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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday said his visits to Denmark on November 10-11 and Ireland on November 11-12 had yielded "concrete results", including a new 645 million defence package and a 20 million energy package from Denmark, along with fresh sanctions steps by the United Kingdom targeting Russia's oil sector.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy highlighted the outcomes of his visits and discussions with European partners on helping Ukraine get through the winter, strengthening its air defence capabilities and supporting its energy sector and railways. "A new 645 million defense package and a 20 million energy package from Denmark. New sanctions steps by the United Kingdom targeting Russia's oil sector. We've returned home with concrete results from our busy visits to Denmark and Ireland," he said. "Together with the team, we held many meetings. We spoke with all our European partners about how to help Ukraine get through this winter. We discussed what each of them can do to strengthen air defense and support our energy sector and railways. It's important that our partners are listening to us," Zelenskyy added. He further said Ukraine was working with the European Union to close the remaining two negotiation clusters by the end of this year and accelerate further steps in the coming year. "We're working with the European Union to close the remaining two negotiation clusters by the end of this year and accelerate our next steps in the coming year. We discussed this with President of the European Council Antnio Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen," he said. "There were also important conversations with the prime ministers of Ireland, Poland, Italy, and Czechia, as well as with the President of Lithuania. In Dublin, we also held meetings aimed at bringing peace closer with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner," he added. Thanking Ukraine's partners for their continued support, Zelenskyy said, "I thank our partners for their support and willingness to continue helping us. We are defending Europe. We are fighting for Ukraine. Glory to Ukraine!" His remarks come as the 9th European Political Community (EPC) Summit was held on Thursday in Dublin, Ireland. Earlier on Friday (local time), Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is expecting what could become the largest-ever prisoner exchange with Russia since the beginning of the war, with more than 1,000 people from each side likely to be released, Ukrainian President adding that Ukrainian teams, intelligence agencies and special services were working to make the exchange happen. In a post on X, Zelenskyy said Kyiv was taking seriously the assurances from the United States that the proposed exchange would be the biggest since the conflict began. "We count on a truly large-scale prisoner exchange, and we take very seriously the wording our American partners are using: that this should be the largest exchange of this war. More than a thousand people from each side. This is extremely sensitive for many Ukrainian families. And right now, the teams, the special services, the intelligence agencies the Coordination Headquarters all are working to make the exchange happen. I expect a report on the details of the preparations shortly," Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy added that discussions with European partners covered specific assistance for Kherson, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa, Sumy and Kyiv, among other cities facing challenges amid the ongoing conflict. He further said that additional sanctions against Russia were discussed with the United Kingdom, while his meetings with the leaders of France, Italy, the UK and Poland focused on strengthening international support for Ukraine. On the diplomatic front, Zelenskyy confirmed that Kyiv had agreed on the next steps with US President Donald Trump's Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during their meeting in Ireland on November 13. "We agreed with the American envoys on our next steps we very much want these to be steps we take together with America toward peace and guaranteed security," he said. The meeting followed discussions between the US envoys and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, where the parties discussed efforts to end the conflict and humanitarian cooperation, including preparations for a prisoner exchange. (ANI)
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