Germany Zelensky ends European promotional tour for "victory plan"
After his three-day tour of Europe, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has promised his compatriots further international support for the war against Russia. It is already the third year of this war with Ukraine and the millions of Ukrainians deserve this support, said the head of state in his daily video message before his departure from Berlin.
12.10.2024, 09:27
SDA
He presented his "victory plan" in Germany, the UK, France and Italy. "All the details of our strategy to bring peace closer - geopolitical, military, economic," said Selenskyj, without being more specific.
The plan has not yet been made public. The only thing that is clear is that Ukraine is demanding the release of long-range weapons for strikes against military targets deep in the Russian hinterland and an official invitation to join NATO. The Ukrainian leadership has repeatedly stated that the aim must be to destroy Russia militarily so that it can never start another war.
Selensky plans an effective second peace summit
Joint action is important, Selensky appealed to the foreign partners. "Everyone who has the necessary power and influence to guarantee a reliable peace and force Russia to make peace," he said. Action must be taken. From now on, his team will work with partners in Europe to maximize the content of the planned steps.
"And this plan of ours must lead to an effective second peace summit to end the war," the President continued. It is about a just and fair end to the war. "I am sure that the Victory Plan - if the partners are really determined to stand by our side - will become a reliable bridge between the situation now and the peace we are striving for," emphasized Selensky.
In his speech, he thanked Germany in particular for its military assistance. "I am particularly grateful for the air defense systems. Germany is undoubtedly the leader in this support," said the President, highlighting another Iris-T air defense system. Support for the coming year had already been discussed with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). "It is particularly important for us that the amount of aid from Germany remains stable, and despite everything, this will be a signal for a safe path to peace."
Malice from Moscow after Zelensky's visit to Germany
The Russian parliament reacted with malicious comments to Zelensky's visit to Germany and the announcement of further military aid. "Will this save the Kiev regime? Definitely not!" wrote the head of the State Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee, Leonid Sluzki, on Telegram. All the howitzers and tanks supplied would burn like the German Tiger tanks once did during the Second World War. A Russian victory is inevitable. "And Scholz had better take care of the problems of the German voters," said Sluzki.
Russian media have been following Zelensky's trip to Europe with great interest over the past few days. Several commentaries stated that the West's military support for Ukraine was declining and that Zelenskyi was trying to keep his allies happy and buy time with his statements on peace talks and the "victory plan". Ukraine's aim is still to continue the war to recapture its own territories with new arms supplies from the West and its own ramped-up arms production.
New Russian and Ukrainian drone attacks
On Saturday night, the Russian military again launched combat drones into various regions of Ukraine. Several swarms of the unmanned missiles equipped with explosives were reported near Sumy and Kharkiv in the east as well as from Zaporizhia. No information was initially available on the effects of these attacks.
Ukraine itself again attacked several regions in Russia with drones in its defensive campaign against the invasion, which has been ongoing for more than two and a half years. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported the launch of 47 of these missiles in the morning, many of them in the Krasnodar region in the south of the country. The authorities there reported numerous cases of damage to houses caused by falling debris, but no injuries.
Fighting continues in the Kursk region
Meanwhile, Russian troops claim to have recaptured more than a dozen towns in the Kursk border region. "Of the Kursk settlements that were occupied by the enemy, 15 have already been liberated," claimed the commander of the Chechen special unit "Akhmat", Apti Alaudinov, in an interview for the newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda". The information could not be independently verified.
According to Russian authorities, Ukrainian troops had taken control of 28 Russian towns and villages. However, according to information from Kiev, almost 100 Russian towns in the Kursk region came under Ukrainian control after the advance at the beginning of August.
Impending heating failure in Pokrovsk
The frontline eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk is at risk of being left without a district heating supply this winter due to the constant Russian shelling. "Due to the lack of natural gas, water and electricity, the heating season is at risk and will probably not take place," explained the head of the city's military administration, Serhij Dobrjak, in a statement.
More than 12,000 of the city's 60,000 inhabitants are said to remain. The front line runs about eight kilometers southeast of Pokrovsk. In a recent report, the United Nations warned of impending heating and power outages throughout Ukraine due to the damage to power plants caused by Russian shelling.
According to a UN report, September was the month with the highest number of civilian casualties in 2024, with 208 civilians killed and 1,200 injured. Around half of the victims were over 60 years old; eight percent of the victims were recorded in the areas controlled by Russia. Civilian casualty figures have been rising again since July.
