In the context of the war in Ukraine, the new head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, and the new president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, went to kyiv on Sunday 1is December. A way to show their support at a time when Ukrainian forces are retreating and the arrival of Donald Trump at the White House is raising fears of a cessation of American aid.
“The invitation to join NATO necessary for our survival”
Volodymyr Zelensky spoke after his meeting with Kaja Kallas and Antonio Costa, both on a symbolic visit of support to kyiv on the first day of their mandate. Before any negotiations with Russia, the Ukrainian president assured them that his country needed “weapons, including a good number or sufficient number of long-range weapons, of different types”. He also spoke of the need for a “step forward with NATO”, the political-military alliance composed of European and North American countries. “Ukraine’s invitation to join NATO is necessary for our survival,” he pleaded, according to theAFP.
“The situation in Ukraine is very, very serious, but it is clear that it also has a very high cost for Russia,” assured Kaja Kallas, former Prime Minister of Estonia, known for being on the hard line against Moscow. She also believes that “the strongest guarantee of security is NATO membership”.
To put an end to the invasion of Ukraine launched in 2022, Vladimir Putin demands, for his part, that Ukraine cede four regions in the south and east that Russia partially occupies, in addition to annexed Crimea in 2014, and gave up joining NATO.
Also read: In Rennes, these Ukrainians full of hope despite the war
Capture of two Ukrainian villages
The Russian army claimed on Sunday the capture of two new villages in eastern Ukraine, Illinka and Petrivka, in the Donetsk oblast, a region where its advances have accelerated greatly in recent days.
Three dead in Kherson
Russian strikes continued on Sunday. Thirty-two of the 78 Russian drones launched between 8 p.m. and 9 a.m. during the night were intercepted, and 45 were “lost,” the Ukrainian army announced on Sunday, cited by The World .
In Kherson, in southern Ukraine, three people were killed the day before, Saturday, and 11 others were injured in the explosion of a minibus, according to local authorities. It was a Russian drone raid, according to public television.
Also read: REPORTING. In Ukraine, a thirst for normality despite the war
Macron pleads for European defense
The French president has again pleaded in recent days for the development of a Europe of defense and security during telephone contacts with the leaders of Finland and Sweden. “The leaders stressed the need to strengthen support for Ukraine with the aim of defeating the Russian war of aggression and restoring Ukraine to its legitimate rights,” indicated the Élysée.
This support for Ukraine comes through “strengthening the European defense industrial and technological base, in order to reduce our strategic dependencies and strengthen our production capacities”, he added.
