Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to be present in person in Brussels on Thursday for a meeting of EU heads of state and government.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was invited to participate in “a future summit” of the Twenty-Seven, announced Monday, February 6 a spokesperson for the President of the European Council Charles Michel, without further details. “For security reasons, no additional information will be disclosed”, Barend Leyts said on Twitter. Franceinfo summarizes the main developments of the day in the war in Ukraine.
Volodymy Zelensky expected in Brussels
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should be present in person on Thursday February 9 in Brussels for a meeting of Heads of State and Government of the European Union, learned France Télévisions from a French diplomatic source on Monday. If confirmed, it would be the Ukrainian president’s first visit to the EU capital since the start of the Russian military offensive against his country on February 24, 2022. Volodymyr Zelensky was invited to take part in “a future summit” of the Twenty-Seven, for his part announced a spokesperson for the President of the European Council Charles Michel, without further details.
UN fears ‘wider war’
While the “escalation risks” in Ukraine are increasing, the world is heading “Eyes wide open” towards “a wider war”Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary General, was alarmed on Monday in a particularly somber speech presenting his priorities for 2023. War in Ukraine, climate crisis, extreme poverty… “We started 2023 with our sights set on a convergence of challenges never seen in our lifetime”Antonio Guterres told the UN General Assembly.
“We have to wake up and get to work”he insisted, drawing up a list of pressing issues for 2023. At the very top of this list, the war in Ukraine. “The prospects for peace keep shrinking. The risks of further escalation and carnage keep growing.”
Norway prepares major aid
Sometimes accused of being a “war profiteer” Due to the surge in its gas revenues, Norway plans to redistribute part of this windfall to Ukraine and other countries affected by the repercussions of the conflict. Seventy-five billion crowns, or 6.8 billion euros: this is the envelope that the rich Scandinavian country intends to devote to Ukraine over five years (2023-2027), according to a proposal presented Monday by its government center left. “We are proposing that Norway commits to give a lasting contribution to Ukraine, over several years”Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said at a press conference. “It means that Ukraine knows that we stand by its side (…) and that Russia must hear that free and democratic countries support Ukraine”he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his gratitude on Twitter, hailing “a significant contribution to our future victory over the aggressor and to a successful post-war reconstruction”.
Violent clashes in Bakhmout
“Fierce fighting is taking place in the northern districts” of Bakhmout, “for every street, every house, every stairwell”, said Sunday the leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Evguéni Prigojine, whose fighters are on the front line there. Moscow has been seeking to take this eastern Ukrainian city since the summer, at the cost of heavy casualties on both sides and great destruction. The Ukrainian defense there has been weakened since recent Russian territorial gains, including in particular the town of Soledar further north.