Mr. Zelensky called on the West not to abandon Kiev when Mr. Trump took office.

(Dan Tri) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West to maintain long-term military support for Kiev once US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Photo: Reuters).

Speaking at a summit in Germany on January 9, Mr. Zelensky acknowledged that Mr. Trump's upcoming second term could bring major changes. "It is clear that a new chapter will begin for Europe and the whole world in just 11 days," the Ukrainian president said.

"We have to cooperate, trust each other more and achieve greater results together," he added, sitting alongside outgoing US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

"Halting military assistance will only increase chaos and hostilities. We have come a long way. It would be a mistake to give up now and not continue to strengthen the defense alliances we have built," Zelenskyy warned.

"No matter what happens in the world, everyone wants to make sure their country won't be wiped off the map," he added.

For his part, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin praised President Zelensky as a “leader who made history” and announced a $500 million aid package from the US. The package includes additional air defense missiles, more ammunition and other equipment to support Ukraine’s F-16 fighter jet fleet.

The US is determined to prevent Moscow from defeating Kiev, Mr Austin stressed. “The risks to all of our security remain enormous,” Mr Austin said.

However, it seems that US President-elect Donald Trump disagrees with the above analysis. He has pledged to end the fighting within 24 hours and appointed Keith Kellogg as his special envoy to Ukraine. This week, Mr. Kellogg postponed his visit to Kiev until after Mr. Trump's inauguration on January 20.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to have little interest in peace talks at a time when Russian forces are advancing in the east. The Russian president’s apparent calculation is that a Trump White House would quickly end US military support for Ukraine, leading to greater gains for Russia.

The meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which includes 57 countries and all 32 NATO members, took place on January 9 at the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany. It may be the last meeting in its current form. Mr. Zelensky is scheduled to travel to Italy today, January 10, for talks with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a key strategic partner of Ukraine.

Mr Zelensky described Ukraine’s five-month offensive in Russia’s Kursk region as “one of our greatest victories”. On January 5, the Ukrainian military began a small-scale offensive. He added that North Korean forces fighting alongside Russian troops had “suffered 4,000 casualties” since joining the war in December.

The West is stepping up its UAV supply to Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president also highlighted the bilateral security agreements that Kiev has signed with each country, and called on partners to invest in Ukraine's defense industry, including the development of drone manufacturing capabilities.

The UK and Latvia have announced that they, along with a group of European countries, will supply Ukraine with 30,000 drones after signing a £45m contract with manufacturers. Funding for the initiative, part of the Drone Capability Alliance, comes from the UK and Latvia, along with Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Ukraine is making extensive use of small, low-cost FPV drones on the battlefield as an alternative to its lack of a traditional air force. Late last year, the country’s military said it had delivered 1.1 million drones to the front lines by 2024.

The Ramstein meeting “sends a clear message to Mr Putin about the international community’s unwavering support for Ukraine”, said British Defence Secretary John Healey. He stressed that Britain would spend £3bn a year on military aid to Ukraine as long as Russia’s actions continued.

In recent months, the Kremlin has stepped up its attacks on civilian areas of Ukraine. On January 8, 13 people were killed and 113 wounded in the city of Zaporizhzhia. Two Russian glide bombs hit a busy street in the mid-afternoon.

Meanwhile, Slovakia's pro-Russian government said it would take tough countermeasures against Ukraine if the issue of halting gas transit through the country was not resolved. Ukraine has stopped all gas transit from Russia since January 1.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has accused Kiev of damaging Slovakia's interests. He has threatened to retaliate by cutting emergency power supplies to Ukraine and reducing aid to refugees.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/ong-zelensky-keu-goi-phuong-tay-khong-bo-roi-kiev-khi-ong-trump-nham-chuc-20250110090952936.htm