2023-08-22 20:20:37
After his return from Greece, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked European countries for new commitments regarding military and reconstruction aid. “There are planes for Ukraine. There is additional armor and we are strengthening air defenses,” he said in his daily video address. This time, the video was recorded on a train that Zelenskyy was taking back to Kiev following a journey of several days through various EU countries.
He visited Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark and finally Greece, where he spoke to several heads of state and government in the Balkan region, Zelenskyj said on Tuesday evening. In the past few days, Denmark and the Netherlands had promised Ukraine the delivery of Western F-16 fighter jets.
Zelenskyy thanked Greece not only for the arms aid, but also for the promise to take over the patronage for the reconstruction of the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, which had been hit several times by Russian rocket and drone attacks. “This is not only a meaningful decision, but also a very symbolic one,” with historical and cultural significance, he said.
In ancient times, the Greeks had opened up the Black Sea region. Ancient settlements also existed in the territory of today’s city of Odessa. However, Odessa itself was not founded until 1794 on the orders of Tsarina Catherine the Great.
In Ukraine, meanwhile, an overwhelming majority in a poll opposed compromises with wartime opponent Russia in exchange for a peace deal. According to the results of two well-known institutes published on Tuesday, more than 90 percent of the approximately 2,000 respondents were once morest the transfer of territory. Just under 74 percent ruled out opting out of joining the NATO military alliance. A reduction in the number of troops in the army in peacetime was rejected by 80 percent.
At the same time, only just under 49 percent of Ukrainians saw a positive development of events in their own country. In December last year, following the successful expulsion of the Russian occupiers from northern Ukraine and large parts of the Kharkiv and Cherson regions, almost 60 percent still believed that.
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