Ukraine war: Biden prepared to meet Putin to end Russia's war

US President Joe Biden has said helium would beryllium acceptable to conscionable Russia's Vladimir Putin "if successful information determination is an involvement successful him deciding that he's looking for a mode to extremity the war".

Addressing reporters alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, helium stressed Mr Putin had not yet done that.

The 2 men stressed they would proceed to basal against Russia's war.

The French person made wide they would ne'er impulse Ukraine to marque a compromise it considered unacceptable.

They were speaking arsenic a elder Ukrainian authoritative said that betwixt 10,000 and 13,000 of its soldiers had been killed since the commencement of Russia's penetration connected 24 February.

Neither Ukraine nor Russia thin to merchandise figures for casualties, and the remarks by statesmanlike advisor Mykhailo Podolyak person not been confirmed by the Ukrainian military.

Speaking to Ukrainian TV outlet Channel 24, Mr Podolyak said Kyiv was "openly talking astir the fig of the killed". He added that the fig of civilians killed could beryllium "significant". He besides suggested that up to 100,000 Russian soldiers had been killed since the invasion.

In a video code connected Wednesday, EU Commission caput Ursula von der Leyen said that 100,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed. However a spokesperson for the EU Commission aboriginal clarified that this was a mistake, and the fig referred to those some killed and wounded. Ms von der Leyen had besides spoken of 20,000 Ukrainian civilian deaths.

After their talks astatine the White House, the US and French presidents issued a associated statement pledging "continued enactment for Ukraine's defence of its sovereignty and territorial integrity", stepping up transportation of aerial defence systems and plans for an planetary league connected Ukraine successful Paris connected 13 December.

President Biden's proposition that helium was acceptable to speech to the Russian person came with a dense caveat and his French counterpart said "we volition ne'er impulse the Ukrainians to marque a compromise that volition not beryllium acceptable for them."

President Macron was speaking hours aft Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov complained that European countries had offered thing concrete truthful acold successful presumption of mediation. "Macron, by the way, has been regularly stating implicit the past 2 weeks that helium was readying a speech with the Russian president," helium was quoted arsenic saying, portion adding that Russia had not had immoderate signals via diplomatic channels.

Mr Lavrov named erstwhile US Secretary of State John Kerry arsenic the benignant of fig who had successful the past been capable to lick problems and prosecute successful existent dialogue.

Additional reporting by Elsa Maishman and Jaroslav Lukiv