The Institute for the Study of War (ISW-USA) said on December 8 that Russian forces have just restored direct attacks to control Pokrovsk, Ukraine’s only coke mining town, after expanding control of the area. south and southeast. In addition, ISW said that the Russian military commanders seem to realize that they have gathered enough resources to gain control of the town of Kurakhove, in order to flatten the western front line of the Donetsk region in the next few weeks.
From left to right: Mr. Trump, Mr. Macron and Mr. Zelensky at the Elysee Palace on December 7
Weapons for Ukraine
On December 7, the US Department of Defense announced a new military aid package worth 988 million USD to Ukraine, accounting for nearly half of the 2.21 billion USD budget of the Ukrainian Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) of the President’s administration. President Joe Biden. CBS quoted a Pentagon statement saying the aid package includes drones, ammunition for high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), as well as equipment and spare parts for artillery systems. soldiers, tanks and armored vehicles. This package brings Washington’s total military aid to Kyiv to more than 62 billion USD since the war broke out in March 2022.
The conflict map is less optimistic for Ukraine as Russia accelerates its attack
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the aid package when speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California, and emphasized the urgency of the US and its global network of allies in continuing to resolutely support Ukraine. . He added that the US has always clearly expressed its choice to support Ukraine and mobilized the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (a network of about 50 parties) to commit to helping Kyiv. “I have convened the contact group 24 times. Other members of the group have committed more than $57 billion in direct security aid to Ukraine,” he said.
Meeting of Mr. Trump – Mr. Zelensky
A few hours before the Pentagon announced the above aid package, French President Emmanuel Macron chaired a three-way dialogue with Ukrainian President Zelensky and US President-elect Trump at the Elysee Palace. Mr. Zelensky later said that the meeting went “good and effective”, and the three sides agreed to continue working together. “Mr. Trump is still resolute as usual. I thank him. We all want this war to end as soon as possible and in a just way,” Mr. Zelensky wrote on social networks and said the two sides discussed “the people, the situation on the ground and just peace”.
For his part, Mr. Trump said Mr. Zelensky and Ukraine wanted to reach an agreement and “stop the madness.” “There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being wasted needlessly, many families are being destroyed and if this continues, it could become something much bigger and worse.” , Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. Meanwhile, Axios website quoted a source saying that initially, Mr. Trump did not want to participate in the meeting, but then agreed.
Point of conflict: The Syrian opposition’s quick victory; Russia used glide bombs to compensate for artillery
According to Reuters, the media paid attention to the “intense” handshakes between French President Macron and President-elect Trump during his first overseas business trip after Trump was re-elected. At the Elysee Palace, Mr. Trump yanked Mr. Macron’s right hand towards him, while both leaders hugged each other and clasped hands, shaking vigorously. As they walked up the steps of the presidential palace and turned back towards the camera, Mr. Trump placed his hand on top of Mr. Macron’s hand and pressed it firmly while shaking hands for the second time. According to Reuters, the above development marked the return of the called “competition” before. At the NATO conference in Belgium in May 2017, Mr. Trump and Mr. Macron clasped each other’s hands so tightly that their fingers turned white.
