This Monday was the 1013th day of the war in Ukraine, which broke out almost three years ago now, on February 24, 2022. Here is what to remember from the news related to the conflict on December 2, 2024.
Strong Russian pressure in Donbass
On the front, Monday was marked by new fighting in the Pokrovsk sector (southern Donbass), and by new Russian advances. They also continued to put strong pressure on the town of Kurakhové, located south of Pokrovsk, and on that of Velyka Novosylka, located at the hinge between the southern and eastern fronts.
Record Russian advances in November
Recurring in the sector in recent days, these advances have resulted in the total km2 gained by the Russians in Ukraine reaching in November a level not seen since March 2022, theAgence France Pressebased on the dataInstitute for the study of war.
The Russian army advanced a total of 725 km2 during the month of November. This is roughly the equivalent of the territory of Singapore, notes the news agency.
Olaf Scholz and visit in Ukraine
Two years after his last visit, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited kyiv as part of a surprise visit. The German Chancellor announced the delivery in December of military aid of 650 million euros.
“Russia does not give gifts, and we can only guarantee peace through force: the force of our weapons, our diplomacy and our cooperation”urged Volodymyr Zelensky during a press conference with Olaf Scholz. He judged ” fundamental “ for kyiv than Berlin “don’t reduce your support next year”.
Moscow accuses the West of wanting a ceasefire to rearm Ukraine
Russia accused the West on Monday of wanting a ceasefire in Ukraine to give itself time to rearm kyiv, whose troops are struggling on the front against Russian forces.
In Western chancelleries, “we are starting to talk about a ceasefire as a way to give Ukraine a respite and to give ourselves the opportunity to once again force-feed Ukraine with modern long-range weapons”denounced the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, receiving his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, in Moscow. “This is certainly not the path to peace”he again lamented, in comments reported by theAFP.
110 Russian drones over Ukraine
During the morning, Ukraine also indicated that it had suffered a new night attack. In total, Russia reportedly fired 110 drones in an attack that left one dead and three injured in the western town of Ternopil.
The Ukrainian Air Force, for its part, indicated that 52 of the 110 drones were shot down by anti-aircraft defense, and 50 of them disappeared from radar, ” probably “ due to the jamming of the Ukrainian army.
Vladimir Putin renounces his Olympics
The Russian president announced this Monday in a decree that he was giving up organizing his Friendship Games, which were supposed to compete with the Olympic Games and which were initially planned for this year.
“In order to defend the rights of athletes and sports organizations to free access to international sporting activities”, Vladimir Putin ordered “postpone until a special decision” the holding of these World Friendship Games.
