Volodymyr Zelensky meets this Thursday, January 9 in Germany with Ukraine’s allies gathered under the aegis of the United States to discuss their military aid, eleven days before the start of the mandate of Donald Trump, who said he was skeptical about this financial support. This meeting of the “contact group” of kyiv’s partners at Ramstein, an American air base not far from Frankfurt, is the last of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Joe Biden’s minister who will be replaced on January 20 by the Republican billionaire.
For weeks, speculation has been rife about the conditions for future peace negotiations. Because Donald Trump promised to end the war “in 24 hours”, without specifying how. While worrying about a possible drop in aid, kyiv hopes for strong decisions from the new American president. Volodymyr Zelensky even estimated in early January that Donald Trump’s “unpredictability” could help end the war.
Information to remember
⇒ Western troops in Ukraine will help “force Russia into peace,” says Zelensky
⇒ Washington announces new military aid of $500 million to Ukraine
⇒ The EU is “ready” to lead support for Ukraine if Washington no longer wants it, assures Kaja Kallas
For Volodymyr Zelensky, Western troops in Ukraine will help “force Russia into peace”
The deployment of Western troops in Ukraine will help “force Russia into peace”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this Thursday, January 9. “The deployment of partner contingents is one of the best instruments” to “force Russia into peace”, he declared during a meeting in Germany in the “Ramstein format”, which brings together the main allies of Ukraine.
The arrival on January 20 at the White House of Donald Trump opens a “new chapter” for the Europeans, who must “cooperate even more”, also judged the Ukrainian president, ensuring that he sees it as a “period of opportunities”. “It is clear that a new chapter is opening for Europe and the whole world – in just 11 days – a time when we will have to cooperate even more, rely even more on each other and achieve even more results together important” he declared.
Washington announces new military aid of $500 million to Ukraine
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced this Thursday new American military aid to Ukraine amounting to approximately $500 million (485 million euros), a few days before Donald Trump’s inauguration . “The fight in Ukraine concerns us all,” said Lloyd Austin, who is leading his last meeting of the “contact group” of kyiv partners at Ramstein, an American air base not far from Frankfurt.
Under President Joe Biden, the United States has been kyiv’s biggest supporter in its defense against the Russian invasion, providing military aid worth more than $65 billion (€63 billion). since February 2022.
Insufficient, however, to give a decisive advantage to Ukraine, which is struggling to repel the Russian army, particularly in the eastern part of the country. And the upcoming inauguration of Donald Trump makes Ukraine fear a drastic reduction in support from the United States and pressure from the elected American president for kyiv to make concessions in the face of Vladimir Putin.
Ahead of this meeting, the head of diplomacy of the European Union declared that the EU was “ready to take over” to lead military support to Ukraine “if the United States does not want to do it “. Kaja Kallas at the same time said she was “sure” that Washington would “continue its support for Ukraine”. “Whoever is the leader of the United States, I think it is not in America’s interest for Russia to be the strongest power in the world,” she said.
Russia: an oil site on fire for the second day after a Ukrainian attack
A fire continues this Thursday for the second consecutive day on an oil site in Engels, in the Russian region of Saratov, struck the day before by Ukrainian drones, in response, according to kyiv, to the bombings on Ukraine. “The emergency services continue to fight against the consequences of the drone attack,” regional governor Roman Boussarguine said on Telegram. According to specialists, “it takes a certain amount of time” for the fire to be completely brought under control, he said, assuring that “the situation is under control” and that there is “no threat to buildings residential”.
Two firefighters died Wednesday, according to authorities, in the fire in Engels, located about 700 kilometers southeast of Moscow and some 500 km from the Ukrainian border. The General Staff of the Ukrainian army said it had struck the Combinat Kristall oil depot in Engels during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, claiming that this site “supplied fuel to the Engels-2 military airfield”.
According to media reports, this air base hosts Tupolev strategic bombers that Russia has used to fire cruise missiles at cities and critical infrastructure in Ukraine since the Ukraine offensive began almost three years ago.