Zelensky Wants More Air Defense
Trump promises Ukraine help with air defense, Zelenskiyy says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said US President Donald Trump has promised to help Ukraine with air defensiie systems after being briefed on the situation in Ukraine.
Source: Zelenskyy during an online press conference on 30 December, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Zelenskyy said that he and Trump discussed strengthening Ukraine's air defenses during their meeting.
Quote: "A separate second block that we had with President Trump was that I really need air defence. I really need NASAMS missiles. I really need PAC-3 missiles for Patriots. And I don't want to say publicly what our situation is right now, but I showed and demonstrated it to the American side."
More details: Zelenskyy said that "President Trump said he would help me".
Zelenskiyy comments on US security guarantees
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine needs legally binding security guarantees from the United States.
Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with Fox News
WSJ: U.S. halts raid on shadow fleet tanker after Russian flag appears
The US Coast Guard has suspended an operation to seize the sanctioned oil tanker Bella 1 after an image of the Russian flag appeared on its hull.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, citing senior US officials
Details: US officials stated that US Coast Guard vessels had been shadowing the large oil tanker in the Atlantic Ocean for over 10 days, staying at a distance of about half a mile (around 800 metres).
Special forces were fully prepared to board the vessel by force but were awaiting a green light from the White House. The situation became more complicated after a crudely painted Russian flag appeared on the hull of the Bella 1.
Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Coast Guard may seize vessels that are stateless or suspected of fraud. When the pursuit began, US authorities believed the Bella 1 was sailing under a false flag and therefore subject to a court order for seizure.
Experts warn that if the vessel has in fact been legally re-registered in Russia, a forcible takeover would amount to a serious diplomatic escalation. Washington is concerned that Russia may have exploited legal loopholes and retroactively registered the tanker without inspections in order to provoke a confrontation. The US is now trying to clarify the tanker's status through diplomatic channels.
The Bella 1 is owned by a Turkish company and was placed under US sanctions for transporting Iranian oil on behalf of designated terrorist organisations, including Hezbollah, the Yemeni Houthis and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The tanker is considered part of the so-called shadow fleet used to transport sanctioned oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela.
Background:
- Last weekend, the Bella 1 made a sudden 180-degree turn to avoid inspection and departed at full speed away from the coast of Venezuela.
- On 17 December, US President Donald Trump announced a full blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers.
- On 10 December, US forces operating in the Caribbean took full control of an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast.
Polish PM says US has agreed to deploy troops to Ukraine as part of security guarantees
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday 30 December that the United States has agreed, as part of security guarantees for Ukraine after a peace deal is reached, to deploy its troops to the Russian-Ukrainian border or the line of contact.
Source: Tusk after talks with leaders of key European countries, the Prime Minister of Canada, the heads of European institutions and the NATO Secretary General, as reported by Polish news portal RMF24
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