Vladimir Putin went Thursday, October 19 to the headquarters of the Russian army for the operation in Ukraine, in Rostov-on-Don (south), the Kremlin announced this Friday, October 20. The Russian president “visited the headquarters of the Russian armed forces in Rostov-on-Don on his way back from Perm”, in the Urals where the Russian leader spent the entire day on Thursday, the Kremlin said in a statement. communicated.
During this trip, the Russian president spoke with the chief of staff and commander of military operations in Ukraine, Valéri Gerassimov, who presented him with a report on the state of the Russian offensive, according to the same source. This meeting comes as Ukraine announced on Tuesday that it had successfully used for the first time ATACMS missiles with a range of up to 165 km, which the United States delivered to it in the utmost secrecy.
Zelensky: “Ukraine is grateful for vital and lasting support” from the United States
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked his American counterpart Joe Biden on the telephone on Thursday October 19 for the “vital support” from the United States to his country, welcoming in particular the delivery of the long-range ATACMS missiles wanted by Kiev.
“Ukraine is grateful for the vital and lasting support of the United States in its fight for freedom and against Russian aggression,” declared Volodymyr Zelensky on X (ex-Twitter) after a telephone conversation with Joe Biden.
Volodymyr Zelensky assured that the Ukrainians were “very encouraged by the delivery of ATACMS” (Army Tactical Missile System) and that the soldiers “are making good use of them on the battlefield”. Vladimir Putin, for his part, estimated on Wednesday that these deliveries will have no influence on the course of the war and will only prolong Ukraine’s “agony”.
Biden will ask Congress to “urgently” fund aid to Israel and Ukraine
Joe Biden will ask the American Congress this Friday, October 20, to “urgently” finance aid to Israel and Ukraine, “our essential partners,” he declared Thursday during a speech to the nation. “It’s a smart investment” that will bring greater security to Americans “for generations,” added the American president.
According to Joe Biden, Palestinian Hamas and Russian President Vladimir Putin “both want to completely destroy a neighboring democracy,” he also declared Thursday from the White House. “Hamas and Vladimir Putin represent different threats, but they have this in common,” the US president said in his solemn address to the nation.
According to the New York Times, Joe Biden will ask Congress for 10 billion for security assistance to Israel, and 60 billion to continue supporting the Ukrainian war effort. By joining the two, he puts pressure on the Republican Party, a fringe of which is reluctant to spend any more on Ukraine, while the right is unanimous in asking for muscular aid to Israel. The American president knows that time is running out: if Congress fails to pass an annual budget, the United States will go straight to budgetary paralysis, the “shutdown”, on November 17.
Joe Biden recalled his February visit to Ukraine, the first of its kind by a US head of state to a war zone not under the control of his own military. “As I walked through Kiev with President Zelensky, with air-raid sirens blaring in the distance, I felt more strongly than ever what I always believed: America is a beacon to the world. Even today ‘today. Even today.’ “We are the essential nation,” he said, using an expression from former head of diplomacy Madeleine Albright.
Kim Jong-un wants to build a “forward-looking” relationship with Russia
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Thursday he wants to build a “forward-looking” relationship with Russia during his meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the official KCNA news agency reported . Sergei Lavrov made a two-day visit to the North Korean capital, before a possible trip by President Vladimir Putin to this country which supports Russia in its war against Ukraine.
Kim Jong-un said the goal of the ruling Workers’ Party and government is “to develop a stable, forward-looking and far-reaching plan for DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) relations.” and Russia,” according to KCNA. The head of Russian diplomacy denounced Thursday the “dangerous” military policy of the United States and its allies against North Korea, while welcoming a strengthening of relations between Moscow and Pyongyang.
Orban-Putin: NATO countries “worried”, according to Washington
The ambassadors of NATO countries in Hungary met Thursday in Budapest at the initiative of the American representative to discuss their “concern” at the links maintained by Hungary with Russia despite the war in Ukraine.
Nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in Beijing, who has become a pariah in Western eyes. This was the main subject of the meeting, a spokesperson for the US embassy told AFP. Sweden, a candidate for the Atlantic Alliance, was also represented.
“We are all worried that the Hungarian Prime Minister met with President Putin while Russia is waging a war of aggression against Ukraine,” said the United States Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman, interviewed by the media Radio Free Europe. “It is worrying that Hungary has chosen to cooperate” with the Kremlin in this way,” he said, also denouncing Viktor Orban’s use of the term “military operations” to describe the conflict. “We will communicate of our security concerns to our allies” if necessary, added David Pressman.