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US president Joe Biden is reportedly rushing to get billions more in aid to Ukraine before he exits office in January
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Donald Trump is now likely to call Russia’s Vladimir Putin and tell him to “stop the war”, a former American diplomat has said.
The incoming US president is “going to make a phone call to Putin as quickly as possible and tell Putin that he needs to stop the war, that the fighting has to stop, and that there has to be peace,” Kurt Volker, former US special representative for Ukraine negotiations, said.
Mr Trump does not want to see the Ukraine war continue once he is actually in office, he said, while emphasising that Putin would inevitably have “demands” and that this would only be the start of the conversation.
It comes as European leaders meeting in Budapest, Hungary, urged Mr Trump to continue to support Ukraine amid concerns the president-elect could force Kyiv to the negotiating table.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said it was in everyone’s interest, including the US, “that the autocrats of this world get a very clear message that is not the right of might, that the rule of law is important”.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky echoed that sentiment when addressing leaders in Budapest.
Russian forces are making swift and “significant tactical advances” into the eastern Ukrainian city of Selydove, war monitors have said.
Open source data suggests Russian forces advanced in September at their fastest rate since March 2022, despite Ukraine taking a part of Russia’s Kursk region.
Those rapid advances have continued in the past week as Russian forces appear to be charging towards – or even into – the city of Selydove, which is less than 10 miles south of its main target, the larger city of Pokrovsk, a linchpin of the wider Donetsk region’s defences.
Ukraine’s military say the hottest fighting along the roughly 640-mile frontline is taking place on the outskirts of the eastern city of Selydove
President Macron has urged fellow European leaders to refrain from commenting on Trump’s victory, emphasising that Europe’s role is “not to comment.”
He cautioned that a Russian victory over Ukraine would leave Europe confronting an expansionist “imperial power” on its doorstep.
Speaking to a gathering of 42 leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer, in Budapest, Macron highlighted that Europe is at a “decisive moment” and must take charge of its own future.
Ireland’s Prime Minister Simon Harris has said there are no plans to change Ireland’s military neutrality stance.
Mr Harris said there is a need for Ireland to “invest more in defence and in working on security”.
“Just because you’re militarily neutral, it doesn’t mean that you’re immune from those risks,” he added.
“I think, in relation to Ukraine more broadly, and I look forward to seeing President (Volodymyr) Zelensky today (Thursday), I mean, Europe has to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.
“We cannot have a situation where a country can, through aggression, through illegal war, annex people’s territories. And, you know, there’s been a lot of good work done in terms of the peace summit in Switzerland, which I attended, and other meetings to try and chart a way forward to bring peace to Ukraine.
“But that has to be grounded in the principles of the UN Charter. And I look forward to having an opportunity to really take stock today with around 39 leaders from across the European Union and the broader EU family, including the British prime minister (Sir Keir Starmer), on these issues.”
France’s foreign ministry summoned North Korea’s general delegate in France last week to protest against the deployment of his country’s troops to Russia and warned there would be consequences.
“We are ready to react firmly in coordination with our partners,” French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine told reporters when asked whether sanctions were on the table after North Korea’s decision to send troops to bolster Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Lemoine said France had summoned North Korea’s general delegate in France on Oct. 28 and told him that such support for Russia’s war would not be left without a response.
France does not have diplomatic relations with North Korea, but the general delegate is accredited at UNESCO, the United Nations cultural agency, based in Paris.
An approach of “peace through strength” is needed urgently as Europe confronts the danger posed by Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told leaders at the European Political Community summit in Budapest on Thursday.
Mr Zelensky said that concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin were unacceptable for Ukraine and suicidal for Europe.
Roshchyna’s loved ones now say they want her body back before Russia has a chance to erase what happened to her in custody
Internet access in Russia is not unrestricted, but is far more open than in the closed off North Korea
Ukraine‘s Air Force said on Thursday it had downed 74 Russia-launched drones overnight.
It also said on the Telegram messaging app that an additional 25 from a total of 106 drones had been “locationally lost”.
In the wake of Donald Trump’s re-election in the US, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has called on the European Union to take more responsibilty for it’s defence and for support of Ukraine.
EU officials have reportedly expressed concern privately that a second Trump administration could see the US withdraw at least some of it’s support from the continent.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky revealed his country has had “good conversations” with Donald Trump, following the latter’s election victory in the US. Mr Zelensky congratulated Trump on his victory over Kamala Harris in a new video address on Wednesday evening (6 November). The Ukrainian president said: “I congratulate him on this victory. In general, it was extremely important for us in Ukraine and for all of Europe to consistently hear the words of the then-45th President of the United States about “peace through strength.” And if this becomes the policy principle of the 47th President of the United States, America and the whole world will undoubtedly benefit from it.” During his election campaign, Trump has threatened both a withdrawal of NATO commitments and a fundamental shift of support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
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