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A summit of Western security advisors is scheduled to take place today, ahead of the meeting of the leaders of the Volodymyr Volensky on 6 January in France. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, announced in a post on X the appointment of Denys Shmyhal as first deputy premier and energy minister,

Kiev, agreement with the US military on army support and guarantees

Ukraine and the US have agreed on a military document consisting of four chapters. This was announced by Armed Forces Chief of Staff Andriy Hnatov in the context of meetings with European and NATO national security advisors in Kiev. The understanding covers ‘how Ukraine will support the Armed Forces, how they will be resupplied and modernised, and how compliance with the agreements will be monitored and how action will be taken in the event of non-compliance with these agreements’. Hnatov said that ‘the same work is being done with other partners and one of the sections of the document concerns the activities of the Coalition of the Willing’.

Zelensky proposes Shmyhal as energy minister

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal and proposed him the role of new Energy Minister. “We held consultations with Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and I trust in the support of parliamentarians for this approach and the position of the First Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister in favour of Denys Shmyhal,” the Ukrainian president wrote on Telegram.

“I met with Denys Shmyhal. I thank him for his systematic work at the Ministry of Defence and for the processes that have been activated to ensure the protection of our state. It is precisely this kind of systematicity that is also needed today for the Ukrainian energy sector. It is crucial that, after each Russian attack, we can quickly restore what has been destroyed and that the development of Ukrainian energy is stable and adapted to the country’s needs,’ Zelensky represented.

Zelensky talks to Starmer: leaders to meet soon

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel that he had a “good conversation with Keir Starmer”. “We talked both about how to act now on the diplomatic level and how to achieve greater justice together, in light of all that Russia has brought with the war,” Zelensky continued.

During the phone call, Zelensky said that “the details of the preparation of a meeting at the leaders’ level, which will be held soon,” had been discussed. “The national security advisors are also working very productively: today is a busy day and 18 participants from Europe are taking part in the joint work. We are also coordinating with the American side,” Zelensky pointed out.

“With Keir we also addressed the need for a just decision regarding the frozen funds from the sale of ‘Chelsea’,” Zelensky wrote, explaining that “this is two and a half billion pounds that can and should contribute significantly to protecting lives and reconstruction in Ukraine after all the Russian attacks.”

“I am grateful to Keir for his leadership and I thank Britain that through such fully just decisions, Ukrainian resilience and our shared aspiration, with Britain and many others around the world, for peace can be strengthened,” Zelensky concluded.