Developments in Ukraine “Near zero” chance of an agreement to help Kiev in the US Congress

According to the report of the international group Tasnim news agency, newspaper ” The Washington Post wrote in an analysis that the prospects of reaching a compromise agreement on aid to Ukraine and US immigration policy by the US House of Representatives “are close to zero this month and even less in the coming months.”

This article states: In the Republican-led House of Representatives, everything depends on Speaker Mike Johnson, who is the former President of the United States, Donald Trump. reports At the same time, it has become increasingly clear that Johnson has “no real plan or political motivation to reach a compromise on any of the issues”.

The author noted. , setting “extreme standards” for immigration reform was part of a plan by Trump supporters to complicate and, if possible, destroy the plan to provide aid to Ukraine.

While Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer told reporters after a two-hour meeting at the White House that he was “more optimistic than ever” about reaching a deal, but he did not consider that Republicans and Trump allies would They are trying to destroy such an agreement before it takes shape. And this issue was revealed by Johnson’s “ambiguous statements”. Especially since he told Fox News after the White House meeting that he is in close contact with Trump, who actively opposes any compromise in this regard.

Republicans who They support aid to Ukraine, worried that Johnson’s supporters could delay it again. At the same time, Michael McCall, the chairman of the US House Foreign Relations Committee, warned that “Johnson could cut down the Senate’s proposal and review it piecemeal, and thus the prospect of approving aid to Ukraine remains in doubt.”

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Bloomberg: Putin can break the alliance of Western countries

Bloomberg news agency wrote this morning, Saturday, that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be able to break the unity of Western countries in 2024.

According to this report, after a year of conflict in Ukraine, it was believed in the West that Putin will finally have a weak and humiliated nation in his country. But now we are entering the third year of the start of the war – and Putin still has the opportunity to break the alliance of the Western countries. and reveal the alliance of the Western free world and the “weakening of Russia”. However, Western politicians made a miscalculation and left only a “dark legacy” after the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Criticism of willingness Biden’s administration to continue the conflict in Ukraine

Marjory Taylor Green, a member of the US House of Representatives, expressed her opinion this morning, Saturday, while President Volodymyr Zelensky Ukraine called for peace talks at the Davos Economic Forum, the Washington authorities are still looking for new funding for the continuation of the military conflict in Ukraine. “While Zelensky himself is calling for peace talks in Switzerland, the warmongers in Washington are desperately trying to finance the continuation of the war in Ukraine with 60 billion dollars. Isn’t that stupid?”

Supporters of allocating new funds to Kiev argue that the conflict in Ukraine is actually “America’s war,” Ms. Green noted. He added: “There is no more money for Ukraine!” Let there be peace.”

Former Pentagon official: Russia has achieved a strategic victory in this conflict

Colonel Douglas McGregor, former adviser to the head of the Pentagon, this morning, in an article for The American Conservative, expressed the opinion that the United States and Ukraine are facing inevitable defeat in a military conflict with Russia. .

He wrote: “It appears without a doubt that Russian armed forces are advancing towards the Dnieper River and beyond, and that Ukraine has the ability to stop the advance of the Russian military. “

McGregor stressed, at the same time, Washington still insists on the deployment of NATO forces to Russia’s borders. In addition, according to this military expert, the continued support of the U.S. authorities to the armed forces of Ukraine “leads the American people down a dangerous path” that may lead the United States to financial collapse in 2024.

CNN: The conflict in Ukraine may continue for another 2-5 years

C news network. AN reported last night that American and Western officials familiar with intelligence data estimate that the military conflict in Ukraine may continue for two to five years.

In this report, it is recalled that the United States plans to achieve the allocation of funds for aid to Ukraine before the presidential elections in this country, because if Donald Trump wins the elections in the fall of 2024, the aid, including those already approved

Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence officials are unsure whether U.S. budget cuts will have an impact on Ukraine on the battlefield in the short term. But in the long run, the lack of aid from Washington could allow Russia to “regain its power,” one source familiar with the matter said.

Another U.S. intelligence officials have predicted that Ukraine will spend this year strengthening its defense industry and rebuilding its human resources in anticipation of the conflict continuing into 2025. “That’s why the West’s continued support for Kyiv is so important, because everything will be done in 2024 that will decide how events unfold in 2025 and possibly beyond,” he said.

Request France to withdraw from NATO due to provocations against Russia

Florian Filippo, leader of the party French patriots last night asked the French government to leave NATO because of its aggressive and provocative policy towards Russia.

This famous French politician on the social network X (ex-Twitter) wrote: “Looks like NATO wants to speed up the approach to World War III. <...> In this situation, France should leave NATO and get out of this spiral of death.<...> Let’s choose a free and peaceful France.”

Zelensky’s concern about Trump’s words about ending the conflict

Vladimir Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, expressed last night He worried that he was frightened by the words of Donald Trump, the former president of the United States, about the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine in just 24 hours. English Channel 4 News said: “For him to talk about it publicly, the situation becomes a little scary. This means that if his idea, which no one has heard about in detail, if his idea does not work for us, for the people of Ukraine, he (Trump) will do anything to make his idea come true. And this worries me a little bit.”

Zelensky also once again invited Donald Trump to visit Ukraine.

A few days ago, Zelensky said that Trump’s plan to resolve the conflict will lead to the loss of more areas of Ukrainian territory.

In his opinion, all the efforts in the United United is done to instill the image of a dictator from Donald Trump, it does not give the expected effect, but on the contrary, it makes Trump stronger than any other politician. Regarding his attitude towards Ukraine, Johnson expressed doubt that the former US leader would “leave this country alone” if he wins again.

The politician recalled that it was during the presidency of Donald Trump that the first Javelin anti-tank weapon was sent to Kiev in 2018. “If he does the right thing and supports the Ukrainians — and I believe he will — a Trump presidency could be a great victory for the world,” Johnson added.

Former adviser to the US State Department: Zelensky believes he was betrayed

Lawrence Wilkerson, the former adviser to the US Secretary of State, expressed in an interview On the sidelines of the 2024 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky seemed to believe he had been betrayed by the West, opined.

Anger towards the West was particularly visible in Zelenskiy’s body language during the Davos summit, the retired US colonel recalled. From the beginning, he believed everything he was told in NATO and especially in Washington and London. But Zelensky complained in Davos that his country is facing a serious shortage of ammunition, drones and anti-aircraft missiles.

France: the possibility of travel ban There is no Ukraine

Sébastien LeCorneau, the French Minister of Defense, announced last night that Paris cannot prevent its citizens from fighting in Ukraine.

He also confirmed that there are some French people who have gone to Ukraine to participate in the war. He said: “It is a fact that there are French civilians who are fighting in the military uniform of the Ukrainian army and alongside the soldiers of this country. We cannot ban them, we are still a democratic country. Of course, these people have nothing to do with the French armed forces, they don’t wear French military uniforms, and they are not related to French military institutions.” He called the presence of French mercenaries in Ukraine a sign of “Russian information warfare” that has apparently intensified after President Emmanuel Macron announced that he had provided 40 additional missiles to the Ukrainian military.

Russian Foreign Ministry: The death of the French in Kharkov should weigh on the conscience of Paris justify”> On Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned the French ambassador, Pierre Louis, that the death of French mercenaries in the Kharkov region of Ukraine should weigh on the conscience of the Paris authorities.

According to the information published last night on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry, during the summoning of the French ambassador, he was told that the death of his compatriots should weigh on the conscience of the Paris authorities. Because the recruitment mechanism for the Ukrainian army is actively implemented in France, and with its help, many mercenaries are recruited to participate in the military conflict to help Kiev.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Russia also presented the facts of the increasing involvement of the French side in the military conflict in Ukraine to “Pierre Louis” and emphasized that the conduct of “consensual war” by the West, including France, and the increase in sending weapons to Kiev with statements about the importance of establishing peace in It is a contradiction and will only intensify the conflict.

The ministry expressed hope that the French society will learn the truth about the involvement of Paris in the military conflict in Ukraine and its responsibility towards the victims. understand this war.

Pierre Louis, the French ambassador in Moscow, on Friday afternoon regarding the killing of a large number of French mercenaries in the Kharkov region, who were alongside the Ukrainian armed forces were fighting, he was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia to explain about it.

After talking with Russian officials, the French ambassador left the building of the Russian Foreign Ministry without answering the journalists’ questions.

It was announced on Thursday that during the attacks of the Russian military on a temporary deployment point of foreign mercenaries in Kharkiv region, most of whom were French mercenaries, around 60 people were killed and more than 20 others were injured.

The European Union is considering a package of sanctions that it plans to approve by February 24

The Bloomberg news agency reported on Friday, quoting its sources, that the European Union has started discussing the approval of a new package of sanctions against Russia, which is supposed to be approved by February 24 (March 5), the anniversary of Russia’s military attack on Ukraine.

According to news sources of this agency, the new sanctions were discussed on Wednesday, January 17, at the meeting of the ambassadors of the Union. The potential measures of the new package may affect increased trade restrictions, further listings, as well as Russia’s ability to circumvent restrictions through both third countries and companies within the EU.

Bloomberg added: Of course, reaching an agreement on the 13th package of sanctions will not be easy, because this package requires several weeks of negotiations, and these measures may be opposed by some European countries.

The European Union approved the 12th package of sanctions against Russia on December 18, 2023.

The intention of the European Union to create A new fund for military aid to Kyiv

Bloomberg also reported that EU member states are discussing the creation of a new fund that would It is spent on military support for Ukraine. As such, it is understood that the EU’s foreign policy office has proposed an allocation of approximately €5 billion in the annual budget, although this amount has not yet been agreed. According to agency news sources, a document with a possible action plan will be presented in the near future. It was created in 2021, but its effectiveness has been questioned. Thanks to it, EU members receive compensation for arms provided to Ukraine. Of course, without the unanimous support of the 27 participating countries, while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has vetoed aid to Kiev, this measure will be blocked.

EU plans to send one million bullets to Ukraine by spring

Terry Breton, EU Commissioner for Internal Market and Defense Industry announced Kurd said that the European Union will be able to supply another million bullets to Ukraine by spring. “By the end of March to April, we will be able to produce one million units of ammunition to meet the needs of the Ukrainian army,” Estonia said in Tallinn. In addition, by the end of this year, we can produce one million to one and a half million more ammunitions in Europe.”

He emphasized that the EU is ready to invest. to do more for the production of important military ammunition. Burton added: “Currently, about 40% of European defense products are exported outside of this continent. So we have to make sure that everything we produce now goes to Ukraine first – to make sure that we can supply what is needed in Ukraine.”

Ukraine allocates 464 million dollars for the construction of defense structures

Denis Shmigal, the Prime Minister of Ukraine announced that the Cabinet of Ministers of this country decided to allocate a budget equal to 17.5 billion hryvnias (about 464 million dollars) for the creation of defense structures.

He wrote on his Telegram channel on Friday: About 17.5 billion hryvnias will be spent on the construction and strengthening of engineering, technical and fortification structures, related equipment and non-explosive barrier systems.”

Thursday Vladimir Saldo The governor of Kherson region said that Ukrainian forces are building defense structures and are gradually moving towards strategic defense on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River. At the same time, according to the governor, the Russian army will continue to successfully carry out combat missions in this region.

Slovakia for MiG-29s Ukraine has not received compensation

Robert Kaliniak, the Minister of Defense of the Slovak Republic, announced on Friday that the country has not yet received compensation for the MiG-29 fighter jets delivered to Ukraine. was provided, has not received compensation. According to him, the authorities in Bratislava were promised 700 million euros for fighter jets transferred to the armed forces of Ukraine, which have not yet been paid.

He stressed, If our Western allies do not find another alternative for these fighters, Slovakia will be left without an air defense system. The strategy developed by Western countries in Ukraine is not working and has been completely unsuccessful. He admitted that Russia fully controls the newly annexed regions, while the West initially wanted to use Russia’s military operations in the Donbass to bring Russia to its knees and has not yet achieved this goal.

Pentagon official: The situation in Ukraine has reached an impasse

A US Defense Department official In an interview with CNN on Friday, he shared the theory that the situation in Ukraine has become a stalemate because the United States does not have the money to finance Kiev more.

According to this information, due to the impasse of the current situation, Pentagon officials have not held a single meeting since last month to decide on sending military weapons to Ukraine – because there is no money left for providing aid packages. .

The unnamed military official added: At the same time, some officials and lawmakers are pushing to approve a new aid package to Ukraine amid the success of presidential candidate Donald Trump. The American Republic has found a more aggressive spirit. Because if Trump wins the presidential election in 2024, he will significantly reduce the budget for Kyiv, so the remaining period until the end of Joe Biden’s presidency is the “last chance” for military support for Ukraine.

Russian Ministry of Defense: 21 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered in one week

Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported on Friday that within a week, 21 soldiers of the Ukrainian armed forces surrendered to the Russian armed forces.

In the statement of the Ministry of Defense, it is said: During the past week, 21 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered, 14 of them were on the southern front of Donetsk. In addition, in this orientation, the losses of the Ukrainian army amounted to 1880 soldiers killed and wounded. According to this information, during the last week, the planes of the Russian air and air defense systems destroyed a large number of Western heavy military equipment of the Ukrainian military, including 274 drones. In addition, from January 13 to 19, Russian forces carried out 17 airstrikes using high-precision weapons against gathering places of Ukrainian armed forces, including foreign mercenaries, and enterprises of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex.

Kremlin: There is no reason to resume the grain agreement

Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman, announced to reporters on Friday that there is no basis for resuming negotiations on the continuation of the Black Sea grain export agreement.

He said : “As far as we were concerned, this agreement was never fully implemented that there was any reason to continue it.” He called the way they export grain dangerous and reminded that “ship owners and transport companies should be aware that they are working despite the great risk.”

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