Trump promises a meeting with Putin after the swearing-in

The situation at a glance

Trump promises a meeting with Putin after the swearing-in

Trump repeatedly boasts of his good contacts with Putin. Now he is holding out the prospect of a meeting with the Kremlin chief – after his swearing in.

US President-elect Donald Trump is promising an imminent meeting with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin to end Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. A meeting could take place after his inauguration on January 20, the Republican said at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, when asked by a reporter when he expected a meeting to discuss the situation in Ukraine. He couldn’t say the exact date. “But I know that Putin would like to meet.”

Trump also expressed the hope that the war would be over within six months. “I hope long before six months are over,” he said. Trump regularly boasts about his good contacts with Putin. During the presidential election campaign, he repeatedly claimed that he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours, if possible before he took office. He didn’t say how.

There is great fear in Ukraine that Trump, after being sworn in, could drastically reduce US military aid to the country attacked by Russia, thus causing a defeat for Kiev. The USA is still Ukraine’s most important supporter and largest arms supplier. There are also fears in many EU states that Trump could enforce an unbalanced ceasefire agreement that could effectively make Russia and Putin appear to be the victors of the war of aggression.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky once again pushed for greater progress in European Union accession talks. “This year should be as successful in the negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU as Ukraine and thus the security of our entire Europe need,” said the head of state in his evening video speech. He sees the EU Council Presidency held by Poland in the first half of the year and then Denmark in the second as a favorable circumstance. Both states are “responsible partners”. Kyiv will do everything necessary to take the right steps.

According to unconfirmed reports, the situation for Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk region continues to deteriorate. In the Lyman sector of the front, Russian units are said to have broken through the front line near the village of Ivanivka and are advancing on the village of Kolodjazi. The Ukrainian General Staff wrote in its report on Tuesday of an intensification of fighting in the area. Russian attacks near Ivanivka were confirmed. However, the attacks were largely repelled.

Meanwhile, the pro-government Ukrainian military channel Deep State confirmed the capture of the strategically important small town of Kurakhove in the east of the attacked country by Russian troops. Almost the entire city in the Donetsk region is occupied by Russian forces, which offers them the opportunity to advance west, the military experts wrote on Telegram. On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had taken the city. There was no confirmation of this from the Ukrainian side.

The fighting for Kurachowe lasted around two months. Of the once 18,000 residents, only a fraction remained behind. After the heavy fighting, much of the town is now just a pile of rubble. Moscow’s losses are considered high.

In the eastern Ukrainian mining town of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, which is threatened by Russian conquest, only a fraction of the original population of over 60,000 remains. According to the city’s military administration, there are just over 7,000 people left in the city. Given the security situation, a supply of drinking and industrial water and services such as garbage collection can only be provided in a few parts of the community.