Zelensky to meet European allies to discuss common position on ending Russia-Ukraine war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced plans to meet European allies to discuss a common position on ending the war with Russia. He also called for stronger military and energy support for Ukraine as Russian attacks continue ahead of winter.Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing is being prepared. (AFP)Zelensky announces key meetingsZelensky said on Sunday that a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, a group of Kyiv’s allies, is being prepared. The meeting aims to set Europe’s position in talks on ending the war with Russia.“We are preparing a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing. It is an important meeting, and it could be a historic one,” Zelensky said in his daily evening address, according to AFP. He added: “We can define a 100-percent strong European position for victory."He also said a meeting of the Ramstein group, which helps support Ukraine’s defense, is set for next week. He said “it needs to be productive” and should “send a strong signal to Russia that Ukraine will not be left without support”, as per AFP.Europe has chosen five countries, France, Britain, Poland, Germany and Italy, to send representatives to future Ukraine talks. Until now, talks have been held in the Ukraine-Russia-US format, and Moscow wanted to keep Europeans out.“The trilateral format of Ukraine-America-Russia must become not just a quadrilateral format, but also significantly stronger,” Zelensky said.Also read: US asked Ukraine to cede Donbas in exchange for NATO membership, Zelensky saysRussian strikes on energy gridAccording to AFP, Russia has continued its attacks on Ukraine ahead of winter, including during two days of talks in Abu Dhabi this week. Zelensky said Russia has been targeting one region at a time for several days, focusing on electricity grids and substations.The central Dnipropetrovsk region has faced the most attacks since the start of September. The strikes have left thousands of people without electricity as temperatures drop.In his video shared on social media on Sunday, Zelensky said the situation in Dnipropetrovsk was very difficult. He said some electricity had been restored, but much work remained. He thanked repair teams and energy workers, adding that repeated air alerts and fresh strikes were making their work harder.Zelensky said Dnipropetrovsk had faced 131 strikes since September. The Kyiv region had recorded 125, while Zhytomyr and Sumy had each seen more than 100.Also read: Sean Duffy blames past administrations for US air traffic crisis, seeks additional $50 billion for FAA upgradeZelensky seeks more support from European alliesIn his video address, Zelensky said the European Commission had decided to provide Ukraine with additional energy support. He said he had discussed the plan with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The aid will include more generators, equipment and financial support for the cities and communities most affected by Russian attacks.Zelensky said Ukraine urgently needed more missiles for its Patriot air defense systems because the threat from Russian ballistic missiles remained “very serious”. He added that Ukraine would work with its partners to increase drone production.He also claimed that Russia had lost more than 50,000 soldiers, including those killed and wounded, in October. He said similar losses were expected in November. Zelensky further claimed that Ukrainian long-range strikes had stopped more than 55% of Russia's oil refineries.Zelensky said he had spoken with the prime ministers of Norway and the president of Finland about diplomatic efforts and preparations for meetings of Ukraine's allies. He also said Ukraine was reviewing its existing support groups, adding that some were working well while others “remain empty”.According to AFP, the US has been pushing for an end to the war, but talks have yet to produce a breakthrough. The conflict is now heading into another winter.