Ukraine-Russia latest: Trump ‘to call Putin’ as Biden plans final surge in military aid to Kyiv
Biden 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.
Ukrainian war-time president Volodymyr Zelensky has congratulated Mr Trump, who will return to the White House, and urged the Republican to keep supporting Kyiv against Mr Putin’s invasion.
The current US administration, expecting a more frugal handling of Ukraine from Mr Trump, is now rushing military aid worth $9bn to Kyiv before Joe Biden exits office in January.
“The administration plans to push forward… to put Ukraine in the strongest position possible” before Trump enters office, a senior Biden administration official said.
‘Our survival depends on American aid’ Ukrainians on Trump’s election
Tom Watling7 November 2024 09:05
In pictures: Kyiv hit by Russian drone attack
Tom Watling7 November 2024 08:44
Two hurt in Russian drone attack on Kyiv, city officials say
Fragments from downed Russian drones injured at least two people and damaged several buildings in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv overnight, city officials said on Thursday.
Ten buildings were damaged by drone debris, including a medical facility and a business centre, said Serhiy Popko, head of the city’s military administration.
The attack also caused a fire in a restaurant on the 33rd storey of a building in the wealthy central Pechersk district, and three residential buildings were also damaged in other areas, Popko said.
Photos posted by the city authorities showed burnt-out vehicles in ruined garages, and shattered windows and charred walls in another location.
Popko said more than 30 drones had been brought down in and around the capital in the latest overnight attack.
“Currently, there is no air raid alert in Kyiv. But there are drones in the airspace of Ukraine that may move towards Kyiv,” he warned in a message on the Telegram app on Thursday morning.
Air raid sirens sounded again in Kyiv shortly after 9.00 a.m. (0700 GMT).
Large-scale drone attacks have become a nightly danger for Kyiv residents over the past month as Russia, which began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, increased the number of drones launched against Ukraine.
Tom Watling7 November 2024 08:25
VOICES: Chris Stevenson: A Trump presidency won’t necessarily be the gift for Putin Moscow thinks it is…
Salma Ouaguira7 November 2024 07:30
What does North Korea stand to gain from sending troops to Russia?
Salma Ouaguira7 November 2024 07:15
North Korea’s troops heading to Ukraine’s frontline as cannon fodder: ‘They will surely be killed’
Putin’s forces are believed to be losing hundreds of troops a day, with Ukrainian estimates going as high as 1,200 to 1,500, so the more than 10,000 troops South Korea believes are in Russia would last two weeks or so at that rate.
“In the big picture, even 12,000 soldiers don’t affect the general situation of the war significantly,” says Emil Kastehelmi, who runs the Black Bird Group, which tracks the war in Ukraine.
Salma Ouaguira7 November 2024 07:00
Russian state TV gloats over Trump victory, hails Putin
“There is only one place in the world where the mood is worse than it is at Kamala Harris’s campaign headquarters: Bankova Street, the office of the president of Ukraine in Kyiv,” the host of the Russian TV show The Big Game, Dmitry Suslov, said after the election, according to a translation from Russia analyst Julia Davis.
“Trump now has 24 hours to end the war in Ukraine. Donald, the clock is ticking! This is what Trump has promised,” presenter Olga Skabeeva said of Trump’s “resounding” victory, according to Davis.
Arpan Rai7 November 2024 06:53
On Ukraine’s front and in Kyiv, hope and pragmatism compete when it comes to Trump’s election
Soldiers in a Ukrainian artillery battery on the front lines in the country’s east were only vaguely aware of American election results of Donald Trump’s victory. But they were firm in their hopes for the next president of the United States. Their entrenched artillery battery fires on Russian forces daily — and takes fire nearly as often. Just the other day, one of their overhead nets snared a Russian drone.
Trump’s election throws into doubt American support for Ukraine — and ultimately whether Kyiv can beat back Russia’s invasion. But Mozart — who like other soldiers did not give his name in keeping with Ukrainian military protocol — is among many Ukrainians who hope that Trump will hold the line on American support for their country. Russian forces have recently made gains in the east, although the commander described the frontline situation as “static.”
Arpan Rai7 November 2024 06:46
Kremlin: US remains ‘unfriendly’ to Russia
The Kremlin has said that the United States remains an “unfriendly” country towards Russia.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that there are no plans for President Vladimir Putin to congratulate Donald Trump on any potential election victory.
Mr Peskov’s comments came as he discussed Moscow’s cautious approach to the changing political landscape in the US, noting that Russia is closely monitoring the statements made by American politicians.
“Our relations with the United States are at a historic low,” he told reporters. “It is practically impossible for them to get any worse.”
The spokesperson acknowledged that the US has the capacity to change its foreign policy approach, but he added that Moscow would wait until January, when Trump is set to take office, to see if there would be any shift in direction.
Salma Ouaguira7 November 2024 06:30
Russian forces capture two more settlements in eastern Ukraine
Russian forces have captured two more settlements in areas of heavy military activity in eastern Ukraine, Russia’s defence ministry said yesterday.
Ukraine’s military noted fighting around both villages in eastern sectors of the 1,000km (600-mile) frontline, but did not acknowledge that either had fallen into Russian hands.
The Russian ministry identified the villages as Maksymivka, just north of the hilltop town of Vuhledar, captured by Russian forces last months after long months of fighting, and Antonivka, near the embattled town of Kurakhove, further north.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s military said Kyiv’s forces had repelled two attacks near Maksymivka and a nearby village in the vicinity of Vuhledar in Donetsk region. Four clashes were still going on, it said.
The general staff reported a “tense” situation around the city of Kurakhove, with 39 Russian attacks on Ukrainian positions. It listed Antonivka as one of several villages in the area where Moscow’s troops were trying to advance.
Arpan Rai7 November 2024 06:21
