Western leaders gather in Lithuania expressing solidarity with Ukraine

As the Russia-waged war in Ukraine has intensified, leaders from the Western countries are gathering in the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, to express their solidarity with Kyiv, days after the US decision to supply cluster bombs to Ukraine to defend itself against Moscow's military might.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hoped that Tuesday’s Nato summit would provide a "clear signal" that Kyiv could join the alliance once its war with Russia is over.

Eyeing any friction among the allies and intending to expose it, the Kremlin fired an eve-of-summit warning that Ukraine’s membership of the US-led Nato would have "very, very negative consequences for the entire security architecture in Europe."

On the battlefront, Ukraine’s counteroffensive ground on, its forces recapturing 14 square kilometres in the past week amid "heavy fighting" near the Russian-controlled city of Bakhmut, the military said.

According to the local governor, Russian shelling Sunday of a humanitarian aid hub in the frontline Zaporizhzhia region killed four people Monday.

Several concerns

Ahead of the alliance summit, US President Joe Biden met with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during a stopover in London Monday, with British concern over the cluster munitions deal a key subject for discussion.

Britain is one of more than 120 countries that have signed an agreement banning the production, storage, sale, and use of cluster bombs, which rights groups say pose a danger to civilian populations long after they are deployed.

Biden said the decision to send the weapons was "very difficult" but Ukrainian forces were "running out of ammunition".

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Sunday played down any rift between the two leaders and in Nato, saying Biden and Sunak were "on the same page strategically on Ukraine".

China Monday denounced the move as "irresponsible" and said it could lead to “humanitarian problems".

"We should fairly manage humanitarian concerns and legitimate military and security needs, and maintain a prudent and restrained attitude towards the transfer of cluster munitions," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

In a summit expected to present unity on Ukraine’s future membership, a key goal is to pressure Turkey to drop its opposition to Sweden’s all-but-cleared membership bid.

Sweden’s prime minister will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Monday afternoon in a last-gasp effort to bridge the diplomatic impasse.

Erdogan has voiced repeated frustrations with what he calls Sweden's failure to keep its promises to deal with suspected Kurdish militants allegedly "roaming the streets" of Stockholm.

He told Biden on a call Sunday that though Sweden had taken "some steps in the right direction" over Turkey’s concerns, it had "nullified those steps" by allowing pro-Kurdish groups to hold demonstrations "freely praising terrorism", Erdogan’s office said.