► Washington announces additional military aid of $725 million
Washington announced on Monday, December 2, additional military aid for Ukraine, valued at $725 million and including missiles and other munitions, according to a press release from American Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“The United States is providing a large new batch of weapons and equipment (…) This additional aid (…) is valued at $725 million”according to the text. Less than two months before the inauguration of Donald Trump, the Joe Biden administration says it wants “ensure that Ukraine has the capabilities it needs to defend itself against Russian aggression”.
► Zelensky tells Scholz he needs more weapons for a “just” peace
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted he needs more weapons and stronger Western diplomacy to achieve peace ” just “receiving in kyiv the German Olaf Scholz, who is trying to pose as chancellor of peace and recently resumed contact with Vladimir Putin.
The head of the German government assured that Russia will not be able to “anger” his conditions in kyiv, a little more than two weeks after his controversial interview with the Russian president.
“Russia does not give gifts. And we can only guarantee peace through force: the force of our weapons, our diplomacy and our cooperation”and exhorte Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Ukrainian president assured that he had spoken with the German chancellor about the delivery of Taurus missiles, capable of hitting Russian territory, something Berlin still refuses for fear of a Russian escalation.
► Moscow accuses the West of wanting a ceasefire to rearm Ukraine
Russia has accused the West of wanting a ceasefire in Ukraine to give itself time to rearm kyiv, whose troops are struggling on the front.
In Western countries, “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.
► The Russian army advanced by 725 km² in November
The Russian army advanced over 725 km² into Ukrainian territory during the month of November, its largest territorial gain in a month since March 2022 and the first weeks of the war, according to an AFP analysis from data from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Over the entire month of November, Russian forces gained more ground than in October (610 km²), which already marked an unprecedented advance for more than two and a half years, particularly in the east. of Ukraine near the town of Pokrovsk.
► Ukraine: Russian attack with 110 drones
Ukraine announced Monday, December 2 that it had been targeted by 110 Russian drones during the night, an attack which left one dead and three injured in the town of Ternopil, in the west of the country, according to the authorities.
Russia has for months been carrying out massive nighttime attacks against Ukraine's energy infrastructure using Iranian-designed explosive drones.
“One person died, three were injured and around a hundred residents were evacuated”Ukrainian rescue services said on Telegram.
► Visiting kyiv, Olaf Scholz announces new military aid
Germany will deliver new military aid to Ukraine worth 650 million euros, announced Chancellor Olaf Scholz upon his arrival for a surprise visit to kyiv.
“Germany will remain Ukraine’s main support in Europe”assured the German head of government, campaigning for his re-election. He positions himself as the chancellor of peace and supporter of restraint to avoid an escalation between the West and Russia.
“Ukraine can count on us. We say what we do. And we do what we say”the chancellor also wrote about X upon his arrival in kyiv. His last visit to the country was in June 2022, a few months before the Russian invasion began in February 2022.
► Germany warns China against any support for Russia
The head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock, warned her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi against “growing support” from China to Russia, during a meeting in Beijing, the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“China's growing support for Russia's war against Ukraine impacts our relations because it touches on the fundamental security interests of Germany and Europe”said Annalena Baerbock, according to the press release.
China says it has never supplied any lethal weapons used in Ukraine, but Beijing remains a top political and economic ally of Russia, and has never condemned the Russian invasion.