2024-10-10 17:37:00
Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 minutes takes stock for you every night. Between the strong declarations, the progress on the front and the results of the fighting, here is the essential part of this Thursday, the 960th day of the war.
Fact of the day
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stopped in Paris on Thursday afternoon as part of a mini-tour of his key European allies, intended to drum up more support in the face of the Russian invasion. French Head of State Emmanuel Macron and his counterpart exchanged a long and warm handshake before their bilateral meeting. The ceasefire “is not the subject of our discussions […] with our allies,” the Ukrainian president said after the meeting, attributing information on the matter to Russian “disinformation.”
Furthermore, as everywhere, he called for a rapid increase in Western aid. “Before winter, we need your support,” he insisted. Emmanuel Macron, for his part, assured that France’s aid continues “according to its commitments” and underlined “the progress in training and equipping a brigade”. “It’s also a very unique model of cooperation,” he said.
This morning in London, President Zelensky presented details of his “victory plan” against Russia to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO chief Mark Rutte. This plan, which will be presented at the second peace summit, scheduled for November, “aims to create favorable conditions for a just end to the war,” the Ukrainian leader said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyj is now expected in Rome and then on Friday in Berlin.
The number of the day
Two. This is the number of launchers of the American Patriot anti-aircraft system that Russia claims to have hit in Ukraine. Kiev has several Patriot systems supplied by its Western allies and uses them to cope with daily Russian bombing.
Russian troops “struck […] two Patriot launchers,” the Russian Defense Ministry said, without specifying when this occurred. The day before, the Russian military had released a video from the sky showing an Iskander missile attack on a Patriot battery near the city of Dnipropetrovsk, in east-central Ukraine. According to this source, one Patriot launcher was destroyed and another damaged.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriï Ignat confirmed on Thursday that such a system had been hit by a Russian attack, but downplayed the consequences. “The enemy simply damaged several pieces of equipment, but without destroying them,” he assured. The same crew “continues to carry out tasks in the region,” he added.
This is a rare official commentary on the Patriots. Ukraine keeps almost all information about these weapons secret, starting with their number within its armed forces.
Today’s statement
« “Really, stop worrying about a Trump presidency” »
The words were signed by new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in London on Thursday. The Dutch called for downplaying the possible return of Donald Trump to the White House, underlining that the former American president understood the stakes of the war in Ukraine for the security of the United States.
“I know that he perfectly understands and agrees with me that this war in Ukraine is not only about Ukraine, but also about the security and future security of the United States,” he said after a meeting with the British prime minister and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj. “I am absolutely convinced that the United States will be involved because they understand that it is not only about Ukraine but also about themselves,” he added.
Some European NATO allies fear a weakening of the United States’ commitment to the security of the European continent and an end to its military support for Ukraine if the American billionaire wins the November 5 presidential election.
The trend
Ukrainian deputies approved this Thursday an increase in some taxes, the first since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, to close the very deficit budget and largely concentrated on the army. In total, 247 elected representatives approved the bill brought forward by Volodymyr Zelenskyj’s government in the second and final reading.
The new law provides for an increase in the military tax, existing since 2014, from 1.5% to 5% for taxpayers (but not military personnel), higher taxes for individual entrepreneurs and small businesses, a high tax of 50% on the profits of corporate banks and a 25% tax on the profits of financial companies.
Our dossier on the war in Ukraine
This tax reform comes at a time when Ukraine, which before the war was one of the poorest countries in Europe and whose economy has since taken a hit, plans to spend more than 60% of its 2025 budget (48 .3 billion euros) for defense and security.
According to the 2025 budget proposal, the country also plans to borrow 34.5 billion euros in external financing next year from its Western allies.
“The Rada has just made a shameful decision,” complained MP Oleksiï Goncharenko, who is very critical of the government. He said the reform would come into force on October 1 “retroactively.”
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