Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv would enter “peace negotiation activity” with Russia once Ukraine’s territorial integrity was restored, Russia’s aggression ended and compensation for all damage caused by the war was guaranteed.
In his address late Monday, Zelenskyy said that “respect for the UN charter” and “guarantees that this will not happen again” must also be provided, describing these as “completely understandable conditions.”
Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine has repeatedly proposed talks with Russia, but met with “insane Russian responses with new terrorist attacks, shelling or blackmail.”
At the end of September, Russia announced the annexation of some Ukrainian territories, and Zelenskyy vowed never to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kyiv has indicated that it would be willing to negotiate with Putin’s eventual successor.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has repeatedly stated Moscow’s position that he is willing to talk but that Kyiv is refusing them. Moscow has made it clear that there will be no negotiations over the regions it claims to be annexed to Ukraine.
Here are the other main headlines from the war in Ukraine on Tuesday, November 8:
Zelenskyy insists on ‘unwavering unity’ in the US until peace is restored
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the United States to remain united, as questions about America’s support for his country loom after midterm elections to control the US Congress.
“I call upon you to maintain unwavering unity, as it is now, until that day when we all hear those important words we have been dreaming of… Until we hear that peace has finally been restored. way to victory,” he said in a recorded address, receiving the US Medal of Freedom.
US President Joe Biden, who has been Ukraine’s main ally in providing arms and financial support to end Moscow’s invasion, is encouraging voters to support Democrats in the House of Representatives and the Senate. A flip of the two would leave Biden little more than a lame duck, calling into question the continued strong US support for Kyiv.
The PM of Ukraine says that it would not make sense to evacuate the cities at the moment
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that he currently saw no need to evacuate Kyiv or any other cities that are not close to the front lines in the war against Russia.
“At the moment, the situation is far from (needing) to announce an evacuation,” said Shmyhal. “We have to say that it would make no sense at the moment to announce the evacuation of any city that is not near the front lines, especially the capital.”
Shmyhal made his comments at a cabinet meeting following Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy system, and after Kyiv’s mayor told residents to consider everything including a worst-case scenario where the capital loses power and water completely .
The US ambassador to the United Nations arrives for talks in Kyiv
The United States Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield has arrived in the capital of Ukraine Kyiv for talks.
She will be there on Tuesday “to reaffirm Washington’s unwavering support for Ukraine as it defends its freedom and sovereignty amid Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion,” spokesman Nate Evans wrote on Twitter.
Thomas-Greenfield’s visit falls on the day of the US mid-term elections. Their outcome could also affect US support for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy is likely to attend the G20 summit in Bali in some form
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is likely to attend next week’s G20 summit online, but his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is unlikely to attend, officials said.
Zelenskyy will attend the meeting of the Group of 20 leading global economies, but is unlikely to travel to Indonesia in person. It will most likely be connected via video, presidential spokesman Serhiy Nykyforov said on Ukrainian television. In any case, Zelenskyy will participate in some form, Nykyforov said.
On the other hand, Putin is unlikely to travel to Bali to attend the G20 summit next week, an aide to the Indonesian president said, which could solve a diplomatic dilemma for the summit’s hosts.
Zelenskyy said last week that he would not attend the Bali summit if Putin was present. This was his “personal position and the position of the country,” Zelenskyy was reported as saying.
Russia bans military cooperation with 74 foreign companies
Russia has banned military cooperation with 74 foreign companies in response to Western sanctions, the Kremlin said.
The list includes companies from various “unfriendly countries”, including 20 from Germany. It also includes companies from Bulgaria, Great Britain, Canada, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Montenegro, Poland and the United States.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, many countries and the European Union imposed extensive sanctions on Moscow. Russia regularly responds with countermeasures.
London: Russia is strengthening defense lines
British military experts said that Russian forces were preparing themselves for a possible confrontation with the Ukrainian army. Anti-tank structures, known as “dragon’s teeth” were installed in the port city of Mariupol for this purpose, said a daily information update from the Ministry of Defense in London on Tuesday.
“Russia is strengthening its lines in all occupied territories,” the statement said. “Dragon teeth have also been sent to prepare defensive fortifications in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.”
Russia open to talks with US for ‘mutual’ interests
On Monday, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan held talks with Russian officials about avoiding further escalation of the conflict, according to a source cited by the Reuters news agency.
The White House did not confirm the talks, but it is certain that it will not make any diplomatic moves without the participation of Kyiv.
In a separate statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia said that it was open for dialogue with the United States for the benefit of “mutual.” Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Tuesday that Russia wanted to “maintain contacts with the United States on essential issues.”
Russia, the United States to consider talks on strategic nuclear weapons
Russia and the United States are discussing a possible bilateral meeting regarding the Strategic Arms Reduction and Limitation Treaty (START) in the coming weeks.
It was the first time a meeting has considered strategic nuclear weapons since Russia sent troops into Ukraine, Russian newspaper Kommersant said on Tuesday.
The meeting could take place in the Middle East because Russia no longer recognizes Switzerland, which has traditionally organized such talks, as a neutral state. Switzerland joined other Western countries in imposing sanctions on Russia over Ukraine.
A rise in energy prices costing Germany billions
Germany’s Ifo Institute at the University of Munich, which specializes in economic research, has calculated that the country will lose around $110 billion (€110 billion) in real income between 2021 and 2023 due to a rapid rise in energy prices amid Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine. .
The report said there will be less room for employee negotiations regarding wage and salary increases.
“The current decline in real income is likely to continue in the coming years,” said Timo Wollmershäuser, Ifo’s Director of Economic Research and Forecasts.
Real income adjusts for inflation, but because of the increased amount of money spent on energy imports from countries other than Russia, Germany will lose billions.
According to Ifo, this could mean the highest real income loss for Germany since the second oil crisis in the late 1970s.
More from DW’s coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
On Monday, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said it had received its first NASAMS and Aspide air defense systems.
Russia has battered Ukraine’s infrastructure with a spate of strikes over the past month that have destroyed around a third of the country’s power plants, leaving many cities facing frequent blackouts.
Ukraine hopes to use advanced air defense systems to prevent further loss of infrastructure.
North Korea on Tuesday denied having any arms deal with Russia, and said it had no plans to do so, according to state news agency KCNA. The comments came after the United States said Pyongyang appears to be supplying Russia with artillery shells for its war in Ukraine.
Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant, is no longer connected to the Ukrainian grid. The national nuclear power authorities accept that the Kremlin plans to connect the plant to the Russian power network.
los/dj (AFP, Reuters, AP, dpa)
