Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Wednesday that he had spoken with Donald Trump on the telephone, after the latter’s victory in the American presidential election. With the former president coming to power, kyiv fears a disengagement from Washington.
But Ukraine will perhaps be able to count on more active support from South Korea. President Yoon Suk Yeol announced Thursday that his country does not rule out “the possibility of supplying weapons” in kyiv, a change in policy linked to the sending of North Korean troops to Russia.
We take stock of the events that have marked recent hours.
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Appeal between Zelensky and Trump
Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that he had an “excellent” telephone exchange with Donald Trump after his victory in the American presidential election.
“We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation,” said the Ukrainian president on the social network “Strong, steadfast U.S. leadership is essential for our world and for a just peace,” he assured.
Read also: War in Ukraine: kyiv claims to have captured 717 Russian soldiers during its Kursk offensive
South Korea does not rule out direct arms shipment to Ukraine
South Korea has not ruled out directly delivering weapons to Ukraine, the South Korean president announced on Thursday, referring to a possible adjustment of Seoul’s policy in this area. The government of this country, a major arms exporter, had already indicated that it was studying the possibility of sending weapons directly to kyiv, in response to the deployment of soldiers by Pyongyang to support Moscow in its war against ‘Ukraine.
It has opposed it until now because of a long-standing national policy that prevents it from supplying weapons to countries engaged in active conflicts.
“Now, depending on the level of North Korean involvement, we will gradually adjust our support strategy in several stages,” South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said at a news conference in Seoul. “This means that we do not exclude the possibility of supplying weapons,” he added, specifying, without saying more, that “if we engage in arms support, we consider defensive weapons as a priority.”
Biden administration moves to deliver military aid before Trump’s inauguration
The Biden administration plans to accelerate delivery of the remaining $6 billion in military aid to Ukraine before Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, according to reports from the information site Politico.
It normally takes months for munitions and military equipment to arrive in Ukraine after an aid package is announced, meaning the newly elected president could cut off these final deliveries in January.
According to Politico, of the 61 billion dollars in aid (around 57 billion euros) voted by Congress in April, only 6.4 billion dollars remain, including a component intended to replenish already existing weapons stocks and a another to be used to sign contracts with American arms companies.
