During a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to hold an international conference on assistance to Ukraine in the coming winter in Paris on December 13, the Elysee Palace said on Tuesday.
“The President of the Republic (…) expressed his determination to help Ukraine weather the approach of winter (…). He indicated that France would increase its support in this regard and take part in international mobilization (aid). The two presidents agreed to organize on December 13 in Paris an international conference in support of the civil resilience of the country during the winter period,” the presidential office said in a communiqué.
We are talking, in particular, about the restoration of infrastructure, electricity and water supply.
The document says that for this “preparatory work with other partners of Ukraine will begin in the near future.”
In addition, according to the communiqué, Macron and Zelensky also agreed on the organization of a bilateral conference aimed at helping Ukraine from French enterprises, which will be held on December 12.
On Tuesday, the EU Council officially decided to provide Ukraine with an urgent additional macro-financial assistance (MFA) in the amount of 5 billion euros, the press service of the European Council reports.
“On September 9, EU finance ministers agreed on a statement in support of this additional €5 billion assistance to Ukraine at an informal meeting of the Ecofin Council in Prague. Today, this additional assistance was formally accepted after the necessary formal steps were completed in just 11 days,” he said. the message says.
It clarifies that this financial assistance is in addition to other European Union support to Ukraine already provided in the humanitarian, customs, defense and development sectors.
Israel has made a strategic decision to provide assistance to Ukraine, but it has to exercise caution when providing military assistance, Israel’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Ukraine Mikhail Brodsky said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
“Israel, unfortunately, is located in a dysfunctional region. It is such a powder keg on top of which Israel sits. The security threats to Israel, the threats to the lives of both Israeli soldiers and Israeli citizens are colossal. Ukraine today is facing a very powerful adversary, a superpower, from Israel in this sense, the situation is different, the threats are different, but nevertheless, this is also a serious war, a war on terror, which requires maximum resources, maximum mobilization of society.For these reasons, and because of the sensitive relationship that we have with Russia, we We think first of all about our own interests and are forced to exercise caution,” he said.
“This does not mean that we do not help Ukraine. From the first day we made a strategic decision to provide the maximum assistance to Ukraine that we can afford. Without crossing the “red lines” and without endangering our national interests. Without endangering the lives of ordinary Israelis “, – note the diplomat.
Brodsky noted “hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid that we supplied – medicine, food, fresh water, generators, water desalination plants. This is a field hospital, which is located in the Lviv region, during the stay of Israeli doctors there they provided assistance to 6 thousand Ukrainians – refugees and local residents.
In addition, he recalled “dozens of people who were taken to Israel for treatment. These are children from the Okhmatdet hospital with oncological diseases. These are patients who were in the Israeli field hospital, whom it was then decided to transfer to Israel and continue treatment there” .
According to Brodsky, “the healthcare sector is an area in which Israel should actively help Ukraine after the war, too. It will be necessary to restore the entire infrastructure, including healthcare. I think it will be right that Israel will contribute to the creation of a new, modern system healthcare in Ukraine”.
Australian Prime Minister Entino Albenizi announced that Ukraine will be provided with additional military-technical assistance worth $100 million.
“Today we are announcing an additional $100 million in military-technical assistance. In total, we have already provided $390 million,” he said Sunday at a briefing in Kyiv after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“We also provide an additional 14 armored personnel carriers and 20 Bushmaster armored vehicles. Thus, the total number of Bushmasters is 60 units,” he said.
According to the prime minister, Australia will also provide additional military equipment, drones.
“We will also provide additional assistance to the border troops of Ukraine,” he said.
According to the prime minister, “we will also reduce duties on Ukrainian goods. We will join the work of the International Court of Justice, announce additional sanctions and travel bans against 16 Russian ministers and big businessmen.”
Australia, according to the prime minister, will also ban the import of Russian gold.
German Ambassador to Ukraine Anka Feldhusen discussed with Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko the provision of further financial assistance to Ukraine.
“I discussed with Finance Minister Serhiy Merchenko the current state of the financial sector and the provision of grant (1 billion euros) assistance to Ukraine from Germany. I am glad for close cooperation between the ministries of finance of our countries,” Feldhusen wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said that he asked Congress to approve his request for additional financial assistance to Ukraine as soon as possible.
“I just signed a request to Congress for important security, economic, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. (…) It is critical this funding gets approved and approved as quickly as possible,” Biden said, speaking at the White House.
He said he acknowledges that such assistance is “not cheap.”
Biden said the U.S. administration needs additional funds to transfer artillery, air defense systems, and armored vehicles to Ukraine.
“This assistance will give Ukraine additional artillery, armored vehicles, anti-tank and anti-air capabilities,” he said.
He said that a request to the U.S. Congress for additional funds for Ukraine should meet both the current defense needs of the Ukrainian military and longer-term security needs.
Biden said the United States and allies have already delivered over 50 million pieces of military equipment to Ukraine, including thousands of anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems, helicopters, drones, grenade launchers and machine guns.
Additional funding to help Ukraine is needed, as the previously allocated funds are almost completely used.
Biden called on Congress to allocate $33 billion to help Ukraine in the defense and humanitarian spheres, as well as to strengthen the defense of European countries, the White House said. This funding is intended for the period until September 2022, the CNBC channel said.
The White House said in the statement that, among other things, some $20.4 billion is expected to be allocated both for military assistance to Ukraine and for “U.S. efforts to strengthen European security in cooperation with our NATO allies and other partners in the region.” This is about the supply of weapons to Ukraine and a number of European countries, artillery, armored vehicles, anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons. It is also planned to direct this assistance to strengthening the means of protection against cyberattacks, demining territories. At the same time, they plan to send $4 billion to the program of foreign military financing of the U.S. Department of State.
Of the funds requested by Biden, some $ 8.5 billion will be directed to support the Ukrainian economy. These funds are intended to finance the Ukrainian government, help Ukraine in the food, energy and medical fields.
The CNBC television channel, in turn, said, thus, in nine months, the total U.S. spending on Ukraine would exceed $36 billion.
In addition, according to the White House, some $3 billion will be allocated for humanitarian assistance around the world in the form of supplies of wheat and other goods. In addition, they plan to allocate $500 million as assistance to domestic production. This amount is expected to support U.S. production of food crops that are in short supply around the world due to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
In addition, Biden decided to ask Congress for approval of a package of laws that will help the administration use the confiscated assets of individuals associated with Russia to provide assistance to Ukraine. The White House said in the statement that the president “will send a proposal for a comprehensive legislative package that will enhance the United States Government’s authority to hold the Russian government and Russian oligarchs accountable for President Putin’s war against Ukraine.” Biden’s proposals, in particular, provide for the use of confiscated assets of persons subject to sanctions.
In parallel, similar measures are being considered in the U.S. Congress. Thus, on Thursday night, the House of Representatives approved a bill that gives the president the opportunity to use some of the assets frozen under sanctions against Russia to provide humanitarian and military assistance to Kyiv. ” The Asset Seizure for Ukraine Reconstruction Act takes an important step in rebuilding the country Russia has destroyed,” Congressman Tom Malinowski, co-author of the document, said on social media.
The New York Times said that 417 congressmen supported the bill, with eight opposed.
