Ukraine is determined to pursue peace talks while preparing for a drawn-out war, the NYT said. Zelenskyi attends a Coalition of the Willing meeting in Paris. Ukraine drones hit a missile arsenal and oil depot in Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With Russia still seen as unlikely to stop fighting, the Ukrainian leader\u2019s tone has shifted from upbeat to cautionary, The New York Times said on Tuesday. The paragraphs below are quoted from the article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Ukraine peace talks have stretched on for nearly a year, through fits and spurts and dozens of rounds, President Volodymyr Zelensky has accentuated the positive. The talks are now \u201c90 percent complete,\u201d he said. Ukraine works every minute to end the war, he insisted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in recent days, with the question mark of Russia\u2019s willingness to accept any deal still hanging over the negotiations, Mr. Zelensky has made some of his most skeptical comments in months. Ukraine, he said, is simultaneously talking and preparing for the war to rage on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI do not want and will not wait another six months hoping that maybe it will work,\u201d Mr. Zelensky told journalists in Kyiv over the weekend. \u201cThere are two paths: The first priority is ending the war, the second is being prepared for negative steps by Russia \u2014 for its unwillingness to end the war.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine and the United States have yet to reach agreement on territorial issues and on control of a Russian-occupied nuclear power plant. Kyiv and Washington have drawn up a rough outline for security guarantees, but crucial questions remain unresolved, and progress has been plodding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On top of that, Russia has flatly rejected some Ukrainian proposals. \u201cI understand that we are very close to results, but at some point, Russia may block everything,\u201d Mr. Zelensky said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He has cast a recent reshuffle of his government and security apparatus as necessary to build Ukraine\u2019s resilience in case talks fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The moves, Mr. Zelensky said, reflected Ukraine\u2019s determination to maintain two primary tracks: pursuing talks while preparing for a drawn-out war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In other news, Head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Andriy Hnatov said on January 3 that the U.S. and Ukraine agreed a military document at the level of the countries\u2019 general staffs that stipulates support to the Ukrainian army after peace is achieved. The document consists of four parts and has four annexes, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his nightly address on Sunday, Zelenskyi restated Ukraine\u2019s determination to pursue peace talks while preparing for a continued war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUkraine will be prepared for both possible paths ahead \u2013 diplomacy, which we are pursuing, or continued active defense if the pressure from our partners on Russia proves insufficient. Ukraine seeks peace. But Ukraine will not give up its strength to anyone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Coalition of the Willing is meeting in Paris on Tuesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi is attending the gathering in person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to BBC News, Zelenskyi has been speaking separately with French President Emmanuel Macron, and U.S. mediators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. At the time of this writing, Zelenskyi was expected to address the media following the meeting of the Coalition of the Willing. Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz were expected to join Zelenskyi during the press update.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paris and London, co-leading the Coalition of the Willing, want to discuss and find common ground on five points, according to the Elys\u00e9e official, Politico said: How a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine would be monitored; support for Ukraine’s military; a multinational reassurance force in Ukraine once the war ends; commitments to support Kyiv if a ceasefire is violated by Moscow; and long-term defense cooperation deals with Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked on Monday if the EU will offer its security guarantees to Ukraine as part of the Coalition of the Willing\u2019s commitment or in a separate move, European Commission Chief Spokesperson Paula Pinho said: \u201cThere is one clear security guarantee [for Ukraine] which is a prospect of accession of Ukraine to the EU, this is what the EU can offer independently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukrainian troops struck a missile arsenal and oil depot in Russia overnight on Tuesday, an unnamed official from Ukraine\u2019s Security Service told news site Ukrainska Pravda on Tuesday. The drones hit Russia\u2019s 100th Main Missile and Artillery Directorate in the Kostroma region. The drone attack on the site triggered a secondary detonation of ammunition, causing powerful blasts at the facility, the source said. The drones also struck an oil depot in the Lipetsk region, sparking an intense blaze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russian defense ministry said the country\u2019s air defenses shot down 129 Ukrainian drones overnight on Tuesday. Most of the drones, 29, were shot down over the Bryansk region, with other intercepts taking place over the Belgorod, Yaroslavl, Novgorod, Smolensk, Kursk, Penza, Tver, Bashkortostan, Astrakhan, Rostov, Kaluga, Moscow, Oryol, Leningrad, Voronezh, Kostroma, Tula, Tambov, Ryazan, Tatarstan regions and in Russia-occupied Crimea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"