DAVOS, Switzerland/MOSCOW/KYIV – US President Donald Trump said on Thursday in Davos that his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was “very good,” adding that “it’s an ongoing process.”
The meeting between Trump and Zelensky lasted “about an hour,” according to the White House.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting during the World Economic Forum annual meeting, Trump said the Russia-Ukraine war “has to end,” adding that the US delegation will head for Moscow for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Meanwhile, Zelensky said on Thursday that his meeting with Trump was “productive and substantive.”
“We discussed the work of our teams, and practically every day there are meetings or communication. The documents are now even better prepared,” he wrote on X, after their meeting earlier in the day in Davos, Switzerland.
Zelensky said that the talks also covered Ukraine’s air defense, and thanked Trump for the previous package of air defense missiles before asking for an additional package.
The Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported that Zelensky said that delegations from Ukraine, the United States and Russia will meet in the United Arab Emirates on Friday and Saturday,
“This will be the first trilateral meeting in the Emirates. I think it will be tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.”
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Russia strikes Ukraine energy infrastructure
Russian forces have struck energy infrastructure supporting Ukrainian military operations and Ukrainian military deployment areas over the past 24 hours, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
In a statement, the ministry said that operational-tactical aircraft, combat unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops and artillery of Russian force groupings hit 142 targets, including energy facilities used by the Ukrainian military, ammunition depots, and temporary deployment areas of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries.
The ministry added that air defense systems shot down nine guided aerial bombs, four rockets fired by the US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launch system, and 224 fixed-wing drones.
Ukraine dismisses five deputy defense ministers
The Ukrainian government has approved the dismissal of five deputy defense ministers, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Thursday on Telegram.
The reshuffle is part of the efforts to modernize the ministry, enhance Ukraine’s defense capabilities in the air and on the ground, and strengthen “asymmetric and cyber strikes against the enemy and its economy,” Fedorov said.
According to Fedorov, the cabinet removed Anatoly Klochko, Oleksandr Kozenko, Mykola Shevtsov, Volodymyr Zaverukha and Hanna Gvozdiar from their posts.
He said that new members will join the ministry in the coming weeks and be responsible for “important areas of activity.”
Fedorov was appointed Ukraine’s defense minister last week.