Zelenskyj meets Macron – Many dead after attack in Ukraine

The situation at a glance

Zelenskyj meets Macron – Many dead after attack in Ukraine

Numerous people are once again dying in Ukraine in new Russian air strikes. President Zelensky is angry – and travels to Paris for talks. Will he also meet Donald Trump there?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be welcomed in Paris today by French President Emmanuel Macron for talks on defense against Russia’s war of aggression. It is conceivable that Zelensky will also meet in the French capital with US President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office in January and could have a significant influence on the course of the war. The day before the talks, at least nine people were killed in another Russian glide bomb attack in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia.

The French president’s office announced that Macron would first have a bilateral meeting with Trump at the Élysée Palace on Saturday afternoon before his meeting with Zelensky. The interview takes place before the ceremonial reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in the evening. It is Trump’s first trip abroad since his victory in the presidential election at the beginning of November. It is still unclear whether the Republican will also meet with Zelensky in Paris.

There is great fear in Ukraine that Trump, after being sworn in on January 20th, could drastically reduce US military aid to the country attacked by Russia, thus causing him a defeat. The United States 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 would effectively make Russia look like the winner of the war of aggression that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin ordered in February 2022 in violation of international law.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz expects an agreement with Trump on how to proceed. “I have already spoken extensively on the phone with the future US President, and we are also in direct contact with those responsible for security policy. I am confident that we can develop a common strategy for Ukraine,” the SPD politician told the newspapers Funke Media Group. When asked whether Ukraine would have to cede territory for a ceasefire, he replied that nothing should be decided over the heads of Ukrainians.

Scholz emphasized that Germany will remain by far the strongest supporter of Ukraine in Europe. “It is important that the killing ends soon and Ukraine’s independence and sovereignty remains guaranteed.”

While the big questions of war and peace continue to be debated at the political level, the daily bloodshed in Ukraine continues. Zelensky condemned the momentous glide bomb attack on Zaporizhia as Russian terror. According to him, at least two people were killed and 17 injured in another rocket attack on the southeastern Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih.

“Thousands of such attacks that Russia has carried out during this war make it clear: Putin does not want real peace – he wants the ability to treat every country this way, with bombs, missiles and all other forms of violence,” Zelensky said. “Only through strength can we resist this. And only through strength can real peace be created.”

The attack in Zaporizhzhia hit a car repair shop and knocked out parts of the power supply, the region’s governor said. Several injured people were taken to hospitals. The information could not initially be independently verified.

The front line between Russian and Ukrainian troops runs just over 30 kilometers southeast of Zaporizhia. Russian aircraft can drop the glide bombs, which are equipped with their own propulsion system, from distances of over 50 kilometers.