Zelenskiy calls for western unity to stop Russia
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said the west should show unity and called for more support for Ukraine to ensure that Russia does not prevail, Reuters reports.
In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Zelenskiy said that the west’s fears about escalation had lost Kyiv time in its struggle against Russia.
“In fact, Putin embodies war … He will not change … We must change. We all must change to the extent that the madness that resides in this man’s head or any other aggressor’s head will not prevail,” Zelenskiy said.
He also said that he had received “positive signals” on financial support from the EU, and that he hoped that the US would approve further aid within weeks.
US Congress last month failed to approve $50bn (£39bn) in security aid for Ukraine as negotiators fell short of a deal.
Ukraine is separately waiting to receive a €50bn (£43.5bn) package from the EU, delivery of which has looked uncertain after Hungary blocked the EU from approving the aid.
Closing summary
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, said it was “impossible” to take away from Russia the military gains it had made in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s parliament has passed a law creating an electronic registry for the purposes of mobilisation, Yaroslav Zhelezniak, a member of parliament, said.
Helping Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion should be done in a way that doesn’t harm the EU’s budget, Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has said. He told a news conference: “If we want to help Ukraine, which I think we need to do, we have to do it in a way that doesn’t harm the EU’s budget.”
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said the west should show unity and called for more support for Ukraine to ensure that Russia does not prevail, Reuters reported. In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Zelenskiy said that the west’s fears about escalation had lost Kyiv time in its struggle against Russia.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said in Davos today that Europe needs to continue backing Kyiv, citing the need for “predictable” funding. “We must continue to empower their resistance. Ukrainians need predictable financing throughout 2024 and beyond,” she said.
Authorities in Ukraine’s north-east region of Kharkiv urged residents of more than two dozen villages near the frontline to evacuate because of worsening Russian attacks in the area.
Putin will receive North Korea’s foreign minister, Choe Son-hui, on Tuesday evening, the Kremlin said. Pyongyang’s top diplomat is in Russia for a three-day visit and is holding talks with Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, on Tuesday during the day.
The mayor of the southern Russian city of Voronezh declared a state of emergency on Tuesday after what officials said was a Ukraine-launched drone attack, the Reuters reported this morning.
