Developments in Ukraine The beginning of a new phase of the conflict / Zelensky’s intention to strengthen the defense lines of the army

Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, announced on Friday, December 1, in an interview with the Associated Press, that the country’s army will start building defense structures from the Donbass to the western regions of Ukraine. He said: “I held a meeting in which I decided on the construction of defense fortifications in the main lines of contact of the forces.” According to him, fortifications were created in several important directions. will be. In addition, the border lines in the vicinity of Russia and Belarus will be strengthened in the same way.

Vladimir Zelensky also said in this interview that the beginning of winter marks the transition to a new stage. It is in a military conflict with Russia. According to him, during the winter, fighting will begin not only on the main lines of contact, but also in the cities.

Acknowledging that he is dissatisfied with the results of the summer counteroffensive by the armed forces, the President of Ukraine added: “We have lost the trust of the people and I am not satisfied with this situation.” . We didn’t get all the weapons we wanted, it’s not a satisfactory situation, but I can’t complain too much.” Meanwhile, Zelensky again pointed out. The escalation of conflict in the Middle East has shifted the focus of global public opinion. He added: “This is a fact, only a blind person does not recognize it.”

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday in a conference The press in Skopje talked about the creation of defensive barriers of the Ukrainian army along the front line. He said: “I read news related to this decision. I am sure that our military special operations commanders know what goals are being achieved, the situation is under constant control by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and we see no reason to revise our goals.”

Next, you can follow the developments related to the six hundred and forty-seventh day of the Ukrainian war:

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The US Senate will not vote on the aid package for Ukraine before December 11

Bloomberg news agency reported this morning, Saturday, that the voting in the US Senate on the issue of financing Ukraine and Israel will not be held earlier than December 11 (December 20).

The news agency wrote: “The vote in the Senate on the financing of Ukraine will not be held earlier than December 11.” Meanwhile, the Senate plans to go on Christmas vacation on December 15.

According to Bloomberg, in the House of Representatives, the Republicans have taken an expected approach. Mike Johnson, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, said on Thursday that no bill on Ukraine will be passed without a necessary decision to change the situation on the border with Mexico.

Senators are trying In order to find an inevitable compromise on the US-Mexico border policy, the Republicans insist that this action is necessary to get the approval of Congress in order to approve the double budget for Ukraine, and they are trying to change Washington’s immigration policy using this issue. /p>

The White House once again asked Congress for money to help Ukraine

He recalled in his press conference: As I said yesterday, we feel that as we approach the end of the calendar year, which is the end of this month, the amount of security assistance Which we know the Ukrainians need very much, it will be very difficult for us.

Kirby noted: This situation is the main cause of current concern for the US government. Therefore, I have once again called on Congress to act immediately on additional appropriations.

On Friday, Kirby made similar comments. He then stressed that additional allocations were needed “as soon as possible” because “time is running out.”

EU agreement on the program Aid of 50 billion euros to Ukraine will be difficult

Reuters last night, Friday, quoting a high-ranking EU official, reported that for the leaders of this union It will be difficult to reach an agreement on the issue of granting 50 billion euros of financial aid to Ukraine at the summit in mid-December.

This news source emphasized that the European Union is still ready to support Ukraine. Therefore, even if this program is not agreed, aid to Kyiv will continue. However, he did not provide the details of such a decision. /strong>

Czech Republic Defense Minister Jana Chernokhova admitted last night that the country can no longer send more military aid to Ukraine from its arms stockpile.

He wrote about this on the social network X (former Twitter): “We only sent what we could to Ukraine, to the extent that the defense capability of the Czech Republic is exposed Don’t be threatened <...> The fact that we cannot send more weapons from our stockpiles to Ukraine is a fact.”

According to the Minister of Defense The military equipment that was transferred to Ukraine has been assessed as irreparable by the Czech army. He added, at the same time, this country will keep the possibility of providing assistance to Kyiv through military training, “issuing export licenses or participating in a number of international projects in the European Union and NATO”.

A few days ago, Czech President Peter Pavel said that the West had not fulfilled its promises to Ukraine regarding the supply of weapons necessary for the continuation of intensive operations. According to him, the armed forces of Ukraine expected to receive the German “Taurus” after receiving the “Shadow Storm” missiles, but Berlin never made a final decision on their supply.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine appointed the second deputy minister of defense

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on Friday appointed Vitaly Polovenko as another Deputy Minister of Defense of this country, Rostam Umarov, appointed.

Government press service in its Telegram channel, announcing this news, added: “In the team of the Ministry of Defense, Colonel Polovenko will focus on the logistical issues of the army.”

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Pulvinko, who holds a doctorate in military science since 2019, has served as head of the procurement department at the National Defense University of Ukraine and has also participated in the military conflict with Russia.

The first deputy defense minister of Ukraine is General Oleksandr Pavliuk.

Zelensky’s wife: I don’t want Vladimir to be president again be

Elena, the wife of President Volodymyr Zelensky, announced last night in a podcast interview with the Economist magazine that she does not want her husband to serve another term in this position Be elected.

In late September, Elena Zelenskaya said she doubts her husband’s participation in the country’s possible presidential election in 2024. She pointed out, even when her husband was nominated for the first term, she did not fully support this action.

Vladimir Zelensky himself said in an interview with the Associated Press yesterday. which considers it impossible to hold presidential elections in Ukraine that were planned for March 2024. He claimed that he himself would be ready to hold elections, but most Ukrainians consider holding elections “dangerous and pointless” because of the surrounding situation.

Union Europe has once again increased imports of Russian nuclear fuel

Reuters news agency reported on Friday, referring to the announcement of the Euratom Energy Supply Agency (ESA), that the Union Europe has once again increased its imports of Russian-designed nuclear fuel and reactor services from the Russian Federation.

In this report, it is mentioned that such imports are not subject to EU sanctions. However, despite the increase in demand for nuclear power in Europe, its total volume from Russia has remained stable in the past year. Stefano Cicarello, head of Euratom Energy Supply Agency told Reuters that the five European countries that use pressurized water reactors have increased their imports this year compared to 2021. it is facing.

He said: “Imports from countries that use Russian-made water reactors increased in 2022 compared to 2021 and This trend increased in 2023 compared to before the Russian military attack. Thus, this year, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary and Slovakia bought 30% more conversion services and 22% more uranium enrichment services from Russia.”

Ukrainian drivers blocked at the Polish border went on hunger strike

According to mass media, Ukrainian truck drivers who were blocked at the border Poland was blockaded, went on hunger strike.

Ukrainian drivers, stopped at the border, ask Polish strikers to let more trucks through. They complain that Polish protesters are not allowing fuel tankers and trucks carrying perishable food to pass. They tried to negotiate, but the Polish police did not allow them to do so. It is expected that the official of the Ukrainian consulate in Lublin will intervene to resolve this situation. The demands of the Polish truckers who have blocked the border should be fulfilled.

Increase in the number of trucks stopped at the border of Ukraine with Hungary and Slovakia

The spokesman of the state border guard of Ukraine Andriy Demchenko announced on Friday that currently more than 1,600 trucks to enter Ukraine from Hungary and Slovakia are stopped in a long line at the border .

He said in a TV program: Since this morning, about 600 trucks have been standing in line at the checkpoint on the border with Slovakia. And on the border with Hungary, at least a thousand trucks are waiting to cross the border to Ukraine.

Trucks at border checkpoints in Hungary and Slovakia due to this fact that Polish truckers have blocked the crossings of vehicles on the Polish-Ukraine border, have stopped. May “fail”

The British newspaper “The Times” predicted in an analysis on Friday that Europe is not ready for a direct conflict with Russia’s powerful military and If this happens, there is a high probability that the countries of Europe will “fail”.

In an article written by Sonke Nitzel, a German historian, it is stated: The result The possible military conflict between Europe and Russia is comparable to the fall of the Roman Empire at the hands of Napoleon’s army. Similarly, Europe’s scattered and unprepared armed forces may be destroyed by Russia.

The article also notes that during the recent security conference in Berlin, several German generals They predicted that NATO would not be able to win a defensive war on its eastern flank because it would have difficulty moving enough troops and equipment to Eastern Europe in a short time. Nitzel noted that he cannot rule out that the German army will be forced to go to war, but that the German armed forces are clearly not ready for it. According to him, there may be more It will take 10 years for Germany to start a war with Russia. This is very clear: if our armed forces have to go to war, they will die without drones, without air defense systems, without adequate supplies, the publication quoted Nitzel as saying. Are we making our message clear enough now? German soldiers will die and you will be responsible for their deaths.

Zakharova: Western media are no longer interested in Ukraine

Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia last night, Friday, on her Telegram channel pointed out that the Western media are no longer interested in Ukraine even in the form of anti-Russian provocations. Zakharova added: “The issue of Ukraine has been silenced. Of course, we will not leave Zelensky alone.”

He also drew attention to the fact that the press conference of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe It made a lot of noise in Skopje and lasted for almost 1.5 hours and was the focus of European journalists. According to him, a large number of journalists had entered the hall to hold this press conference even before it started.

Lavrov: There is no signal from Kiev that they are ready to resolve the conflict

On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recalled at a press conference at the end of the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that Moscow did not receive any signal from Kiev and Western countries about the readiness for a political settlement of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

He said: “So far, we have not seen any signal from Kyiv or its owners that they are ready for any political agreement to resolve the conflict.”

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Russian Foreign Minister emphasized: “Two people are needed to start the political process of resolving the situation in Ukraine, like a tango dance”, but “children” dance for the other side. They do break. Lavrov added ironically: “That’s where they need to be encouraged.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted that there are voices in the West from the supporters of negotiations with Russia.

On Friday, in an interview with the Associated Press, he said: “Voices in this regard are always heard. At the same time, despite the unsuccessful counter-offensive results of the Ukrainian armed forces, there is no pressure from the West to start negotiations with Russia.”

Zelensky also said that with The beginning of the winter season, the military conflict with Russia has entered a new phase, and the defense barrier of the armed forces must be strengthened.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced on Friday that Ukraine’s armed forces had lost more than 125,000 soldiers during the six months of its counteroffensive. He reminded that the complete mobilization in Ukraine, the supply of Western weapons and the use of strategic reserves did not change the situation on the battlefield, but only increased the number of casualties.

The Russian Defense Minister said in a meeting with the officials of the Russian Armed Forces: During the six months that the so-called counterattack of the Ukrainian army continued, the enemy has lost more than 125,000 military personnel and 16,000 units of various military weapons.

General Shoigu said: “The Russian military inflicted effective and powerful fire damage on the Ukrainian armed forces, which significantly reduced the enemy’s combat capabilities. The Russian armed forces have acted with courage and determination and continue to achieve more advantageous positions and expand the areas under their control in all directions.”

He said: “We will continue to actively defend and increase the combat potential of the armed forces, taking into account the experience gained during special military operations.”

Poroshenko was not allowed to leave Ukraine to travel to the United States and Poland

Petro Poroshenko, the former president of Ukraine, announced on Friday that This country did not allow him to leave the country. According to him, while his exit permit was signed by Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament. They did not do this on their own initiative. Everyone can guess for themselves who canceled the document signed by the speaker of the parliament.

According to the former president of Ukraine, he planned “dozens of meetings” in Poland and the United States. He added that he especially intended to discuss with the Polish side about lifting the blockade of truck drivers on the border of the two countries and with the American side about providing military aid to Kiev.

Kremlin: Sanctions against Russia will remain for a long time

Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian president, announced in his press conference on Friday that the Kremlin has no doubts about maintaining the Western sanctions against Russia for many years, and from this situation during political planning He will get the necessary result himself.

He was asked about the statements of Geoffrey Piatt, the adviser to the US Secretary of State, who said that the US plans to reduce Russia’s income from exports by 2030. Cut energy in half and the West will maintain sanctions against Russia for many years, explain. Peskov replied: “To be honest, I have not seen these words yet, but if what you say is true, we have no doubt that the sanctions will continue for years, <...> We already knew this and we do not expect that the West give up this policy as soon as possible.”

The Kremlin spokesman added: We also have no doubt that the United States will continue to try to put pressure on Russia, including pressure on the entire system of international trade and economic relations. It basically destroys the form of relationships. He called America’s actions nothing but illegal attempts to curb the Russian economy.