
Volodymyr Zelensky and Joe Biden pose for photos on stage during an event with world leaders n New York City (Getty Images)
Published October 9, 2024
Joe Biden has been forced to pull out of what would have been the highest-level meeting yet of Ukrainian donors in Germany, as the US president cancelled his upcoming trip to focus on the hurricane approaching Florida.
The gathering, seen as critical to the “victory plan” Volodymyr Zelensky presented to allies last month, was supposed to underscore unwavering support for Kyiv and secure more pledges of assistance ahead of winter.
On the battlefield, Russia says its forces have taken control of two more settlements in eastern Ukraine. If confirmed it would represent the latest gains for Moscow in its offensive in the Donbas region.
Ukraine officials made no reference to control of either village being lost in their latest statements, but the Ukrainian military acknowledged that the Kurakhove sector was the scene of the heaviest battles on the eastern front.
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SOURCE: www.independent.co.uk
RELATED: Zelenskyy ‘victory plan’ summit in doubt after Joe Biden pulls out
US president prepares for arrival of Hurricane Milton as German chancellor says meeting will be rescheduled
Published October 9, 2024
Joe Biden has called off a four-day trip to Germany this week that had been intended to culminate in a summit to discuss Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s “victory plan” for Ukraine.
The White House said on Tuesday evening that the president would stay at home “to oversee preparations for and the response” to Hurricane Milton, which is expected to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday.
It was not clear how Biden’s absence would affect the planned summit, the first time world leaders were due to gather at the Ramstein US airbase, normally the location of a regular meeting of defence ministers to discuss military aid for Kyiv.
Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, promised that the Biden trip would be rescheduled and said he understood the president’s reasons for calling it off. “It would have been a very important meeting and we prepared it on all sides,” he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Germany had said the UK’s Keir Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron would attend the event alongside Biden and Scholz. A total of 20 leaders were expected to attend.
They were to hear Zelenskyy unveil the latest version of his “victory plan” to end the war, which is expected to focus heavily on a demand to allow Ukraine to fire Storm Shadow and other western long-range missiles deep into Russia.
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SOURCE: www.theguardian.com