Ukraine’s Western allies pledged an extra one billion euros ($1.1 billion) in emergency winter aid on Tuesday, responding to calls from President Volodymyr Zelensky to help the country cope. Attack of Russia against its energy grid.
French President Emmanuel Macron said some 70 countries and international organizations had gathered in Paris for a meeting aimed at helping Ukrainians “get through this winter”.
In a video message Zielinski He said that Ukraine needs about 800 million euros of aid in the short term for its damaged energy sector.
“Of course it’s a lot of money, but the cost is less than the cost of a potential blackout,” Zielinski told the conference via video link.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said the energy sector commitments included 400 million euros in funds raised on Tuesday.
Ukraine Repairs require spare parts, high-capacity generators, additional gas, as well as increased imports of electricity, Zelinski said.
He said generators have become as necessary as armored vehicles and bulletproof jackets.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmegel said 40 to 50 percent of the country’s grid is down because of Russia’s attacks.
Many areas of the country have electricity for only a few hours a day.
Another 1.5 million people lost power in southern Odessa over the weekend after Russian drone strikes.
“They want to put us in the dark and it will fail, thanks to our partners around the world,” Schmeichel told delegates.
Attack on the bridge
On the battlefield on Tuesday, local officials in the Russian-held city of Melitopol said pro-Kyiv forces used explosives to damage a strategic bridge.
Melitopol is a key transportation hub for Russian forces in the Zaporizhia region and is key to Ukraine’s hopes of liberating the south of the country.
Vladimir Rogov, a Moscow-based regional official, said on the Telegram messaging app that the bridge in the eastern suburbs was “damaged by terrorists”.
He did not specify the extent of the damage but photos on his social media accounts showed that a middle section of the bridge had collapsed.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Belarus conducted a surprise inspection of its armed forces, raising fears of a possible escalation in the conflict.
Belarus is a close ally of Moscow, but Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly said he does not intend to send Belarusian troops to Ukraine.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Shmigel also said on Tuesday that the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, had agreed to send permanent teams to monitor the country’s nuclear plants.
They are expected to take up positions at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia plant, one of the epicenters of the fighting, which has been a source of global concern in recent months.
A deal to demilitarize the site, which would have allowed both sides to withdraw troops, has so far proved impossible despite international diplomatic efforts.
‘War Crimes’
Tuesday’s conference in Paris, titled “Standing with the People of Ukraine,” also saw the launch of a new so-called Paris Mechanism to coordinate civilian aid to Ukraine.
The digital platform, announced by G7 leaders on Monday, will allow Ukraine to list its needs and coordinate its response to international donors in real time.
“A large number of countries will use this mechanism – all EU members, but it will extend to other partners, including non-European partners,” Colonna told reporters.
A similar platform exists for military aid, coordinated through meetings of Ukraine’s Western allies at the US-run Ramstein military base in Germany.
Macron co-hosted Tuesday’s conference with Zelenskyi’s wife, Olena, giving the French leader an opportunity to reiterate his support for Kyiv.
He condemned Russia’s “ridiculous” and “cowardly” attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.
“These attacks … which Russia openly admits are designed to break the resistance of the Ukrainian people, are war crimes,” Macron said in his opening address.
“They undoubtedly violate the basic principles of human rights,” he said.
“These actions are intolerable and will not go unpunished.”
The French president has angered some of his allies in Kyiv in the past, most notably in June when he said “we must not humiliate Russia”.
On December 3, he also called on Russia to offer a “security guarantee” at the end of the war, drawing criticism from some Ukrainian and Eastern European politicians who believe that Moscow’s forces are backing down militarily. The focus should be on pushing.
Mine clearance
In a video address to New Zealand’s parliament on Wednesday, Zelenskiy appealed to Wellington – whose military has extensive experience in demining – for long-term help to clear mines in war-torn Ukraine.
“Until now, 174,000 square kilometers (67,000 square miles) of Ukrainian territory is contaminated with landmines and unexploded ordnance,” Zelensky said, calling Russia’s nearly year-old invasion an “accident” that will have a lasting impact.
“There is no real comfort for any child who may die from a Russian anti-personnel mine.”
In Russia, the Kremlin announced that Putin would not hold his annual closing press conference this year, breaking with tradition.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov gave no reason for not holding the event, which Putin has hosted almost every year since he came to power in 2000.