Ukraine war briefing: US announces new $1bn support package for Ukraine as Zelenskyy meets Trump
The US on Saturday announced a new $988m security assistance package for Ukraine as Washington
races to provide aid to Kyiv before president-elect Donald Trump takes office
. The package features drones, ammunition for precision Himars rocket launchers, and equipment and spare parts for artillery systems, tanks and armoured vehicles, the Pentagon said in a statement. It follows a $725m package announced on Monday that included a second tranche of landmines as well as anti-air and anti-armour weapons. Meanwhile, European military aid to Ukrainemay eventually need to be doubled
ifDonald Trump
cuts off US funding, European diplomats fear.Donald Trump met in Paris on Saturday with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said any resolution of the war with Russia should
be a “just” settlement
that includes “strong security guarantees for Ukraine.”
The meeting was of huge importance to Zelenskyy, given fears in Kyiv that Trump may urge Ukraine to make concessions to Moscow. Trump had a hastily arranged meeting Saturday with Zelenskyy and France’s Emmanuel Macron while in the city for thereopening of Notre Dame Cathedra
l. Macron and other European leaders are trying to persuade Trump to maintain support for Ukraine. Zelenskyy said he had a “good and productive” meeting with Trump and Macron and that they wanted the war with Russia to end fast and “in a just way.”US defence secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday warned that failure to continue opposing Russia’s actions would have dire consequences
. “We can continue to stand up to the Kremlin. Or we can let Putin have his way – and condemn our children and grandchildren to live in a world of chaos and conflict,” said Austin, speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California. “This administration has made its choice. And so has a bipartisan coalition in Congress. The next administration must make its own choice.”Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday he fully backed anti-government protesters in Georgia,
after thousands of protesters marched in the Georgian capital Tbilisi Saturday for a 10th day of rallies sparked by a disputed election
. Zelenskyy urged Tbilisi to stop “surrendering” to Moscow in a meeting with the country’s pro-EU president Salome Zurabishvili in Paris.Zelenskyy on Saturday also said a second batch of F-16 fighter jets had arrived in Ukraine from Denmark
. “The second batch of F-16s from Denmark has arrived in Ukraine. This is an example of leadership in defending lives that sets Denmark apart,” Zelenskiy said in a post on X.Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday that its forces had taken Berestky, a small village
close to the embattled town of Kurakhove in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region marked a day of mourning for 10 people killed in a Russian attack
on Friday
. A further 24 people, including two children, were injured when a missile struck a local service station, said regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov. Another three people were killed in a strike on the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih Friday, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said.