German Merz visits Kyiv as Zelenskyy announces new Contact Group - Monday brief
Collage by RBC-Ukraine
Ukraine organized a new contact group including several European countries. Additionally, Friedrich Merz, the candidate for the position of Chancellor of Germany from the Christian Democratic Union, arrived in Kyiv.
Read more about what happened on Monday, December 9.
Russia-Ukraine war: Latest updates
- 151 combat clashes occurred in the frontline. Russian forces are attacking most actively in the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove directions.
- Ukraine's Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov discussed US assistance and the next Ramstein meeting with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin.
- Ukrainian commander states that Russian losses are now at their highest levels since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Olenivka prison chief killed in car explosion in Donetsk
Serhii Yevsyukov, collaborant and head of Olenivka prison, was killed, and his wife is in serious condition.
In July 2022, the Russian occupiers carried out a terrorist attack in Olenivka, killing at least 53 Ukrainian defenders and injuring 130.
13-meter craters: British intelligence recorded the destruction of a Russian S-400 in Crimea
As stated in the report, on November 29, 2024, Ukrainian forces destroyed elements of Russia's S-400 air defense in Simferopol.
Intelligence highlights that this is the second recorded successful strike on Russian S-400 systems by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in November, following the destruction of a similar system in the Kursk region on November 23, 2024.
Discussing NATO invitation: Zelenskyy will soon call Biden
"By the way, I am planning to call President Biden soon, if he is available, and raise the issue of the invitation to NATO, as his position is crucial given that he is the current US president," said President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a conversation with journalists following a meeting with German Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz in Kyiv.
Merz in Kyiv supports providing Ukraine with long-range weapons
The leader of the German opposition and candidate for chancellor from the CDU/CSU, Friedrich Merz, during a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stated that he supports providing Ukraine with long-range weapons. He noted that these weapons should be capable of striking military targets on Russian territory.
According to him, a "very intense" discussion on military support for Ukraine is ongoing in Germany.
Ukraine may consider Macron's idea of deploying foreign troops, Zelenskyy
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recalled that French leader Emmanuel Macron had proposed that part of troops from one country or another be present on Ukraine's territory. This would allegedly guarantee security while Ukraine is not in NATO.
"But we must have a clear understanding of when Ukraine will be in the EU and when Ukraine will be in NATO. Understanding our future, these would be very effective guarantees," Zelenskyy emphasized.
For a unified European position on ending the war: Zelenskyy announces new Contact Group
German Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz proposed to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy the creation of a Contact Group of several European countries to form a unified position on ending the war in Ukraine.
"I support your proposal. To be honest, we have already organized it (Contact Group - ed)," responded the President.
