War in Ukraine: Zelensky pleads for unity between Europeans and Americans, Putin accuses kyiv of terrorism… an update on the situation

Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Thursday, December 19, 2024, discover the latest news about this conflict.

In Brussels, Zelensky pleads for unity between Europe and the United States against Moscow

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded Thursday for unity between the United States and the European Union against Russia at the opening of a summit of the Twenty-Seven intended to show the “unwavering support” of the Europeans to kyiv before the arrival of Donald Trump at the White House.

“We need this unity to achieve peace. I think that it is only together that the United States and Europe can truly stop Putin and save Ukraine,”said the Ukrainian head of state. The heads of state and government of the EU member states intend to send a “clear signal” to the US president-elect on their support for Kiev and will stress that any peace agreement must involve Ukraine and respect its territorial integrity, according to European diplomats.

Antonio Costa, the new president of the European Council, for the first time at the helm of a summit, which Emmanuel Macron is not attending, on a visit to Mayotte, assured that Europe would work for a just and lasting peace. “This war is not just about Ukraine, not just about Europe. It is about international law. International law must prevail,” he told reporters, with Volodymyr Zelensky at his side.

EU foreign policy spokeswoman Kaja Kallas said Europe should focus on helping Ukraine first and not call for negotiations for now. “Any premature push for negotiations would be a bad deal for Ukraine,”, she said, as Donald Trump vows to impose a swift negotiated end to the conflict sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

EU leaders plan to reaffirm their “unwavering commitment” to supporting Ukraine “for as long as necessary”, their draft conclusions show. “Russia cannot to prevail”, they estimate.

Moscow’s forces occupy nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s territory and have been making steady gains on the front lines for months. At his annual press conference, Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the situation was changing significantly. “There is movement on all front lines,” , he said. “The fighting is tough, so it is difficult and pointless to predict what awaits us, but we are getting closer to our goals. ”

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On the eve of the Brussels summit, Volodymyr Zelensky met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and several EU leaders on Wednesday evening to discuss immediate aid to Ukraine to support its war effort and long-term security guarantees. The Ukrainian leader later said on the social network X that he had had with Mark Rutte “an important meeting” on“strengthening Ukraine's air defense and ensuring the reliability of the peace we collectively seek to achieve”. NATO “will do everything possible to ensure that Ukraine is as strong as possible when we move to more active diplomacy,”, he said.

Although EU heads of state and government say they are focusing on Ukraine's immediate needs, some officials have begun discussing ways to ensure the country's security after the war, including a possible deployment of European troops.

The issue of trade relations between the EU and the United States will also be on the agenda of the discussions of the Twenty-Seven, threatened by Donald Trump with a sharp increase in customs duties when he comes to power on January 20. European diplomats consider the unity of Europeans to be essential in this matter, in order to avoid bilateral discussions or agreements between the United States and the member countries.

“The United States could try to conduct individual negotiations, but I have not seen any country take the bait so far,” said a diplomat. The EU will emphasize that it is the second largest trading partner of the United States, and a close ally sharing the same values. However, European officials have raised the possibility of offering to buy more liquefied natural gas or weapons from the United States. Relations with China and the UK will also be discussed in a lunchtime debate on the theme “EU and the world”

Ukraine Strikes Russian Refinery in Rostov

Ukraine has struck Russian territory with at least 13 missiles and 84 drones, sparking a fire at an oil refinery in the southern Rostov region, Russian officials said Thursday. As Russia advances at its fastest pace since the war began in 2022, Ukraine has repeatedly attempted to strike Russian oil infrastructure, which funds a significant portion of Moscow’s war effort.

Russian air defenses have shot down 84 drones, including 36 over the Rostov region, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Acting Rostov Governor Yuri Slyusar said Ukraine struck the region with at least 13 missiles and dozens of drones, setting fire to the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery, a repeated target of Ukraine.

The fire was extinguished early Thursday but at least one person was injured in the attack, Slyusar said. It was not immediately possible to determine what types of missiles Ukraine fired at Rostov.

Putin accuses Ukraine of 'terrorism' after Russian general killed

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday accused Ukraine of terrorism following the killing in a Moscow attack of General Igor Kirillov, head of the nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces. The officer was killed Tuesday along with his assistant outside his home, a residential building in the Russian capital, by the explosion of a bomb attached to an electric scooter.

“This murder was committed in a way that endangers the lives of many people. The Kiev regime has repeatedly committed such crimes, terrorist crimes, terrorist attacks against many citizens of the Russian Federation,” Vladimir Putin said at his annual press conference.

The Kremlin announced on Wednesday the arrest of an Uzbek suspect who confessed to having been recruited by Ukrainian special services to build and detonate the bomb that killed General Kirillov.