Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 Minutes takes stock for you every evening. Between the strong declarations, the advances on the front and the results of the fighting, here is the essential part of this Wednesday, December 11, 2024, the 1,022nd day of the war.
Fact of the day
The Russian military claimed that “six American-made ATACMS ballistic missiles” were used to attack the Taganrog military airfield in the Rostov region in the southwest of the country on Wednesday morning. Two of them were “shot down” and “the others hijacked by electronic warfare equipment,” assured the Russian army. The falling debris “injured personnel” at the military site and two buildings were “damaged”. The Ukrainian authorities, for the moment, have not claimed responsibility or commented on this alleged attack.
In response, Russia promised “a response”. A senior American official warned on Wednesday, on condition of anonymity, that Moscow could strike Ukraine with an Orechnik missile “in the coming days”.
In recent days, after similar strikes using ATACMS missiles, President Vladimir Putin had threatened to bomb decision-making centers in kyiv with his experimental Orechnik hypersonic missile, which can carry a nuclear charge, and Western countries that help the Ukraine to attack Russian territory.
Today's statement
« “We proposed a Christmas ceasefire and a large exchange of prisoners. It is sad that President Zelensky clearly rejected and excluded him today. We did what we could! » »
The lyrics are by Viktor Orban. The Hungarian Prime Minister, current President of the Council of the European Union, spoke by telephone this Wednesday with Vladimir Putin on the subject of Ukraine. He subsequently affirmed that kyiv had rejected an offer to stop hostilities “by Christmas”.
For his part, Vladimir Putin denounced “the destructive line of the kyiv regime” which excludes a “peaceful resolution”, according to this Kremlin statement which specifies that the two leaders also spoke about the situation in Syria.
For its part, the Ukrainian presidency claims not to have “discussed” with Orban a ceasefire at Christmas. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also accused the Hungarian leader of undermining European “unity” by having this conversation with Vladimir Putin. “There cannot be discussions about the war that Russia is waging against Ukraine without Ukraine,” he added.
The number of the day
2.000. This is the number of German companies active in Ukraine, a country with which the amount of trade increased from 8 billion to almost 10 billion euros between 2021 and 2023, according to Olaf Scholz. The German Chancellor on Wednesday called on his country's companies to invest in Ukraine which, according to him, is “a future member of the EU”.
“If you invest in Ukraine today and in the years to come, you are investing in a future EU member,” assured Olaf Scholz at the 7th German-Ukrainian Economic Forum. After the war triggered by the Russian invasion in February 2022, Ukraine will experience “growth rates and development opportunities that we only experience in the Central and Eastern European countries that joined the EU in the last two recent decades,” he assured.
This enlargement of the Union has “benefited” the German economy, he stressed, one more reason to “support” kyiv in “its search for a just peace”. For Olaf Scholz, “the EU accession process creates certainty” that Ukraine “will become” a full member of the Union.
The trend
US President-elect Donald Trump said his priority would be to “resolve the Ukraine problem with Russia”, among the multiple ongoing crises in the world, in an interview with the magazine Paris Match published this Wednesday. “The priority is to resolve the Ukraine problem with Russia. These two countries are suffering incredible human losses. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers are killed,” Donald Trump told the weekly.
“There are a lot of crises in the world. In recent days, we have had news in Syria. They will have to fend for themselves because we are not involved there, and neither is France,” he added. “The Middle East is also a big priority, but I think it is a less difficult situation to manage than Ukraine and Russia,” he said.
Our file on the war in Ukraine
Donald Trump, who will take office on January 20, has long asserted that once in power, he would end the conflict which has lasted for almost three years in “24 hours”, raising concerns in Ukraine, which fears being pushed to make significant territorial concessions to Russia in exchange for peace.
