Key Republican senators are exploring dropping demands for new border restrictions and backing a standalone emergency aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

The European Union acknowledged it was forced to delay by several months its ambitious target of sending one million artillery rounds to Ukraine by March, denting Kyiv’s ammunition capability in the short term.

Ukraine is running short of weapons to protect its cities, with vital assistance from Europe and the US held up by political disputes, while President Volodymyr Zelensky fights with his commander-in-chief over military strategy.

Russian legislators voted to allow the state to confiscate the property of people who criticise the invasion of Ukraine, intensifying the Kremlin’s crackdown on dissent against President Vladimir Putin.

Russia and Ukraine resume prisoner swaps after plane crash 

Russia and Ukraine swapped around 400 prisoners, renewing military exchanges a week after the downing of a plane that Moscow claimed was carrying detainees for transfer to Kyiv.

Zelensky said in an Instagram post on Wednesday that 207 captives, both soldiers and civilians, were returned from Russia. Russia’s Defence Ministry said it received 195 soldiers in exchange for 195 sent to Ukraine.

Read more: Russia says Ukraine downed plane carrying prisoners for swap 

Zelensky’s statement didn’t clarify whether the returned prisoners had been part of the broader swap planned at the time the plane crashed in Russia’s Belgorod region on 24 January. Russia accused Ukraine of shooting down the plane that it said had 65 prisoners on board intended for exchange. Officials in Kyiv challenged this claim, saying Russia had provided no evidence.

Both Russia and Ukraine credited the United Arab Emirates for helping to mediate the latest prisoner swap.

Ukraine said it was the 50th exchange since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Those returned from Russian captivity this time included service people taken prisoner during the defence of Mariupol and of Zmiinyi Island, also known as Snake Island.

Republican senators explore standalone Ukraine aid in reversal

Key Republican senators are exploring dropping demands for new border restrictions and backing a standalone emergency aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and other conservatives oppose the border deal, prompting consideration of a Plan B for the overseas aid. But a standalone Ukraine package would also probably provoke opposition from the right. 

“It would be nice to change the status quo on the border, but if there is not the political support to do that, then I think we should proceed with the rest of the supplemental,” Senator John Cornyn of Texas, a senior Republican, told reporters on Tuesday. 

President Joe Biden’s request for billions of dollars in new Ukraine aid has been delayed for months by Republican demands that the funding be tied to new restrictions on the US border.

Ukraine is running short of weapons to protect its cities, with vital assistance from Europe and the US held up by political disputes. Reports from the front show the situation there to be increasingly dire, with Kyiv’s forces struggling to hold back Moscow’s troops, according to Western officials familiar with discussions.

Democrats, who have long pushed to expedite Ukraine aid, now want a border deal. Dick Durbin, the No 2 Senate Democrat, told reporters the focus was on getting a border deal and there was no talk of a Ukraine standalone. 

Senate Republicans’ second-ranking leader, John Thune of South Dakota, said GOP senators were considering how to proceed in the face of opposition to a border deal from House Republicans. That was likely to include the passage of some emergency aid, though it might not be what Biden requested, he said.

“My assumption is there will be an effort to pass something out of here. What the individual components are remains to be seen,” Thune said.

Cornyn said party leaders would have to test whether the votes are there for a border deal or for moving forward without one.

“We started saying no Ukraine without border, and now some of the same people are saying, well, I don’t like the border provisions, but I’m not sure that means they’ll vote for Ukraine or not,” Cornyn said. 

EU acknowledges months of delay for Ukraine ammunition pledge

The European Union acknowledged it was forced to delay by several months its ambitious target of sending one million artillery rounds to Ukraine by March, denting Kyiv’s ammunition capability in the short term.

Just 524,000 shells will be delivered to Ukraine by the original date, though the bloc expects to send 1.1 million by the end of the year, the EU’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell told reporters on Wednesday. That’s despite a boost to Europe’s capacity, which can produce one million ammunition rounds this year, two months ahead of schedule, and two million in 2025. 

“This is a work in progress, the whole machinery of the European defence industry is working,” Borrell said after a meeting of EU defence ministers in Brussels. “The situation will continue to improve in the coming months.”

The EU vowed early last year to send the one million rounds to Ukraine after a push by Estonia to make the pledge. EU officials told its 27 member states late last year that it’s likely to fall short of its ammunition target, despite efforts to ramp up the bloc’s defence industry. 

Latvian Defence Minister Andris Spruds told Bloomberg in an interview that the goal of one million rounds “will be reached in the coming months and certainly by the end of the year”. He added: “The most important thing is to provide Ukraine as soon as possible with all the necessary support and with the committed one million rounds.”

“The general trend is absolutely positive — we see the dynamic both in the production capacity and the commitment to provide one million rounds as soon as possible,” Spruds said.

Russia wears down Kyiv’s defences while Zelensky fights with his top general

Ukraine is running short of weapons to protect its cities, with vital assistance from Europe and the US held up by political disputes, while Zelensky fights with his commander-in-chief over military strategy.

Zelensky tried — and failed — to push General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi aside this week, according to people briefed on the discussions. Zelensky is looking for a bolder approach to the conflict following last year’s failed counteroffensive and has appeared at odds with his general’s more conservative view. 

As Russia’s invasion grinds into a third year, the fighting has settled into trench warfare with drones leaving little chance for either side to surprise the other along the front. To sustain this “active defence”, as the approach is known, Ukraine will need steady supplies of artillery shells and other munitions that allies are struggling to provide. 

Publicly, Ukrainian officials say they will keep up the fight against Russia’s invasion forces even if allied support doesn’t come through. But reports from the front show the situation there increasingly dire, with Kyiv’s forces struggling at times to hold back Moscow’s troops, according to Western officials familiar with the discussions who asked for anonymity to comment on confidential matters. 

Recent waves of Russian missile attacks also killed dozens in Kyiv and other cities as Ukraine’s air defences, which rely heavily on expensive interceptors provided by the allies, weren’t able to destroy as many of the incoming weapons as in the past, according to a European diplomat. 

The challenges come as Ukraine’s commanders are finalising plans to hold the 1,000km front line this year, probing for weaknesses in Russian defences but not attempting a significant breakthrough after last year’s counteroffensive yielded disappointing gains. Tensions have grown between Zelensky and his military chief, Zaluzhnyi, as the front lines have stagnated, according to Western diplomats.

Read more: Zelensky asked Ukraine’s top general to quit and he refused

At a meeting in Kyiv on Monday, Zelensky asked the general to take on a new role as part of a reshuffle designed to reinvigorate Ukraine’s military leadership, according to people briefed on the conversation. Zaluzhnyi refused to relinquish control of the armed forces and subsequent leaks to the media deepened the distrust between the two camps which dates back to the early months of the war.  

Moscow’s forces, meanwhile, are too battered to make significant advances unless Ukraine’s defences collapse, according to Western officials. Even then, the Kremlin would likely need to mobilise more troops to cement gains, something it’s so far been reluctant to do. 

Russia approves law to seize assets of Ukraine war critics

Russian legislators voted to allow the state to confiscate the property of people who criticise the invasion of Ukraine, intensifying the Kremlin’s crackdown on dissent against Putin.

The legislation that State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, a close Putin ally, dubbed the “law on scoundrels”, was unanimously approved by legislators in the lower house of parliament. The law will permit the seizure of property, money and other valuables of those convicted of spreading “fake news” about the Russian military.  

The measure adds to a law passed shortly after the February 2022 invasion that imposed prison terms and fines for “discrediting” the Russian army. Opponents of the war have been jailed or have fled into exile amid the harshest repression since the Soviet era in Russia.

The legislation still needs to be approved by the upper house of parliament and signed by Putin to become law. DM