The Foreign Affairs Council discussed, in Brussels, the 10^th package of sanctions against Russia. After the meeting it transpired there would be no embargo on the export of nuclear fuel.

Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister in the caretaker cabinet Nikolay Milkov stated that Bulgaria was not going to send munition to Ukraine because no such commitment had been assumed. Nikolay Milkov stated further that “the question of rendering support with tanks and armoured vehicles is a very delicate one”, and has been commented for weeks. For the moment no country has firmly stated it will do so. The support Bulgaria is rendering Ukraine is via the EU military assistance training mission for Ukraine which will take place mostly in Germany and Poland, Minister Milkov said and added that Bulgaria was also working for the rehabilitation of troops from Ukraine.  

According to experts from the Institute for the Study of War, Ukraine has the capacity to regain the initiative in 2023 with sufficient and timely Western backing.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that China was considering providing lethal support to Russia in its war in Ukraine. This, US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said would mean “crossing a red line”. On its part, China has urged certain countries to stop “fanning flames and stoking confrontations” by providing defensive weapons to Ukraine, taking a firm stand against “hegemony” and foreign interference in China’s domestic affairs. Today, China published its global security initiative, with the security proposals by President Xi Jinping. The initiative is meant to “uphold the principle of indivisible security, (…) and oppose the building of national security on the basis of insecurity in other countries,” a concept that is also supported by Russia.