Ukraine and the European Union will hold a summit in Kyiv on Friday, with the Ukrainian government welcoming this “strong signal” sent to Moscow almost a year after the Russian invasion began.
For its part, the Russian army, which has been offensive in recent days, on Tuesday demanded the capture of a village near Bakhmout, a flashpoint of fighting in eastern Ukraine.
The summit with the 27 is an important step a few months after Kyiv was granted official EU candidate status.
In his speech on Tuesday evening, Zelenskyy hoped the summit would reflect a high “level of cooperation and progress” with the EU. “We are waiting for news for Ukraine,” he said.
“The fact that this summit is taking place in Kyiv is a strong signal, addressed both to our partners and to our enemies,” Prime Minister Denys Chmygal had previously welcomed, saying, “expect the summit to give a positive interim assessment of our efforts the European integration “.
These two days must “allow Europe to believe in Ukraine’s victory,” he stressed.
They will come a few days after the Westerners gave the green light, after much hesitation, to supply heavy tanks from their arsenal to the Ukrainian army.
Between 120 and 140 tanks
According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba, Ukraine expects “between 120 and 140” Western tanks to repel the Russian army.
This is the first time Kyiv has announced the total number of modern heavy armor pledged by its western allies.
Ukraine had previously indicated that it would need several hundred of these heavy tanks, long-range missiles and aircraft to mount counter-offensives aimed at retaking Russian-held Ukrainian territories.
According to several law firms, the delivery process could take months because the maintenance of the tanks on site and the training of the Ukrainian soldiers have to be organized.
For its part, Paris announced on Tuesday that France would supply Ukraine with 12 more 155mm Caesar guns, in addition to the 18 already delivered.
But these very accurate and mobile guns don’t have the range of more than 100 kilometers that Ukraine says it needs to destroy Russian supply lines and ammunition depots.
US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he would discuss his weapons needs with Mr Zelenskyy.
“We’re going to talk,” he told a group of reporters at the White House after answering a negative question the day before about his plans to supply F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, which they claim.
According to the Wall Street Journal, an American defense company, General Atomics, offered to sell Kyiv two Reaper MQ-9 drones for a symbolic dollar. The costs of transportation to Ukraine ($10 million) and maintenance ($8 million per year) would be borne by Kyiv, the newspaper said. The US government has not commented on this information.
climbing fear
Westerners fear even more massive military support could escalate the Kremlin, while Russia hammers that the Americans and Europeans have declared a proxy war on it.
The United States also accused Russia on Tuesday of not respecting the New Start Treaty, the last nuclear arms treaty binding on it.
Many observers believe that Moscow and Kyiv are each planning an attack in late winter or early spring. On the ground, Russian forces appear determined to regain the initiative after setbacks in the autumn forced them to retreat to the north-east and south of the country.
On Tuesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed in its daily situation report that “the village of Blagodatné” near Bakhmout had been liberated after an offensive by “voluntary assault units” backed by the air force and artillery.
“Volunteers” is the euphemism used in Russia for paramilitary groups – particularly those of the Wagner Group – fighting with the army.
Wagner’s boss, the sulphurous Evguéni Prigojine, had already claimed responsibility for taking Blagodatné on Saturday, which Kyiv had denied.
His men also captured the small town of Soledar and surrounding villages in January, suffering heavy casualties. However, Ukrainian forces ensure Bakhmout remains under their control.
Separately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that his country was considering military aid to Ukraine. “Well, I’ll definitely check that out,” Netanyahu said in an interview with US broadcaster CNN when asked whether Israel plans to offer Kyiv assistance, for example with its Iron Dome Air Defense security system.
Mr Netanyahu has also offered to mediate if the warring parties and Washington ask him to do so.