U.S., France present united front to hold Russia to account on Ukraine

WASHINGTON/KHERSON, Ukraine, Dec 2 (Reuters) - The presidents of the United States and France said they would hold Russia to account for its actions in Ukraine and the European Union reached tentative agreement on an oil price cap to squeeze Moscow's export earnings.

President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron said in a joint statement after Oval Office talks on Thursday that they were committed to holding Russia to account "for widely documented atrocities and war crimes, committed both by its regular armed forces and by its proxies" in Ukraine.

Ukraine's armed forces have lost somewhere between 10,000 and 13,000 soldiers so far, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told a Ukrainian television network on Thursday.

"We will never urge the Ukrainians to make a compromise which will not be acceptable for them, because they are so brave," Macron said in Washington.

President Joe Biden at the conclusion of their joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., December 1, 2022.

The attacks on infrastructure are likely to increase the cost to keep Ukraine's economy going next year by up to $1 billion a month, and aid to the country would need to be "front-loaded", IMF head Kristalina Georgieva told the Reuters NEXT conference on Thursday.

Russian artillery pounded Ukrainian positions in and around the eastern city of Bakhmut, and the regional capital of Kherson in the south, Ukraine's General Staff said late on Thursday.

Ukraine's armed forces have lost somewhere between 10,000 and 13,000 soldiers so far in the war against Russia, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told a Ukrainian television network on Thursday.

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