A twelve-year-old girl was killed in in Russia’s Belgorod region bordering Ukraine as a result of shelling from Ukraine’s territory, the BTA said, referring to information from DPA and other media, which reported that artillery shells had damaged several houses and cars. Some power lines have been damaged as well. Meanwhile, Russian forces continue to advance in Bakhmut. On this occasion, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Ukrainian forces would defend the town, but not at any cost. “It is important for us to defend it, but not at any price and not for everyone to die,” Mr Zelensky said.

The Foreign Affairs Council, chaired by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, is taking place in Brussels. The Council is expected to exchange views on the Russian aggression against Ukraine, after a first informal exchange with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba. The member states are to discuss Estonia’s proposal for “joint direct procurement of arms and ammunition for Ukraine”.

During the forum the foreign ministers are expected to discuss the 10th package of sanctions on Russia. It is not yet clear whether it will include new restrictive measures against Russia’s energy sector. “We cannot accept sanctions in the nuclear energy sector and if necessary we will veto it”, Bulgaria’s head of state Rumen Radev said at the last European Council. After the Council it became clear that Bulgaria and several other countries will ask for a derogation.

The European Union is expected to unveil its 10th package of sanctions against Russia on February 24 to mark the anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.