Live battle in Ukraine, day 835 | Attacks by 53 drones and 5 missiles in several regions, including Kiev

In a speech to the French parliament on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky drew a parallel between Europe during World War II (1939-1945) and contemporary Europe “threatened by Russia.”

Zelensky was invited to address the French parliament the day after an international ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, which opened a second front against Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s army.

“We live in an era when Europe is no longer a continent of peace,” the Ukrainian head of state began his speech, as quoted by The Huffington Post.

According to Zelensky, Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine “brought Nazism back to Europe”. “The war for Ukraine has the same existential importance for Europe as the wars won by previous generations of Europeans,” the Ukrainian president stressed.

More details: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speech in French parliament: “Let’s do more to defeat evil” | Video

Occupation officials in the eastern Ukrainian city said air defenses were activated on Friday to repel a missile attack targeting camps and an airport in Luhansk.

According to Moscow-imposed officials in Luhansk, the attack began around 11:00 local time and seven to 20 explosions were heard. There are currently no reports of casualties or damage.

Photos circulating online show plumes of smoke rising from the blast site.

Occupiers reported explosions in Luhansk pic.twitter.com/nBfMaNeHiT

— Ukraine Pravda ✌️ (@ukrpravda_news) June 7, 2024

Moscow’s media outlets say the attack was carried out with ATAMS long-range missiles supplied to Ukraine by the US.

Viola Amhert, head of the Swiss Confederation, said on Friday that the conference organized by Switzerland this month is only the beginning of the talks and will continue discussions with Russia.

“It is clear to us that we will not conclude a peace agreement at the end of the conference,” Amherd said in an interview published by German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Friday.

Noting the fact that Russia was not invited to the summit in Switzerland, he insisted that both sides should be at the negotiating table for peace. “Russia may attend a future conference,” said Viola Amhert, quoted by the DPA news agency. Agerpres.

Switzerland has invited some 160 countries to discuss possible ways to bring lasting peace to Ukraine. Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago, was not invited. Ukraine participates in the conference in Switzerland.

More than 80 countries have so far confirmed their participation in the June 15-16 meeting in Switzerland.

Moscow has said it will not attend, even though Russia has been invited.

According to Viola Amherd, the conference is to create a platform for dialogue, the first step of which is to discuss how to achieve peace in Ukraine.

The head of the Swiss Confederation said that peace in Ukraine in the proper sense will not be discussed, but “only” about humanitarian issues, nuclear security, freedom of navigation and food security.

“We want to build trust and resolve these issues, which is important for the public and then for peace,” he added.

At the July conference in Washington, a project called “NATO Mission Ukraine” is planned to be launched, but Germany opposes the name, arguing that it would send the wrong message to Russia.

Until now, NATO member states have coordinated their aid through the US-led Contact Group for Ukraine, not through the alliance, which has not positioned itself as a party to the war between Russia and Ukraine.

However, European allies are concerned that US integration could weaken if Donald Trump wins the presidential election in November. In this context, one of the aims of the summit was to transfer the responsibilities of the Contact Group to NATO.

Germany’s rejection of the proposed name for the project appears to be delaying the project, several diplomats told the DPA news agency. AgerpresAlmost all allies saw Berlin’s refusal as an unnecessary gesture of attention towards Russia.

The German government’s designation of the project as a mission could be seen as NATO’s intention to send troops to Ukraine, fueling Russian propaganda.

On the other hand, supporters of the name argue that Moscow could see the new plan as aggression against Russia, and the Kremlin will use it anyway to spread disinformation.

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For most Allies, Germany’s isolated opposition is hard to fathom, given Berlin’s unequivocal support.

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According to information obtained by dpa, the German government is calling the new mission Pledge Aid Coordination Exercise (Commitment – Aid – Coordination – Training) with the acronym PACT, the aim of which is to coordinate aid and training efforts. to the Ukrainian forces.