Ukraine updates: NATO needs 'war-fighting transformation'

US President Joe Biden has hosted congressional leaders at the White House to discuss Ukraine's security needs.

Biden has been battling to get backing for €61 billion ($66 billion) in emergency Ukraine aid from Senate Republicans.

"We understand that there's concern about the safety, security and sovereignty of Ukraine," House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters after the meeting, which ran for more than 80 minutes. "But the American people have those same concerns about our own domestic sovereignty and our safety and our security."

The deadlock with Republicans over aid to Kyiv has been taking place since September.

House Republicans want more stringent security measures on the US's southern border in exchange for Ukraine aid, but Democrats do not support that.

A Russian missile strike on a town outside the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has left one person dead, according to the governor of the region.

Governor Oleh Synehubov posted on the Telegram messaging app that there had been two missile strikes on the town of Chuhuyev, situated southeast of Kharkiv, which is Ukraine's second-largest city.

A woman employed at a heating and power plant was killed while another person was injured.

Tuesday saw two Russian missiles hit a residential area in Kharkiv, injuring 17 people.

The city and surrounding areas are regularly targeted in Russian aerial attacks, many of them proving deadly.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday said US F-16s promised by allies are finally "on their way," giving Ukrainian forces the chance to "define when and how the war will end."

The politician welcomed the news saying control of the skies was Ukraine's main objective.

Commenting on the phenomenon of Western war fatigue and the funding of Ukraine's defense of democracy against invading Russian forces, Kuleba said Ukraine is tired, too. 

"Yes, we are tired," said Kuleba, but, "no matter how tired or exhausted we may be, we will keep defending our country."

Several NATO member states are currently training Ukrainian pilots to fly US-made F-16 fighter jets as Washington relents opposition to their transfer to Ukraine. 

Earlier this month, Denmark promised to deliver 19 planes in the second quarter of 2024. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday expressed confidence that EU member states would ultimately vote to continue emergency defense funding for Ukraine.

"I am confident that we will find a solution with 27," said the veteran German lawmaker. 

Of the 27 members, 26 previously voted to continue providing assistance to embattled Ukraine as it fights Russian invaders. Hungary, however, has stubbornly rejected aid — with Russia-friendly Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban vetoing a €50 billion ($54 billion) package in December.

EU leaders will convene to discuss the issue again on February 1. 

Although there is talk of a plan B in which 26 bilateral support agreements are signed with Ukraine, a unified EU vote would be less complicated, less costly and diplomatically far more advantageous for Europe's reputation and real-world political clout. 

NATO Admiral Rob Bauer on Wednesday said Western military and political leaders must drastically overhaul their approach to assisting Ukraine as it seeks to beat back invading Russian forces. 

Bauer, the chairman of the NATO Military Committee that advises the 31-member organization's civilian leadership in military matters, was in Brussels to detail plans for the largest military exercises the defense alliance has staged in Europe since the Cold War.

The joint exercises will take place this summer under the name "Steadfast Defender" and are meant to hone and showcase the alliance's military preparedness and commitment to defending allied nations.

Speaking to military preparedness, Bauer said, "In order to be fully effective, also in the future, we need a war-fighting transformation of NATO."

NATO and Ukrainian military leaders will convene as part of the NATO-Ukraine Council this week. 

Bauer brushed off the popular idea that Moscow's aggression toward Ukraine is the direct result of any threat posed by NATO. 

"This war has never been about any real security threat to Russia coming from either Ukraine or NATO," he said. "This war is about Russia fearing something much more powerful than any physical weapon on earth — democracy. If people in Ukraine can have democratic rights, then people in Russia will soon crave them too. That is what this war is actually about."

Bauer said Western political leaders needed to initiate a, "whole of society approach" to the challenges they face, saying, "We need public and private actors to change their mindset for an era in which everything was plannable, foreseeable, controllable and focused on efficiency to an era in which anything can happen at any time. An era in which we need to expect the unexpected." 

js/jcg (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)