on the eve of a meeting of Ukraine's allies to discuss sending Kyiv more weapons.

KYIV/BERLIN, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Western allies pledged billions of dollars in new weapons for Ukraine on Thursday, but the big question of whether to send heavy tanks remained unanswered, with Berlin yet to signal whether it would lift a veto.

Fearing winter will give Russian forces time to regroup and unleash a major attack, Ukraine is pushing for German-made Leopard battle tanks, which are held by an array of NATO nations but whose transfer to Ukraine requires Germany's approval.

KIEV, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is finalizing the stationing of permanent missions at Ukrainian nuclear power plants (NPPs), the Ukrainian government press service reported Wednesday.

While speaking at a joint briefing with IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that the mission at Khmelnytsky NPP in western Ukraine is to start working in the coming days.

MOSCOW, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that the Ukraine crisis is "the result of preparations by the United States and its satellites for the start of a global hybrid war" against his country.

The West is trying to prove that they are not fighting Russia but are only helping Ukraine respond to an "aggression" and restore its territorial integrity, Lavrov said at his annual press conference, adding that the scale of their support makes it clear that the West has staked a great deal on its war against Russia.