War in Ukraine: Fuel depot hit, Zelensky in Davos, work on meeting with Trump… an update on the situation

Volodymyr Zelensky s’est rendu ce mardi au forum de Davos, en Suisse. MAXPPP – Hannes P Albert

Tous les jours, Midi Libre fait le point sur la situation en Ukraine. Ce mardi 21 janvier 2025, découvrez les dernières actualités autour de ce conflit.

Aircraft plant hit

The Ukrainian military announced on Tuesday that it had struck a fuel depot and an aircraft manufacturing site in western Russia with attack drones on Tuesday.

“Drones […] of the Ukrainian armed forces struck the Liskinskaya oil depot in the Voronezh region”, the Ukrainian General Staff explained on Facebook, specifying that it had also “struck the infrastructure of the Smolensk aircraft plant” in the eponymous region, “where combat aircraft are being modernized and built.”

Also read: He didn't know how to use a weapon or where he was… the damning revelations of a North Korean soldier on the war in Ukraine

Zelensky in Davos

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Europe on Tuesday for “unity” in matters of defense and security during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The Forum met just hours after the inauguration of Donald Trump, the new US president, whose ceremony was marked by a speech on the primary importance of the United States in global diplomacy and economy, as well as a series of protectionist decrees.

“We need a united European security and defence policy”, hammered home Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, affirming that “Europe must know how to defend itself alone” and no longer depend on the United States, evoking in particular the threats posed to the continent by an alliance between Iran and Russia. During his speech at the economic forum, the Ukrainian president also said he wondered about Donald Trump's intentions regarding his support for NATO.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

“Will President Trump even pay attention to Europe? Does he consider NATO necessary? And will he respect European institutions?”, Mr. Zelensky asked, while calling the United States an “indispensable ally”. He also said that Washington had openly signaled that its security priorities were in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. In early January, the US president had castigated the members of the alliance, asking them to increase their financial participation in terms of defense to 5% of their GDP.

“Europe deserves to be more than a mere spectator, with its leaders reduced to posting on X after a deal has already been done”, Mr. Zelensky also accused. The Ukrainian president also called on Europe to invest in Ukrainian drones, which the country has made a specialty of since almost three years of Russian invasion. In early January, Volodymyr Zelensky had spoken of the “unpredictability” of Donald Trump, who, according to him, could “help end the war”. The new tenant of the White House had thus assured that, in the event of re-election, he would end the war between Ukraine and Russia in “24 hours”.

Read also: War in Ukraine: conquests of two localities, two generals arrested, donation from a production studio… an update on the situation

A meeting with Trump

Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday he was working toward a meeting with Donald Trump to discuss a peace deal with Russia, while calling on European leaders to do more to defend the continent. The Ukrainian president addressed the Davos Economic Forum in Switzerland before taking questions a day after the inauguration of the US president, who has said in the past that he would end the war in Ukraine quickly, without specifying how.

Zelensky said kyiv would not agree to a drastic reduction in the size of its military in negotiations, predicting that Vladimir Putin would demand that it be reduced to one-fifth of its current size. “That's what he wants. We will not allow that to happen,” he said. Asked about the security guarantees that kyiv could request, and in particular the possible deployment of a European peacekeeping force, the Ukrainian president estimated that it should include “at least 200,000 men”. “That's the minimum, otherwise it's useless”, he said. In his speech earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky called on Europe to become a strong global player, capable of ensuring peace and security for itself and others.

Echoing Donald Trump, who called on NATO members to significantly increase their military spending, he said that Europeans had lost influence with the United States because Washington considers its allies’ contribution to global security to be insufficient. “Does anyone in the United States fear that Europe will one day abandon them, that it will cease to be their ally? The answer is no”, Volodymyr Zelensky stressed.