In a media interview on November 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the country must do everything possible to end the conflict with Russia next year through diplomacy.
The Ukrainian leader said the fighting situation in the east was difficult and Russia was advancing. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin was not interested in agreeing to a peace deal.
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According to the Ukrainian president, US regulations prevent him from meeting President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office in January 2025. Mr. Zelensky said he would only talk to Mr. Trump, not any of his envoys or advisers.
“I, as the President of Ukraine, will only value a conversation with the President of the United States, with all respect for any entourage, any people. On our part, we must do everything so that this war ends next year through diplomatic means,” Reuters quoted Mr. Zelensky as saying.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky (right)
On the same day, TASS news agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying that he did not know how the US President-elect intended to resolve the crisis in Ukraine, but Moscow looked forward to seeing what he would come up with.
“I cannot imagine (how Trump will solve this crisis). Let’s wait for his proposals. We have repeatedly stressed when asked about this issue that any politician who says he is in favor of peace instead of war, that politician deserves attention,” Lavrov said.
In a related development, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Mr. Lavrov outlined the approach and principles related to the crisis in Ukraine, while he was visiting the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Mr. Lavrov arrived in Abu Dhabi (UAE) to attend the Sir Bani Yas International Peace and Security Forum, which took place from November 15. The diplomat had a series of bilateral meetings.
Asked by a reporter whether other forum participants were taking a more realistic approach when discussing the situation surrounding the Ukraine crisis, Lavrov said opinions had certainly become more realistic.
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Russia controls two more villages
Regarding the war situation, the Russian Defense Ministry said on November 16 that its forces had just gained control of two more villages, Makarivka and Hryhorivka, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Makarivka village is located south of the Velyka Novosilka area, while Hryhorivka village is located west of the town of Selydove, which Russia took control of last month.
Earlier on November 15, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had taken control of five more villages in Donetsk and Kharkiv during the week of November 9-15.
Specifically, Russian units took control of the villages of Kolesnikovka in Kharkiv province, and the villages of Voznesenka, Volchenka, Stepanovka and Rovnopol in Donetsk, according to TASS.
Japanese Foreign Minister visits Ukraine
Kyodo News reported that Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya made an unannounced visit to Ukraine on November 16 to meet with the country's leaders, apparently to demonstrate Tokyo's commitment to Kyiv.
Mr. Iwaya visited Ukraine after traveling to Peru to attend a regional economic meeting, marking the first trip by a Japanese minister to Ukraine since Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru took office last month.
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After traveling by train from Poland, Mr. Iwaya met his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha and held talks with President Zelensky on November 16 (local time).
Earlier in January, then-Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa visited Ukraine. Prime Minister Ishiba’s predecessor, Fumio Kishida, made an unannounced trip to Ukraine in March 2023.
More than 100 billion USD for Ukraine
The Kyiv Independent news site on November 16 quoted information from the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance saying that the country's budget has received more than $100 billion in support since Russia sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022.
In addition to military aid supporting Ukraine's military efforts along its eastern border, Western countries and organizations have helped finance Ukraine's state budget amid growing budgetary pressure on the struggling country.
Ukraine's external financing comes mainly from various cooperation programs, including those of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Union (EU), the World Bank, as well as direct financing from individual countries.
The EU leads in budget support with a total of $40.5 billion, followed by the US with $28.2 billion, the IMF with $11.4 billion, Japan with $6.3 billion and Canada with $5.4 billion. Together, these amounts account for more than 90% of external financial support to Ukraine.
“While the military operation is financed by domestic resources, Ukraine relies on the support of international partners for social and humanitarian needs. No country can face challenges of this scale alone,” the Ukrainian Finance Ministry said.
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