US President Donald Trump admitted that Washington is profiting from the conflict in Ukraine.
“We are making money from war, but I don't even want to talk about it“, he said on January 11, while talking to reporters on board his plane en route to Washington from West Palm Beach, Florida, where he was spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
He again stated that he was making efforts to resolve the crisis only because “he wants to save lives“.
The US president said that progress is being made in the peace process in Ukraine.
“I want to save lives“, Trump said. "And I believe we are making progress on that front," he added.
Russia's war in Ukraine has now lasted as long as the Soviet Union's war against Hitlerite Germany, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the opposition Russian website „Medusa“ pointed out, quoted by DPA and BTA.
Soviet leader Stalin declares the beginning of the Great Patriotic War after the German invasion in 1941.
„Medusa“ calculated that it took the Red Army 1,418 days to recover from the initial defeats suffered by the Wehrmacht, advance on Berlin and, together with the Allies, force Germany to surrender.
In contrast, after 1,418 days of war in Ukraine, the Russian army has been blocked “for years in the same villages and towns in Donbas“, the website said.
Russia invaded the neighboring country almost four years ago and expected to capture the capital Kiev within days, DPA reported.
Moscow wanted to repeat the success of that time, Zelensky said in his evening video address.
“They repeated the abuse of people, they repeated fascism, they repeated almost all the worst things that happened in the 20th century“, he said.
“But nevertheless "The Russians are trying to take over the same Donbass as they did almost four years ago. They want to lie again that they have 'taken over' Kupyansk. This speaks volumes about the system that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has built, and about him personally," Zelensky added.
He also said that Russian losses currently amount to at least 1,000 people killed per day. "In this way, Russia is actually paying just so that the war does not end. This is madness." According to him, this "Russian madness" can only be stopped through joint efforts.
However, the comparison between the two wars is not entirely accurate, notes "Medusa". A direct comparison of many indicators shows that the current war is existential only for Ukraine. Kiev manages to continue the war with the support of the West, while the Kremlin is either unable or unwilling to engage in an existential battle and is limited to only a minor intensification of its efforts, the website states.
Zelensky announced that he would hold a meeting that would focus on Ukraine's need for new air defense missiles, Ukrinform reported, quoted by BTA, referring to Zelensky's evening video address.
The Ukrainian president said that he had discussed with the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrsky issues related to air defense and deliveries from partners, including what is already in the process of being delivered, which orders remain unfulfilled, and what needs to be accelerated.
According to Zelensky, the main priority is air defense missiles.
„Specifically, tomorrow "We have a meeting to discuss this. New supplies are needed from partners in the PURL initiative, as well as supplies from warehouses in Europe - the missiles are there, in the warehouses, and we know this, we know everything. They must be in service with our air defense forces," Zelensky said.
This week, Russia has sent nearly 1,100 drones, over 890 guided aerial bombs and over 50 missiles of various types against Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.
Two people were injured as a result of a drone attack in Odessa, the chairman of the Odessa city military administration, Sergei Lysak, announced on his Telegram channel, quoted by BTA.
Damage was caused to infrastructure facilities. There is no electricity in one of the city's districts. Also, one private house was destroyed and four were damaged.
Emergency and utility services are working on the ground.
The Bulgarians in the Odessa region number over 150,000 people and are the third largest according to the latest official census in Ukraine. About 50-60 thousand Bulgarians live in the city of Odessa itself. The largest compact Bulgarian population is concentrated in the Bolgrad, Izmail and Belgorod-Dniester regions.