Zelenskyy now voicing the reality that’s been apparent for a long time

Published

5 months ago

December 19, 2024

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A dramatic change in tone by Ukraine’s president – acknowledging the strength of Russia’s hold over swathes of Ukrainian territory – has coincided with the imminent return of Donald Trump to the White House.

The incoming US commander-in-chief has said he can end Russia’s war in Ukraine in a day – though without saying how.

One thing is certain, however; his approach will be very different to Joe Biden’s.

Mr Trump has already signalled he disapproves of allowing Ukraine to launch longer-range American ballistic missiles against targets inside Russia – a sign that crucial US military support to Ukrainian forces could be about to be reduced or even end altogether.

For Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he is fast adapting to the new reality his country is facing.

His government wasn’t a huge fan of Mr Biden but he was at least significantly more predictable than his replacement – and consistent in his condemnation of Vladimir Putin.

Then again, Mr Trump’s unpredictability could be used to Ukraine’s advantage when dealing with Moscow.

The new president will not want to look soft or weak as he seeks to push the two sides into a deal.

Into this mix, Mr Zelenskyy has notably altered his language when describing how the conflict could end.

Previously there was no suggestion of negotiations with Moscow which didn’t involve the complete withdrawal of Russian forces.

Now, however, the Ukrainian president has started to voice what he and his Western allies have known for a long time – that Russia’s entrenched positions are impossible to shift with the current level of Western support and Ukrainian fighting capability.

Mr Zelenskyy first signalled his new approach in an interview with Sky News’s Stuart Ramsay, when he said for the first time that Kyiv wants NATO membership for the parts of Ukraine under government control and would wait to regain the rest through diplomacy.

In an interview this week with France’s Le Parisien newspaper, he went further.

“We cannot give up our territories. The Ukrainian constitution forbids us to do so. De facto, these territories are now controlled by the Russians. We do not have the strength to recover them,” he said.

“We can only count on diplomatic pressure from the international community to force Putin to sit down at the negotiating table.”

Mr Zelenskyy continued: “It’s not about who sits across from you; it’s about the position you’re in when negotiating. I don’t believe we’re in a weak position, but we’re also not in a strong one.

“First, we need to develop a model, an action plan, a peace plan – call it what you will. Then, we can present it to Putin or, more broadly, to the Russian people.”

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Ukraine’s drone attack in Russia shows Kyiv felt it had nothing to lose

Published

3 hours ago

June 1, 2025

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Ukraine's drone attack in Russia shows Kyiv felt it had nothing to lose

An audacious Ukrainian drone attack against multiple airbases across Russia is a humiliating security breach for Vladimir Putin that will doubtless trigger a furious response.

Pro-Kremlin bloggers have described the drone assault – which Ukrainian security sources said hit more than 40 Russian warplanes – as “Russia’s Pearl Harbor” in reference to the Japanese attack against the US in 1941 that prompted Washington to enter the Second World War.

Ukraine war latest: Russia accuses Kyiv of ‘terrorist attack’

The Ukrainian operation – which used small drones smuggled into Russia, hidden in mobile sheds and launched off the back of trucks – also demonstrated how technology and imagination have transformed the battlefield, enabling Ukraine to seriously hurt its far more powerful opponent.

Moscow will have to retaliate, with speculation already appearing online about whether President Putin will again threaten the use of nuclear weapons.

“We hope that the response will be the same as the US response to the attack on their Pearl Harbor or even harsher,” military blogger Roman Alekhin wrote on his Telegram channel.

Codenamed ‘Spider’s Web’, the mission on Sunday was the culmination of one and a half years of planning, according to a security source.

In that time, Ukraine’s secret service smuggled first-person view (FPV) drones into Russia, sources with knowledge of the operation said.

Flat-pack, garden-office style sheds were also secretly transported into the country.

The oblong sheds were then built and drones were hidden inside, before the containers were put on the back of trucks and driven to within range of their respective targets.

At a chosen time, doors on the roofs of the huts were opened remotely and the drones were flown out. Each was armed with a bomb that was flown into the airfields, with videos released by the security service that purportedly showed them blasting into Russian aircraft.

Among the targets were Tu-95 and Tu-22 bomber aircraft that can launch cruise missiles, according to the Ukrainian side. An A-50 airborne early warning aircraft was also allegedly hit. This is a valuable platform that is used to command and control operations.

The use of such simple technology to destroy multi-million-pound aircraft will be watched with concern by governments around the world.

Suddenly, every single military base, airfield and warship will appear that little bit more vulnerable if any truck nearby could be loaded with killer drones.

The most immediate focus, though, will be on how Mr Putin responds.

Previous attacks by Ukraine inside Russia have triggered retaliatory strikes and increasingly threatening rhetoric from the Kremlin.

But this latest operation is one of the biggest and most significant, and comes on the eve of a new round of peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv that are meant to take place in Turkey. It is not clear if that will still happen.

US President Donald Trump has been pushing for the two sides to make peace but Russia has only escalated its war.

Ukraine clearly felt it had nothing to lose but to also go on the attack.

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Two dead and hundreds of arrests across France after PSG’s Champions League win

Published

10 hours ago

June 1, 2025

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Two dead and hundreds of arrests across France after PSG's Champions League win

Two people are dead and nearly 560 people were arrested after disorder broke out in France following Paris Saint-Germain’s victory in the Champions League final, the French interior ministry has said.

The ministry added 192 people were injured and there were 692 fires, including 264 involving vehicles.

A 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in the city of Dax during a PSG street party after Saturday night’s final in Munich, the national police service said.

The second person killed was a man who was hit by a car while riding a scooter during PSG celebrations, the interior minister’s office said.

Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez has said the man was in his 20s and although the incident is still being investigated, it appears his death was linked to the disorder.

Meanwhile, French authorities have reported that a police officer is in a coma following the clashes.

The officer had been hit by a firecracker that emerged from a crowd of supporters in Coutances in the Manche department of northwestern France, according to reports in the country.

Initial investigations reportedly suggest the incident was accidental and the police officer was not deliberately targeted.

The perpetrator has not been identified.

The interior ministry earlier said 22 security forces workers were injured during the chaos – including 18 who were injured in Paris, along with seven firefighters.

In a news conference today, Mr Nuñez said only nine of the force’s officers had been injured in the French capital.

He added that fireworks were directed at police and firefighters were attacked while responding to car fires.

There were 559 arrests across the country during the disorder, including 491 in Paris. Of those detained across the country, 320 were taken into police custody – with 254 in the French capital.

Mr Nuñez said although most people wanted to celebrate PSG’s win, some only wanted to get involved in fights with police.

He also said the force is only at “half-time” in its response because the PSG team will be celebrating their Champions League victory on the Champs Élysées later today.

Mr Nuñez said that the police presence and military presence in Paris will be increased on the ground for the parade.

It comes after flares and fireworks were set off in the French capital after PSG beat Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich – the biggest ever victory in a Champions League final.

Around 5,400 police were deployed across Paris after the game, with officers using tear gas and pepper spray on the Champs Élysées.

At the top of the Champs Élysées, a water cannon was used to protect the Place de l’Etoile, near the landmark Arc de Triomphe.

Police said a large crowd not watching the match tried to push through a barrier to make contact with officers.

Some 131 arrests were made, including 30 who broke into a shoe shop on the Champs Élysées.

Police have said a total of four shops, including a car dealership and a barbers, were targeted during the disorder in Paris.

Two cars were set alight close to Parc des Princes, police said.

PSG forward Ousmane Dembélé appealed for calm in a post-match interview with Canal+, saying: “Let’s celebrate this but not tear everything up in Paris.”

After the final played at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, thousands of supporters also tried to rush the field.

Police lined up in front of the PSG end of the stadium at the final whistle, but struggled to contain the fans for several minutes when they came down from the stands following the trophy presentation.

Désiré Doué, the 19-year-old who scored two goals and assisted one in the final, said after the game: “I don’t have words. But what I can say is, ‘Thank you Paris,’ we did it.”

Despite being a supporter of PSG’s rivals Olympique de Marseille, French President Emmanuel Macron also said on social media: “A glorious day for PSG!

“Bravo, we are all proud. Paris, the capital of Europe this evening.”

Mr Macron’s office said the president would receive the players at the Elysee Palace on Sunday.