European leaders meet in Iceland to reaffirm values as Ukraine war rages on

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are among the leaders who are underscoring their support for Ukraine in a rare meeting of the Council of Europe (CoE) rights body.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed the gathering remotely following his tour of European capitals to secure more weapons and aid before an anticipated counteroffensive to push back Russian forces.

"Russia used ballistics, cruise missiles, and drones at the same time (early morning May 16) to make it especially difficult for our defence to save lives. But all lives were protected; all missiles were shot down, including ballistic ones," he said in his address.

Ukraine said it had shot down six Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missiles in a single night, thwarting a weapon Moscow has touted as a next-generation hypersonic missile that was all but unstoppable.

The leaders are expected to approve a new Register of Damages, a mechanism to record and document evidence and claims of damage, loss or injury incurred as a result of the Russian invasion.

Russia has denied deliberately targeting civilians in bombing Ukrainian cities, although dozens of towns and cities have been laid to waste by its air strikes and artillery since the invasion began in February last year.

Macron's office said the council is looking at how the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) could help meet the needs of struggling Ukrainians.

Meanwhile, Sunak will use the meeting to urge other leaders to stop what he called "the humanitarian disaster caused by illegal immigration," his office said.

The British prime minister will make the case for reforming the European Court of Human Rights' power to block British migrant deportation flights to Rwanda - plans that have been criticised by opponents, charities and religious leaders as inhumane.

The Icelandic organisers said that as well as showing support for Ukraine through "concrete measures", the meeting will also boost initiatives to address emerging threats to democracy, from climate change to artificial intelligence.

Reuters