Volodymyr Zelenskiy sought to boost the domestic mood in Ukraine and maintain western support that has been stuttering in recent weeks in an end-of-year press conference. “I am certain US and European financial support will continue,” the Ukrainian president said. “I’m confident the US won’t betray us.” Asked about reported tensions with his commander-in-chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, he said they had a “working relationship”.
Zelesnkiy insisted that on the battlefield “Russia hasn’t gotten any result from this year”. He said he would not drop his aim to restore Ukraine to pre-2014 territory, including the return of Crimea, but added that battlefield tactics could be changed after “careful consideration” of the results of military operations this year.
The Ukrainian president said if Donald Trump were elected US president in 2024, it could significantly change how the war in Ukraine played out. “If the policy of the next president, whoever it is, is different towards Ukraine, more cold or more economical, I think these signals will have a very strong impact on the course of the war,” Zelenskiy said.
Zelenskiy also said the military had proposed mobilising 450,000-500,000 more Ukrainians into the armed forces in what would mark a dramatic step up of Kyiv’s war. It was a “highly sensitive” issue that the military and government would discuss before deciding whether to send the proposal to parliament, Zelenskiy said.
Meanwhile in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin told defence officials that in Ukraine he would “not give up what is ours”, while claiming the Russian military had momentum. “Our troops are holding the initiative,” Putin said, during the end-of-year meeting with his defence leadership. “We are effectively doing what we think is needed, doing what we want.”
Defence minister Sergei Shoigu told the same meeting that Russia had increased tank production by 5.6 times since the start of what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine, and had laid 7,000 sq km of minefields along the 2,000km (1,250-mile) frontline.
The US Senate will not vote on a package to provide more aid to Ukraine and bolster US border security before early next year, as Democratic and Republican negotiators continue their work, chamber leaders said. “Our negotiators are going to be working very, very diligently over the December and January break period, and our goal is to get something done as soon as we get back,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters.
Russia launched its fifth air attack this month targeting Kyiv late on Tuesday, with Ukraine’s air defence systems destroying all weapons on approach to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv’s military said. “According to preliminary information, there were no casualties or destruction in the capital,” Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said on the Telegram messaging app.
Ukrainian officials have discussed the possibility of reopening Boryspil International Airport, which was closed for war reasons, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said after a Boeing 777-300 operated by local airline Skyline Express took off from the airport with no passengers or cargo on board. The so-called “technical flight” was a sign the infrastructure remains in working condition and safety can be granted despite constant Russian air attacks.
A Polish court convicted 14 citizens of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine for preparing acts of sabotage on behalf of Moscow as part of a spy ring. The defendants were charged last month with acts of espionage such as preparing to derail trains carrying aid to neighbouring Ukraine, and monitoring military facilities and critical infrastructure in the Nato member.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said there had been an “extensive failure” by Russia to take adequate measures to protect civilians in Ukraine and that there were indications that Russian forces had committed war crimes. Turk said his office’s monitoring indicated “gross violations of international human rights law, serious violations of international humanitarian law, and war crimes, primarily by the forces of the Russian Federation”.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said it would maintain its level of wartime investment in Ukraine after securing a rare increase in shareholder capital. The EBRD said the additional €4bn ($4.4bn) “will be used to provide significant and sustained investment for Ukraine’s real economy, both in wartime and in reconstruction”.
The US has issued fresh sanctions on 10 entities and four individuals based in Iran, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia that it accuses of supporting the production of Iranian drones, the Treasury Department said. Washington has long accused Tehran of supplying such weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine, which Iran denies.
