Ukraine's Zelensky calls for united fight against Russia in 2024

Amid uncertainty about military aid in the coming year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an emphatic call on the international community to join forces in the fight against Russian aggression on Thursday.

"Russian terror must be defeated. Terror must always fail. And all of us in the free world must ensure this together," Zelensky said in his evening video address shortly before the end of the year.

Everything must be done to ensure that everyone "shows strength together" in the coming year, he said.

Zelensky also thanked Pope Francis for his peace wishes for Ukraine and the US for its latest military aid package.

He was referring to the United States supplying new missiles for air defence, HIMARS cruise missiles, 155- and 105-millimetre calibre artillery ammunition and additional armoured vehicles. "Everything we need," said Zelensky.

The Ukrainian military has repeatedly underlined its need for far more ammunition to fend off the Russian war launched by the Kremlin in February 2022.

Earlier, Zelensky appointed a new governor for the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, which is being fought over by Ukrainian and Russian troops.

He appointed Vadym Filashkin by a decree published on Thursday. Filashkin has been the region's deputy governor since February 2019.

His predecessor Pavlo Kyrylenko was appointed head of the cartel office in Kiev in September.

Russia lays claim to the Donetsk region. More than half of the region on the border with Russia is occupied by Russian troops.

In a further decree, Zelensky appointed Olexander Koval as the new governor for the western Ukrainian region of Rivne. Koval previously headed the administration of Rivne district.

Ukraine has been defending itself, with Western help, against the full-scale Russian invasion for more than 22 months. Parts of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk have been under the control of Moscow-backed separatists since spring 2014.