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Coordination of Efforts with Partners, Progress in Historical Issues and Support on the Path to the EU and NATO – Outcomes of the Meeting Between the President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of Poland
SURPRISE VISIT!!
In Lviv, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held talks with Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk on coordination of efforts with partners, joint achievements and understanding.
“It is crucial for Ukraine and Poland to be supportive of each other’s efforts. This has always strengthened us both. I am glad that our Ministries of Culture cooperate on historical issues between our states, that they hold meetings, work together – this has already begun, and that there is some progress,” the President said.
“It is crucial for Ukraine and Poland to be supportive of each other’s efforts. This has always strengthened us both. I am glad that our Ministries of Culture cooperate on historical issues between our states, that they hold meetings, work together – this has already begun, and that there is some progress,” the President said.
Special attention was paid to the situation on the battlefield and in diplomacy. The Head of State emphasized that there is a shared vision that Ukraine needs a just peace, further reinforcement and a strong position.
“What we all need in Europe is not just a pause in hostilities, not just something temporary or uncertain. We need a strong shared position – of all partners – and we need genuine peace. And most importantly, this peace – peace through strength – can be ensured,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy added.
“What we all need in Europe is not just a pause in hostilities, not just something temporary or uncertain. We need a strong shared position – of all partners – and we need genuine peace. And most importantly, this peace – peace through strength – can be ensured,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy added.
In addition, during the meeting, the parties discussed expectations from next year's Polish presidency of the Council of the European Union, and cooperation in supplying weapons for the defense of the front.
- The President expressed particular gratitude to Poland for the assistance provided to Ukraine and support for its aspiration to become a full member of NATO.
Donald Tusk stressed that Ukraine can always rely on Poland's support, especially in its progress towards the EU and NATO.
“Our history is both complicated and beautiful. There have been many positive and negative aspects in our relations. But this is the history of nations that, in the face of hardship, proved to understand the pivotal historical moment marked by Russia’s invasion: Poland's help to Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle. This is a great thing that was born between our peoples,” the Prime Minister noted.
“Our history is both complicated and beautiful. There have been many positive and negative aspects in our relations. But this is the history of nations that, in the face of hardship, proved to understand the pivotal historical moment marked by Russia’s invasion: Poland's help to Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle. This is a great thing that was born between our peoples,” the Prime Minister noted.
According to him, Poland is preparing to implement a project to equip Ukrainian brigades. Donald Tusk will discuss these plans with other European partners, including the Baltic and Nordic countries.
Russia intensifies assaults in Kursk and eastern front, Ukraine says
Euractiv.com with Reuters Dec 18, 2024 07:15 Content type: News Service 
Euractiv is part of the Trust Project
Euractiv is part of the Trust ProjectMoscow has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian forces battling to hold an enclave in Russia's Kursk region and increased pressure in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine's top army commander said on Tuesday (17 December).
As the war approaches its third year, Ukrainian troops are weary and outnumbered along the 1,170-km frontline.
"For the third day the enemy is conducting intensive assaults in the Kursk region," Oleksandr Syrskyi told government and regional officials in an online speech. He added that Russia was "actively" using North Korean troops who were taking significant losses.
A US military official said North Korean troops had suffered several hundred casualties in Kursk region, and their ranks had ranged from lower-level troops to "very near the top".
Ukraine's military said in an late evening report that its forces had repelled 42 Russian attacks in Kursk region. An earlier report said the number of combat clashes had risen to 68 over 24 hours, up from a daily tally of around 40 last week.
Ukraine launched an incursion into Kursk region in August, but has since lost more than 40% of the territory it controlled.
Military analysts say the incursion has extended an already long front line, adding more strain on the Ukrainian troops.
Syrskyi said fighting was also escalating in the eastern Donetsk region where Russian forces were advancing at their fastest pace this year. He told government and regional officials that Russian troops continued to focus their assaults on the logistical centres of Pokrovsk and Kurakhove.
Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had captured the village of Hannivka, north of Pokrovsk, the site of Ukraine's only colliery that produces coking coal for the steel industry.
Ukraine's popular military blog, Deep State, also reported that Russian troops were in control of Hannivka.
The Ukrainian military's general staff made no mention of the village, but said in a late night report that its forces had repelled 23 of 35 Russian attacks in the area.
Further northeast in Toretsk, under Russian attack for weeks, Russian forces were sending waves of soldiers against Ukrainian troops defending a coal mine, Anastasia Bobovnikova, a military spokesperson, told national television.
The escalation in fighting comes ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House next month. Trump said on Monday that Ukraine should be prepared to make a deal with Russia to bring the nearly three-year-old war to an end.
Trump's incoming Ukraine envoy will travel to Kyiv and other European capitals in early January, according to two sources with knowledge of the trip's planning.
Syrskyi said fighting was also escalating in the eastern Donetsk region where Russian forces were advancing at their fastest pace this year. He told government and regional officials that Russian troops continued to focus their assaults on the logistical centres of Pokrovsk and Kurakhove.
Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had captured the village of Hannivka, north of Pokrovsk, the site of Ukraine's only colliery that produces coking coal for the steel industry.
Ukraine's popular military blog, Deep State, also reported that Russian troops were in control of Hannivka.
The Ukrainian military's general staff made no mention of the village, but said in a late night report that its forces had repelled 23 of 35 Russian attacks in the area.
Further northeast in Toretsk, under Russian attack for weeks, Russian forces were sending waves of soldiers against Ukrainian troops defending a coal mine, Anastasia Bobovnikova, a military spokesperson, told national television.
The escalation in fighting comes ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House next month. Trump said on Monday that Ukraine should be prepared to make a deal with Russia to bring the nearly three-year-old war to an end.
Trump's incoming Ukraine envoy will travel to Kyiv and other European capitals in early January, according to two sources with knowledge of the trip's planning.
Why is Pokrovsk important?
Pokrovsk is a road and rail hub in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, which had a pre-war population of some 60,000 people.
- Ukraine estimates that around 11,000 of them remain in the city.
It lies on a key road used by the Ukrainian military to supply other embattled eastern outposts including the towns of Chasiv Yar and Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region.
Moscow says it has annexed Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region and sees taking control of Pokrovsk as an important stepping stone to incorporating the entire region into Russia. Kyiv and the West reject Russia's territorial claims as illegal and accuse Moscow of prosecuting a war of colonial conquest.
- Ukraine's only mine that produces coking coal - used in its steel industry and vital for the country's pre-war economy - is just a 20-minute drive to the west of Pokrovsk.
Moscow says it has annexed Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region and sees taking control of Pokrovsk as an important stepping stone to incorporating the entire region into Russia. Kyiv and the West reject Russia's territorial claims as illegal and accuse Moscow of prosecuting a war of colonial conquest.
- Control of the city, which the Russian media call "the gateway to Donetsk", would allow Moscow to severely disrupt Ukrainian supply lines along the eastern front and boost its campaign to capture Chasiv Yar, which sits on higher ground offering potential control of a wider area.
Squeezing the Ukrainian military's access to the road network in the vicinity would make it harder for Kyiv's troops to hold pockets of territory either side of Pokrovsk, which could allow Russia to consolidate and advance the front line.
(Edited by Georgi Gotev)
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