Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland (Denis Balibouse/Reuters)

Tuesday’s Coverage: Kyiv Downs 2 More Russian Warplanes

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1527 GMT:

Russian attacks have killed a 37-year-old man and injured five people in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine.

The man was killed and an 81-year-old woman wounded by a strike on a garage in a residential area.

UPDATE 1441 GMT:

Despite international sanctions, Western companies supplied Russia with critical components worth $2.9 billion in the first 10 months of 2023, according to the office of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The office cited research by a working group led by Presidential Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak and by former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, which found the products of more than 250 western companies in samples of destroyed or captured Russian weapons.

UPDATE 1037 GMT:

The Ukraine Air Force says air defenses downed 19 of 20 Iran-made Shahed attack drones launched by Russia at targets in southern Ukraine overnight.

The Russians also fired two S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles from the Belgorod region, near the border, on Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv.

Authorities said 20 people have been injured in Kharkiv and in the port city of Odesa in southern Ukraine.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Ukraine’s international partners have issued calls for unity at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

In his address to the Forum on Tuesday, Zelenskiy spoke of the need for additional support of the resistance against Russia’s 22 1/2-month invasion.

Amid threats to assistance from US Republicans and from Hungary’s Viktor Orbán within the European Union, Zelenskiy said that the West’s fear of escalation had cost Ukraine time in its defense.

Putin embodies war….He will not change….We must change. We all must change to the extent that the madness that resides in this man’s head or any other aggressor’s head will not prevail.

Welcoming “positive signals” on financial support from the EU, he expressed hope that the US would approve further aid within weeks.

Zelenskiy emphasized to the delegates:

We must ensure that the war will end in just and stable peace.

I want you to be part of this peace, starting right now, to bring it closer.

We need you in Ukraine — to build, reconstruct, and restore life. Each of you can be even more successful with Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reinforced Zelenskiy’s message.

We must continue to empower their resistance. Ukrainians need predictable financing throughout 2024 and beyond.

They need a sustained supply of weapons to defend Ukraine and regain its rightful territory. They need capabilities to deter future attacks by Russia. And they also need hope. They need to know that, with their struggle, they will earn a better future for their children.

And Ukraine’s better future is called Europe.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who is visiting Kyiv next month, pledged dozens of long-range SCALP missiles under a bilateral security deal. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck pursued Berlin’s proposals for companies to provide investment guarantees in Ukraine as part of reconstruction efforts.

Promoting the Ukraine Peace Formula

Zelenskiy discussed defense cooperation with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He sat down with Poland’s President Andrzej Duda and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo about Ukraine’s “path to EU membership”

And, going beyond Europe, he spoke with a series of leaders about the 10-point Ukraine Peace Formula to end the Russian invasion. They included the heads of Ghana, Vietnam, Rwanda, and Singapore.

The fourth summit on the Peace Formula was held on Sunday at Davos. Representatives of 81 countries discussed confirmation of the end of the invasion, prevention of another Russian-launched war, restoration of justice, and environmental security.

Ukraine War, Day 691: 81 Countries in Davos Summit on Kyiv’s Peace Formula