On Wednesday, the president began a tour of the Baltics.
The President of Ukraine arrived in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on Wednesday morning. From here he travels on to Estonia and Latvia.
– Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are our reliable friends and our principled partners. Today I arrived in Vilnius, before I go to Tallinn and Riga, writes Zelenskyj in a message on X/Twitter.
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Zelenskyj’s visit was announced by Lithuania’s presidential office when Zelenskyj arrived in the country on Wednesday morning. The journey was not publicly known in advance.
– The discussions will be about the war in Ukraine, support for Ukraine and Ukraine’s integration into the EU and NATO, the president’s office wrote.
In favor of Russia
At a press conference on Wednesday, the message from Zelenskyj is well known: The country needs more arms support.
– The uncertainty of partners in terms of economic and military support for Ukraine increases Russia’s self-confidence and strength, he said.
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At the top of the list of weapons Ukraine needs is air defense.
– We must understand that Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Moldova can be next out if we do not stand up to Russia, he warned.
Faithful
Both Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are NATO members that border Russia. The countries have distinguished themselves as some of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters.
An agreement was recently concluded between Germany and Lithuania to deploy around 4,800 German soldiers on a permanent basis not far from the border with Russia. The deployment is planned to take place in 2027.
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The debate about support for Ukraine has raged in the US Senate and in the EU.
At the EU summit in December, Orban caused unrest and a bad mood when, as the sole head of government, he vetoed the granting of an aid package of 50 billion euros to Ukraine over four years via the EU’s budgets.
But now he may be sliding towards a compromise, reports Politico.
Hungary is said to have sent signals that it may be willing to lift its veto against the aid package being adopted for one year at a time, and not four as in the original proposal.
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But other EU countries are against it.
On 1 February, an extraordinary EU summit will be held on the issue.
Goal: Common solution
As Belgium took over the chairmanship of the EU on 1 January, it is Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo who, together with EU President Charles Michel, is responsible for unloading a solution.
On Wednesday, De Croo was given the green light by the member states to start negotiations with the EU Parliament on the aid package, that is, to do the groundwork before the EU’s heads of state and government make a final decision at the summit.
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Without fresh funds, Ukraine risks running out of money in a short time.
A plan B, that the EU countries give their contribution to Ukraine individually, has also been on the table for some time. But this is a far more cumbersome and not least expensive solution than if the EU provides joint support.
At a meeting with correspondents in Brussels on Tuesday, De Croo stated that the goal is still to find a solution that all 27 member states stand behind, writes the Swedish news agency TT.
Germany warns
At the same time, German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz is putting heavy pressure on his European colleagues to secure both more money and more weapons for Ukraine. Without more support, Russia will win, he warns.
– I am asking our allies in the EU to step up their support for Ukraine. The arms deliveries planned so far by the majority of EU countries are far too small, says Scholz.
Germany itself plans to send arms and material to the value of around NOK 90 billion to Ukraine. But that is nowhere near enough, Scholz points out.
Germany has now put forward a proposal that all EU countries will have to explain their Ukraine plans at the summit on 1 February at the latest.
On Wednesday, there was a meeting at ambassadorial level in the NATO-Ukraine Council. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba speaks Politico that he hopes the meeting results in new weapons promises such as Patriot defense missiles, IRIS-T and Norwegian-produced NASAMS.
2024-01-10 14:33:44
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