Volodymyr Zelensky's Ukraine wants to shift the focus of the war to Crimea. Vladimir Putin’s Russia is only open to peace on its own terms and is “alternatively” prepared to wipe out the enemy. The year 2024 begins with counter-talks between Kiev and Moscow as the conflict that began in February 2022 heads into two years.
In the last message of 2023, Zelenskyy was already betting on a successful election campaign in the new year. Now the Ukrainian president tells The Economist the focus is on the strategy that Kiev wants to implement: In 2024, Crimea and the associated battle in the Black Sea will become the focus of the war. According to Zelensky, isolating occupied Crimea and weakening Russia's military potential is extremely important for us, as this is a way to reduce the number of attacks from this region.
The president is convinced that a successful operation would be “an example for the world” and would also have a major impact within Russia: the loss of a central element of Kremlin propaganda would show that “thousands of Russian officers have died because of Putin alone.” Ambitions.”
Ukraine, the president reiterates, needs support from the West: “By giving us money or weapons, you are saving your children, not ours. In 2023, we could not have the success that the world wanted. Maybe things won’t go as planned.” As quickly as some people imagined. But – emphasizes Zelensky – the idea that Putin “wins” is nothing more than a sensation. And the reality is that Russian soldiers are also dying in places like Avdiivka, where the president went “another day.”
Putin: “Let’s sweep away Kiev”
Putin's message comes from Moscow and leaves little room for interpretation. “The strategic initiative at the front is in the hands of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the enemy is being gradually swept away,” the Russian president said at a meeting with soldiers stationed at Vishnevsky Hospital. “We have means of destruction that no other army in the world has.” The capabilities of the Russian armed forces are “continually growing,” Putin added. Putin notes that Ukraine is rapidly exhausting the Western ammunition it receives.
Moscow, says the Kremlin chief, is ready to lay down its arms. Detail: However, peace can only be accepted under the conditions of Russia, which has no intention of giving up the areas considered annexed to its territory. It is clear that on this basis, as has been made clear on several occasions, there is no basis for an agreement with Ukraine that does not accept territorial sacrifices. “Russia wants to end the Ukraine conflict as quickly as possible, but on its own terms,” Putin said. Russia, he adds, “doesn't want to fight endlessly, but it also won't give up its positions, 'that won't happen'.” Ukraine, continues the President of the Russian Federation, “is not in itself an enemy of Russia, the enemy is those in the West who want the defeat of the Russian Federation.”
The year 2024 begins with new attacks
After the attacks that ended 2023, the new year begins with a familiar script. Russian forces launched a record 90 drones into Ukraine on New Year's Eve, 87 of which were shot down. At least one person was killed and three others were injured in a residential area of the southern Odessa region, while damage was reported at that city's port. In Lviv, the museum dedicated to the Ukrainian nationalist Roman Shuchevich was destroyed. Rocket attacks occurred in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the December 29 attack in Kiev's Shevchenkivsky district has risen to 29, Ukrainska Pravda reported, quoting Serhii Popko, the head of the military administration of the city of Kiev. “For three days in a row, rescuers conducted a search and rescue operation after an airstrike on Kiev. Unfortunately, the bodies of those killed by Russian missiles are still being found. This is the worst tragedy for the capital since the beginning of the year “Russian invasion”.
Ukraine responded with an attack on Belgorod, a Russian city near the border with Ukraine: According to local authorities, Kiev's action claimed 25 lives, including five children. However, the number of injured rose to 109.
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