Ursula Von Der Leyen

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday vowed a decisive response to any country threatening Russia and lashed out against Germany for promising tanks for Kiev.

His threats came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that the Kremlin was consolidating its forces for a fresh offensive.

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Von der Leyen in Kyiv: So far, the EU has provided 50 billion euros to Ukraine

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, defined the management of the Bulgarian-Turkish border as the most urgent task in connection with the strengthening of the land borders of the EU. She said this to the plenary hall of the European Parliament in Brussels during a debate on migration and asylum.

The EU member states themselves can finance the fence along the Bulgarian-Turkish border, claim sources from the European Commission.

"Strengthening the key external borders of the EU, with the Bulgarian-Turkish border being a priority." This is what European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a letter to European leaders, in which she lists measures to deal with illegal migration.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has publicly called on the EU to finance the construction of a 2 billion euro fence along the Bulgarian-Turkish border, where more and more migrants are crossing into the EU. The proposal was repeated by the Austrian permanent representative during the meeting of EU ambassadors on Wednesday.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Jan. 13 denounced a demonstration by PKK terror organization in central Stockholm, where the supporters of the group hung a puppet from its legs that depicted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as 'disgusting' and an act of "sabotage" against Sweden's bid to join NATO.

Azerbaijan has confirmed the supply of 12 billion cubic meters of gas to the EU in 2023, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.

The country will export a total of 24 billion cubic meters of gas in 2023, half of which will go to Europe, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on state television.

So far, 8.1 billion cubic meters have been delivered annually.

The chief of the European Union visited Croatia on Sunday to celebrate the "immense achievements" of the newest EU member nation, which switched to using the euro and joined the world's largest passport-free travel area on New Year's Day.

There was celebration and joy on both sides of the Slovenian-Croatian border as Croatia joined the Schengen area and adopted the euro on 1 January. More than 30 years after the countries broke away from Yugoslavia, their citizens are once again using the same currency and can cross the border freely.