This attack comes on Christmas Day which, until now, was celebrated on January 7 in Ukraine, like the Russian Orthodox Church. But for the second year, Ukrainians celebrated Christmas on December 25, as a symbol of distancing themselves. Just as we can see a message from Vladimir Putin on the day chosen for this Russian attack.
Poland in support
With the prospect of American disengagement due to Donald Trump's return to power in the United States from January 20, Emmanuel Macron recently went to Poland to meet with Prime Minister Donald Tusk. European support for Ukraine, which lacks soldiers, was mentioned in view of the Polish presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1is January for a period of six months.
Poland is at the forefront of helping Ukraine but the two countries have confused relations. At issue, above all, is the question of the memory of the Volhynia massacre, during which Polish civilians were massacred by members of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army during the Second World War. The question of the exhumation of mass graves on Ukrainian soil has become central in Poland. Economic relations are also tense.
Trump to change the situation?
As for Trump, who took advantage of the Notre-Dame reopening ceremony to meet Zelensky and Macron, he promised to resolve the war “in one day”, without saying how. Concerning the prospect of Ukraine's membership in NATO, “necessary for our survival” according to Zelensky, the American president-elect did not clearly comment on the subject. Joe Biden feared that this would be seen as a declaration of war on Russia, which sees it as an “unacceptable” threat, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov.
Putin can count on some European support, notably the Prime Ministers of Hungary and Slovakia, Viktor Orban and Robert Fico. While Pope Francis called to “silence the guns in martyred Ukraine” this Wednesday, a Ukrainian attack left four dead and several injured in Russia. More than 1,000 days after the Russian invasion began on February 24, 2022, the intensity of the conflict remains at a high level.
