Following the data we presented to you earlier about Volodymyr Zelensky’s statements at a Reuters NEXT convention in New York (see post at 16:20), in which he said that Ukraine was contemplating continuing the fighting, we have more to tell you about what the Ukrainian leader said.
In addition to a detailed peace plan to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Zelensky proposed a less traditional concept for ending geopolitical crises: letting dogs rule the planet.
Speaking to Reuters, Zelensky said: “Sometimes I talk about all those wars or all the crises, the Middle East crisis.
“It’s not just about Ukraine, it’s about the whole of Africa and the Middle East.
“Sometimes I look at that and think the solution is for this planet to be the planet of dogs. “
Tonight we reported on a Russian missile in Odessa, southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials said a Liberian-flagged civilian shipment entering a Black Sea port in the region was attacked.
One user was killed and 4 were injured.
The photographs below show the inside and outside perspectives of the Liberian-flagged cargo ship.
We previously reported that a user was killed after a Russian missile broke up a Liberian-flagged civilian shipment entering the Black Sea port of Odessa (see 6:26 p. m. message). m. ).
Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov elaborated on the attack, saying the shipment was aimed at bringing iron ore to China.
Kubrakov added that Russia carried out 21 attacks on port infrastructure after abandoning the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Yoruk Isik, director of consultancy Bosphorus Observer, told Reuters the ship was carrying iron at the port of Pivdennyi when it crashed.
Ukraine’s parliament passed broader martial law and approved a general mobilization in Ukraine for 90 days.
Ukraine’s new Verkhovna Rada will apply from Nov. 16 to Feb. 14, 2024, Yaroslav Zhelezniak, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, said on Telegram.
As a reminder: Ukrainian law prohibits elections under martial law, which has been in place since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.
The country will have to replace the law if it decides to hold a vote.
The United States has spent 96% of the budget it allocated to Ukraine, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said tonight.
Kirby also said the U. S. believes Ukraine can reclaim its territory and claimed progress has been slow.
The U. S. official also said the U. S. believes Ukraine could simply reconquer its territory.
This week, the U. S. Treasury chief called on Congress to fund $11. 8 billion in aid to Ukraine based on President Joe Biden’s request for more spending.
One user was killed and four were injured after a Russian missile broke up a Liberian-flagged civilian shipment entering the Black Sea port of Odessa.
“The missile hit a Liberian-flagged civilian ship as it entered the port,” Ukraine’s Southern Military Command said on Telegram.
The agreement, signed last year, had raised hopes of easing a food crisis exacerbated by Russia’s invasion.
Slovakia has rejected a plan drawn up in the past to donate rockets and ammunition to Ukraine, following new Prime Minister Robert Fico’s pledge to suspend military aid to Kyiv.
The aid package included 140 rockets from the KUB air defense system, more than 5,000 rounds of ammunition for 125mm cannons and 4 million rounds of ammunition for small arms, according to the deal proposed through the NATO country’s interim government ahead of its seizure of power last month. .
But Fico rejected the package at a cabinet meeting today, according to Fico’s website.
Fico has led a crusade criticizing the Western military over Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, and encouraging peace talks, a line similar to that of Hungarian leader Viktor Orban.
The new Slovak leader has said his country will suspend shipments from the military’s retail outlets to Ukraine, but has recently made it clear that personal industry agreements will not be affected.
Germany is ready to finalize the deployment of three Patriot air defense systems in Poland after about a year, the Defense Ministry in Berlin announced.
In addition to the Patriot systems, some 300 German troops have also been stationed in the Polish city of Zamosc, about 48 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, since the beginning of the year to protect the southern city and its rail connection to Ukraine.
The deployment was triggered by a stray Ukrainian missile that hit the Polish village of Przewodow in the region last November, in an incident that raised fears that the war in Ukraine could spread across the border.
The German ministry said in August that the deployment is unlikely to end beyond the end of this year, as the Patriots would be needed for NATO’s immediate reaction force in 2024 or would need to undergo maintenance.
German infantrymen will end their operations on Friday and begin redeploying from next week, the ministry said.
Ukraine has a plan to continue fighting Russian forces despite the difficulty of its counteroffensive and the difficulty of Western leaders in managing the confrontation in the Middle East, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
In a video interview at the Reuters NEXT convention in New York, the president said Ukrainian forces would still try to achieve results on the battlefield this year and that he was confident they would succeed.
He also said Ukrainians were concerned about some voices within the U. S. Republican Party calling for cuts in Kiev.
How’s the counteroffensive going?
After Ukraine made territorial gains in the second half of 2022, Kyiv had high hopes for more significant successes this year.
But progress so far has been modest, as improving Russian defenses has proven effective, and any momentum created in the south and east turns out to be losing steam for now.
The weather becomes humid, making it difficult for heavy appliances to navigate.