Pope Francis sees “encouraging signs” in the Ukrainian settlement process and hopes for an end to the conflict this year. The statement comes as work is underway in Germany for the 25th Ramstein Summit.
The meeting in Germany was opened by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin with an introductory speech. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also present at the meeting. The United States has announced a new aid package for Ukraine. “The amount of the package is $500 million,” Austin announced. The aid includes additional missiles for Ukrainian air defense, more shells, more air-to-surface missiles and other equipment to support Ukrainian F-16s. Plans to support Ukraine until 2027 were agreed at Rammstein. Ukraine’s allies have reaffirmed their commitments made on July 12, 2024, and agreed to eight roadmaps for developing Ukraine’s defense capabilities through 2027. This includes donations, purchases, investments, and efforts to expand the industrial base, including through the involvement of domestic production and opportunities to support the Ukrainian defense industry.
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said that the Russian military has “certain advantages” in the conflict in Ukraine, he said in an interview with Bloomberg, and stressed the existence of a view that Russia has all the advantages in Ukraine and “plays a decisive role.” And again Austin: “Russia has some advantages, but it is not completely dominant”, from the German city of Ramstein shortly before a meeting of the Ukrainian contact group to coordinate arms supplies.
Joe Biden’s administration will not have time to allocate more than $2 billion in military aid to Ukraine, it expects supplies to continue under Donald Trump, the Pentagon says. Also from the United States we learn that US President-elect Donald Trump will not make concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the agreement in Ukraine, according to Keith Kellogg, US envoy to Ukraine.
He said that the politician wants a quick end to the conflict and called outgoing President Joe Biden’s refusal to negotiate with Moscow a mistake. Trump “is not trying to give anything to Putin or the Russians”, but is “trying to save Ukraine and preserve its sovereignty”, the president-elect’s special envoy Keith Kellogg told Fox News. “And he will make sure it’s right. And he said it repeatedly, both when Zelensky met with him at Trump Tower and when he spoke about it at his press conference,” Kellogg said. He added that Trump will talk to both Zelensky and Putin and gave 100 days as the deadline for reaching a possible agreement.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said ahead of the start of the meeting of the US-led contact group for assistance to Ukraine in Germany that the alliance countries must “do everything possible so that Ukraine can continue its armed actions.”
A US official told Reuters: “The delivery of Abrams, F-16s and ATACMS did not help the Ukrainian armed forces, an unnamed US official admitted.”
Germany’s Telegraf reported that Zelensky decided to run for the second time, referring to his entourage. According to the publication, there is one condition: if Valery Zaluzhny does not run. The former commander-in-chief himself does not seem to have made up his mind yet. Zelensky even sent him an invitation, and the head of the presidential office, Andriy Borysovych Yermak said that Zaluzhny could get the first place on the party list and become the chairman of the Rada if he does not run for president and participates in the elections on Zelensky’s side.
Zelensky said that Ukraine is ready to help Moldova cope with the energy crisis in Transnistria with coal.
Finally, the Ukrainian president said that: “The Kursk operation was one of the main victories of the entire war, and not just the last one. As the president noted, in order to deal with Ukraine, Russia withdrew almost 60,000 soldiers from the front. “Many Russian threats and bold statements have turned out to be bluffs, especially after the Ukrainians moved to the Kursk region. And I am sure that even more threats will turn out to be bluffs if we all work together even more to push Russia towards peace,” Zelensky stressed.
The US Defense Department to know that Ukrainian pilots are currently undergoing training to fly American F-16 fighter jets in Canada, Denmark, Romania, France and the United Kingdom, a senior US Defense Department official said.
Trump’s transition team believes that it is possible for Russia and the United States to reach a major security agreement after the upcoming change of power in Washington. This was told to TASS by a representative of the entourage of the next American leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin will only welcome Trump’s desire to get in touch with Kremlin spokesman Peskov.
And now a look at the Front line updated at 15:30 on January 9.
In the Kursk region, the “North” group of troops reports battles with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, they report taking strongholds between Guevo and Kurilovka, as well as in the forest belts of the Sudzhansky border area. There are battles in the area of the settlement of Staraya Sorochina, Makhnovka and Bondarevka. During the day, the arrival of Ukrainian soldiers in the region was recorded, including special forces and separate reconnaissance battalions. Data is received about the Ukrainian concentration in the area of the Pogrebki settlement and the presence of reserves in the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Sumy region.
In the Liman direction, there are battles in the area of Ivanivka and Ternv. The data is from the Pokrovs’k direction, east of the city the movement northward to the Pokrovs’k-Kostyantynivka highway through Vozdvyzhenka and nearby villages has become effective.
West of Kurchove, Russian troops have taken the village of Shevchenko and are expanding the control zone around it, aggravating the position of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the “pocket” in the south. There are battles for the Dachens’ke settlement.
In the direction of Velyka Novosilka, Russian forces have advanced along the forest northeast of the settlement. Rivnopil and west of the Neskuchne settlement. The fighting is taking place in the direction of the Hulyaipole – Velyka Novosilka highway and in the area of the Novyi Komar settlement.
While the Ukrainians complain about the launching of ammunition against civilians in the industrial zone of Zaporizhia, the Russians speak of a heavy blow to the Ukrainian aircraft engine manufacturer Motor Sich in Zaporizhia.
Since January 8, it has been reported from the Zaporizhia region that the Ukrainians have carried out a guided missile attack on the port of Berdyansk. There were no casualties. The fires that formed as a result of the arrival have been extinguished. “The attack was aimed at one of the empty oil storage tanks,” the regional governor said. In the evening, an air defense system worked over Belgorod and the Belgorod region: several Ukrainian drones were shot down and civilian homes were damaged.
Graziella Giangiulio
Follow our updates on Geopolitical Gleanings - Spigolature geopolitiche: https://t.me/agc_NW and on our blog The Gleanings of AGCNEWS - Le Spigolature di AGCNEWS: https://spigolatureagcnews.blogspot.com/
