KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned Tuesday he is sure the US will make good on its promise to supply billions of {dollars} in additional support for Kyiv to proceed its battle towards Russia, and he bluntly replied “No,” to a query about whether or not his nation may lose the warfare.
Talking at an end-of-year information convention in Kyiv, Zelenskyy additionally dismissed recommendations that Moscow’s forces have come out of 2023 on prime after principally beating again Ukraine’s counteroffensive and stepping up its army manufacturing.
“Russia failed to realize any of its targets” this 12 months, he mentioned, though he conceded Ukraine nonetheless faces “numerous challenges” after expending Western army {hardware} within the counteroffensive that didn’t make an impression on the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) entrance line.
The U.S. Congress has left city for the vacations with no deal to ship some $61 billion to Ukraine, and the U.S. Protection Division says it’s virtually out of cash to assist Kyiv after virtually 22 months of combating. The European Union, too, needed to push into the brand new 12 months a plan to produce Ukraine with $54.5 billion after a veto from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban,
However Zelenskyy insisted he isn’t fearful.
“I’m assured that the U.S. is not going to allow us to down and that what we have now agreed with the U.S. can be fulfilled,” Zelenskyy mentioned.
Western help is essential for Ukraine’s battle towards its greater and higher armed neighbor, and the U.S. is by far the largest single supply of assist. Russia nonetheless outguns and outnumbers Kyiv’s forces.
Ukraine has acquired further U.S.-made Patriot surface-to-air techniques and superior NASAMS anti-aircraft techniques, offering medium- to long-range protection towards Russian missile assaults, Zelenskyy mentioned, declining to elaborate.
These weapons will assist fend off anticipated Russian assaults on Ukraine’s energy grid over the winter.
Whereas Zelenskyy was upbeat about receiving additional army and monetary assist from European Union nations, he was much less optimistic about Ukraine’s possibilities of becoming a member of NATO.
“NATO is probably the most highly effective choice for us. However we’re not invited to NATO but,” he mentioned. “All these indicators about our membership to this point are nonsense. We didn’t obtain a strong provide, not from a single companion of ours. It’s exhausting to think about at this level, how this may occur.”
Ukraine’s army desires to mobilize as much as 500,000 extra troops, Zelenskyy mentioned, however he mentioned he has requested the highest brass to spell out the small print on what’s “a really delicate matter” earlier than deciding whether or not to grant their want.
Such a serious mobilization would value Ukraine the equal of $13.4 billion, Zelenskyy mentioned. Different points to be thought-about embody whether or not troops at present on the entrance can be rotated or allowed house depart.
Ukrainian Protection Ministry statistics say the Ukrainian army had practically 800,000 troops in October. That does not embody Nationwide Guard or different models. In whole, 1 million Ukrainians are in uniform.
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his army to extend the variety of troops by practically 170,000 to a complete of 1.32 million.
The entrance line has barely budged this 12 months as a Ukrainian counteroffensive ran up towards sturdy Russian defenses. Now, with winter setting in, troop actions are being slowed by dangerous climate, inserting better emphasis on artillery, missiles and drones.
Putin mentioned earlier Tuesday that the Kremlin’s forces have taken the initiative in Ukraine and are effectively positioned for the approaching 12 months.
“We’re successfully doing what we predict is required, doing what we wish,” Putin instructed the Russian army brass. “The place our commanders take into account it essential to stay to lively defenses they’re doing so, and we’re enhancing our positions the place it’s wanted.”
However Zelenskyy insisted Moscow had failed in its efforts to occupy extra of Ukraine for the reason that full-scale invasion started on Feb. 24, 2022.
It wasn’t potential to independently confirm battlefield claims by both facet.
In different developments Tuesday:
— The U.N. Excessive Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, mentioned his company has confirmed greater than 10,000 civilian deaths in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion began. The quantity contains greater than 560 kids, he mentioned.
“The true toll might be considerably larger,” he mentioned.
Türk additionally mentioned his workplace is investigating six new reported instances of Russian troopers allegedly killing civilians in Ukraine.
For the reason that begin of the warfare, the Russian army has repeatedly used missiles to blast civilian targets, with devastating penalties.
— The toll the warfare is taking up Ukraine’s economic system was clear in figures revealed Tuesday that confirmed the quantity of products exports by November was 19.3% decrease than in the identical interval final 12 months.
The drop was due largely to Russia’s “blockade of seaports and Russian assaults on our export transport logistics,” Economic system Minister Yulia Svyrydenko tweeted.
Nevertheless, a latest uptick in sea exports got here after Ukraine created a short lived grain hall within the Black Sea and launched a ship insurance coverage mechanism, she mentioned, including that the expansion bodes effectively for subsequent 12 months.
— Russian shelling late Tuesday wounded a girl and three kids in Ukraine’s southern metropolis of Kherson, regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin mentioned in a Telegram replace. Two different civilians additionally have been wounded within the Sumy area of northern Ukraine, which borders Russia, in response to the native army administration.
___
Observe AP’s protection of the warfare in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine