Russia-Ukraine war live: Zelenskiy says he will keep up military pressure on Russian-occupied Crimea | Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelenskiy says he will keep up military pressure on Russian-occupied Crimea
The Ukrainian president has vowed to maintain military pressure on Russian-occupied Crimea.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s comments came in a video address to a security conference in Prague on Tuesday that was marred by technical glitches and a possible hacking, Reuters reports.
Kyiv has ramped up strikes on Russian forces in the Black Sea and Crimea, which was seized and annexed by Moscow in 2014, as Ukrainian forces press on with a near five-month counteroffensive.
In remarks disrupted by technical faults, including one that intermittently modulated his voice to a higher pitch, Zelenskiy said the “illusion” of Russia’s domination of Crimea and the Black Sea had been shattered.
He said:
The Russian (Black Sea) fleet is no longer able to operate in the western part of the Black Sea and is gradually fleeing from Crimea. And this is a historic achievement.
Ukrainian attacks in and around Crimea have included strikes on a Russian airbase on the peninsula, a Black Sea fleet command post in Sevastopol, and the only bridge linking Crimea to Russia.
“We have not yet gained full fire control over Crimea and surrounding waters, but we will,” Zelenskiy told a meeting of the Crimea Platform, a diplomatic initiative he launched in 2021. “This is a question of time.”
A spokesperson for the Czech parliamentary speaker said the website for the event, which brought together lawmakers from various countries, “had come under a hacking attack” but did not specify by whom.
Key events
A hospital and a fire station were damaged in the Kherson region an airstrike by Russian forces, Ukraine has claimed.
The State Emergency Service, posting on Facebook today, shared pictures of the roof and windows of what it said was a local fire station that appeared to have sustained damage.
Also, the regional military administration said more than 50 windows, roof and doors were damaged in a hospital in overnight shelling. It added that two women, aged 63 and 66, sustained injuries.
Ukraine expects new €1.4bn ‘winter aid package’ from Germany, says PM
Ukraine expects Germany to provide it with an additional €1.4bn to enhance its air defences and help it get through a second winter at war with Russia, Ukraine’s prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, has said.
“Germany is preparing a €1.4bn winter aid package for Ukraine, including air defence equipment,” he said on X, formerly Twitter.
Kyiv has been pushing its western partners for additional air defence systems, fearing that Moscow plans to increase the number of airstrikes on energy facilities during the winter heating season, according to Reuters.
Ukraine’s prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, met the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and discussed support for Ukraine during an official visit to Germany on Tuesday, the Kyiv Independent reported the government’s press service as saying.
Shmyhal said at the meeting:
Germany plays an important role in strengthening Ukraine’s defence capabilities, as well as in cooperation with the European Commission. Thank you for this, and we count on your continued unwavering support.
Had a meeting with @OlafScholz. Grateful for the organisation of the sixth 🇩🇪🇺🇦 Business Forum, which promotes new investments and projects in Ukraine. We focused on multifaceted support for Ukraine. Germany is our reliable partner.
_________
Провів зустріч із @OlafScholz.… pic.twitter.com/1cdTaTsHEL— Denys Shmyhal (@Denys_Shmyhal) October 24, 2023
Slovakia’s president, Zuzana Caputova, will appoint a new government led by the three-time prime minister Robert Fico on Wednesday, her office said in an emailed statement.
Fico, whose party won the country’s general election last month, has backed humanitarian and reconstruction aid for Ukraine but no further military supplies. He has also called on the EU to force peace talks, a line similar to that of Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, but rejected by Ukraine and its western allies.
Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, has said it is gratifying that Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has submitted a bill approving the Nordic country’s Nato membership bid to Turkey’s parliament for ratification.
Sweden applied last year to join the alliance, but Turkey and Hungary have yet to approve its bid.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has reiterated that preparing for negotiations for his country to join the EU is a top priority.
“Our Europe is at a special moment”, he said. “For decades, it has been separated into two territories: one where our common values are protected by European institutions, and another where they are not. Now, at last, we are a few geopolitical steps away from eliminating this division.
“Ukraine has been implementing the [European] Commission’s seven recommendations as quickly as possible to open accession talks this year. We have done a lot. More than could be expected from a country at war. But Ukraine isn’t seeking political discounts, we’re demonstrating the necessary pace.
“This is a top priority for Ukraine, being ready for the political decision to begin Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations this year. And I hope the same can be said for the European Union. We have laid a solid foundation for this.”
Our Europe is at a special moment.
For decades, it has been separated into two territories: one where our common values are protected by European institutions, and another where they are not.
Now, at last, we are a few geopolitical steps away from eliminating this division. pic.twitter.com/6LghSJC52i
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 24, 2023
EU on track to end Europe’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels, Commission says
The EU is on track towards its goal of ending its reliance on Russian fossil fuels within this decade, the European Commission has said.
The continent is heading into its second winter with scarce Russian gas, after Moscow slashed deliveries last year following its invasion of Ukraine – inflicting an energy crisis of record-high gas prices in Europe.
In a report published on Tuesday, Brussels said the EU expected imports of Russian gas to drop to 40bn-45bn cubic metres this year, compared with 155bn in 2021, the year before the Ukraine war. The 27-country bloc has imposed sanctions on Russian coal and seaborne oil imports.
“The worst effects of the crisis may now be behind us but there is no room for complacency,” the commission said. “Energy markets remain vulnerable, fossil fuel subsidies have increased during the crisis, the inflation is still high and our critical infrastructure needs to be protected, including from sabotages.”
Volodymyr Zelenskiy says he will keep up military pressure on Russian-occupied Crimea
The Ukrainian president has vowed to maintain military pressure on Russian-occupied Crimea.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s comments came in a video address to a security conference in Prague on Tuesday that was marred by technical glitches and a possible hacking, Reuters reports.
Kyiv has ramped up strikes on Russian forces in the Black Sea and Crimea, which was seized and annexed by Moscow in 2014, as Ukrainian forces press on with a near five-month counteroffensive.
In remarks disrupted by technical faults, including one that intermittently modulated his voice to a higher pitch, Zelenskiy said the “illusion” of Russia’s domination of Crimea and the Black Sea had been shattered.
He said:
The Russian (Black Sea) fleet is no longer able to operate in the western part of the Black Sea and is gradually fleeing from Crimea. And this is a historic achievement.
Ukrainian attacks in and around Crimea have included strikes on a Russian airbase on the peninsula, a Black Sea fleet command post in Sevastopol, and the only bridge linking Crimea to Russia.
“We have not yet gained full fire control over Crimea and surrounding waters, but we will,” Zelenskiy told a meeting of the Crimea Platform, a diplomatic initiative he launched in 2021. “This is a question of time.”
A spokesperson for the Czech parliamentary speaker said the website for the event, which brought together lawmakers from various countries, “had come under a hacking attack” but did not specify by whom.
The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has said he wants to place EU support for Ukraine on a sustainable footing by the end of the year to help Kyiv on its path to joining the bloc.
The “Ukraine facility” would bundle grants, loans, private and public investments alongside the grants Ukraine already had access to as a candidate for EU accession, he told a forum in Berlin aimed at encouraging German businesses to invest there.
He said:
Anyone who invests in Ukraine now is investing in a future EU member state that will be part of our legal order and our internal market.
He said more than 2,000 German businesses were operating in Ukraine despite the war, with 35,000 employees working at suppliers to Germany’s automotive sector. Berlin would host a Ukraine reconstruction conference in June, he added.
Moldova has blocked access to more than 20 Russian media websites because of what it called an information war being waged against the country.
An Intelligence and Security Service decree listed 22 Russian news resources subject to the restriction, including well-known ones such as NTV, Russia Today, Ren TV, the state media holding VGTRK and others.
Ukraine’s gross domestic product could grow by more than 4% in 2023 and at least 5% next year, the prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, has said at a business forum in Berlin.
The country’s economy shrank by about a third last year due to the war with Russia.
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