President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the government will soon launch contracts for the recruitment of 18-24 year olds into the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“Next week, the government intends to launch lucrative recruitment contracts to attract young people aged 18-24 – up to draft age – to the Armed Forces to help eliminate labor shortages,” he told Reuters.
However, Zelensky declined to say how many men are expected to sign up.
As reported, the special representative of US President-elect Donald Trump, Mike Volz, believes that to stabilize the front in Ukraine it is necessary to lower the mobilization age, which would allow to call into the army “hundreds of thousands of new soldiers”.
Earlier, Zelensky commented on the discussion on lowering the mobilization age in Ukraine, pointing to the understaffing of Ukrainian brigades and the lack of weapons.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed Ambassador of Ukraine to China Pavlo Riabikin, Ambassador of Ukraine to Lithuania Petro Beshta, Ambassador of Ukraine to Japan Serhiy Korsunsky, Ambassador of Ukraine to Slovenia Andriy Taran, and Ambassador of Ukraine to Rwanda Andriy Pravednyk.
The President also dismissed Vasyl Gamyanin from the post of Ambassador of Ukraine to Indonesia and from the post of representative of Ukraine to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which he held part-time.
The relevant decrees No. 863-868/2024 of December 21 were published on the President’s website on Saturday.
The Ukrainian leader planned to use the grand reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral to lobby the president-elect and other world leaders attending the ceremony.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine met with President-elect Donald J. Trump and President Emmanuel Macron of France ahead of Notre-Dame Cathedral’s grand reopening on Saturday, an event Ukraine sees as a chance to press its case to the world leaders in attendance.
Mr. Zelensky’s meeting with Mr. Trump was the first face-to-face encounter between the two since Mr. Trump won the U.S. presidential election last month.
Mr. Zelensky stepped into the Élysée Palace just after Mr. Macron met with Mr. Trump there, and the three posed for pictures ahead of a trilateral meeting.
In recent weeks, Ukrainian officials have sought to engage with Mr. Trump’s incoming administration, aiming to influence its plans for a swift end to the war with Russia in a way that aligns as much as possible with Ukraine’s interests.
These plans have so far been vague, but officials in Kyiv are concerned that Mr. Trump’s vague pledge to end the war in 24 hours could result in Russia keeping the territory it has captured and ignoring Ukraine’s demand to join NATO as a security guarantee to prevent further attacks.
Just this week, a delegation of senior Ukrainian officials and government members visited the United States and met with JD Vance, the vice president-elect; Representative Mike Waltz of Florida, Mr. Trump’s pick for national security adviser; and Keith Kellogg, Mr. Trump’s choice for envoy to Ukraine and Russia. Leading the delegation was Andriy Yermak, Mr. Zelensky’s powerful chief of staff.
Volodymyr Fesenko, a Ukrainian political analyst, said the visit’s goal was to introduce Mr. Yermak to the American officials as Ukraine’s chief negotiator, present Ukraine’s stance on future peace talks and gauge the future Trump administration’s position on the negotiations.
“What is happening now is just the first act of a prelude to the negotiations to come,” Mr. Fesenko wrote in a post on Facebook.
Ukraine’s outreach to Mr. Trump’s team has coincided with an apparent shift in Kyiv’s public stance on peace talks. After years of vowing not to cede territory to Russia, Mr. Zelensky has recently suggested he would consider doing so as a way to end the war, in return for NATO membership. Ukraine, he added, would then seek to regain its occupied territory through negotiations.
The change in position has been seen as a way for Ukraine to show Mr. Trump that it is ready to make concessions as part of negotiations.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/07/world/europe/zelensky-trump-macron-notre-dame.html
In Dubrovnik, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Croatian Prime Minister Andrei Plenkovic met with Ukrainian children recuperating in Croatia, the press service of the head of state reported.
“Very pleased to be here today. Thanked the Prime Minister’s team for supporting our Ukrainian children, whose parents are heroes of our state, because they defend Ukraine. And there are, unfortunately, those who will remain in our hearts, in history, because they gave the most precious thing – life. We are very grateful to them. And none of us will never forget them,” – said Zelensky.
Currently, 90 Ukrainians are on vacation in the city of Split. All of them are children of soldiers of Kyiv region. Recuperation lasts 10 days and takes place within the framework of the program of the Embassy of Ukraine in Croatia for children of military men. The recreation is financed by the fund of the Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Croatia Ivica Piric. In total, more than 800 children have been able to undergo such recuperation since the beginning of the year.
“I am very glad that Croatia helps our Ukrainian children. Such assistance is very important. Such recreation allows us to support our children so that they smile. I can see it,” Zelensky noted.
Plenkovic added that the Ukrainian president’s visit to Croatia is related to the third summit “Ukraine – Southeast Europe”.
“We are here today to support Ukraine, your people and your president in the fight for your territorial integrity. We very much appreciate the heroism of your parents, with which they have been defending your state for two and a half years,” the Croatian Prime Minister said.
Zelenski and Plenkovic gave the children presents, and the children gave them flags with their signatures.