After US President Joe Biden dismissed with a simple “no” the idea of his country sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, the British and Poles voted on the same tuning fork. But from France, through the mouth of the head of state, Emmanuel Macron, the Ukrainians heard hopeful words about the possibility of receiving an aviation reinforcement. On the day the head of Kiev’s secret service revealed there were “about 326,000 Russian troops” in Ukraine, Moscow announced the capture of yet another city besides Bakhmut, which is now the epicenter of the conflict.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksi Reznikov was welcomed in Paris by his counterpart Sébastien Lecornu, while the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, addressed the National Assembly and met with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and the President. A charm operation in a country that is not at the forefront of Kiev’s allies, such as Poland or the Baltic states, but which has stepped up military aid and whose president has repeatedly tried to maintain diplomatic pressure with his Russian counterpart, without success. Months pass and Macron says “nothing is excluded by definition” when asked about the possibility of strengthening Ukraine with fighter jets.
Lecornu announced that France will send 12 more CAESAR howitzers in addition to the 18 already delivered and the 19 being offered by Denmark. The minister said this new donation was possible because the French company that produces the howitzer, Nexter, is “increasing its production capacities”, although he did not provide an estimate of the delivery. “We now have a quantity that is far from negligible,” said Lecornu.
In addition, it was promised to provide a Ground Master 200 radar, also made in France, capable of detecting aircraft 250 kilometers away, and Paris plans to train 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers on French soil by the summer and send 150 army members to Poland . in late February, aiming to train up to 600 Ukrainian soldiers monthly.
Added to this is the shipment of AMX-10 RC armored vehicles, an unspecified number, from Crotale air defense systems and, together with Australia, is preparing to manufacture 155mm caliber projectiles, serving not only CAESAR, but also general artillery. of the NATO countries.
The speaker of Ukraine’s parliament ended the first day of his visit to France at a meeting at the Élysée Palace, where he had a “meaningful, sincere and candid” conversation with Macron in which they talked “a lot about weapons”. according to Stefanchuk. The issue of fighter jets has not been left out of consideration, after a request was made in his speech to the National Assembly.
Defense ministers also said they had discussed the subject. “The topic is not taboo,” Lecornu said, although it seemed to be in recent hours.
The first was the US President’s denial of the F-16, to which the UK government spokesman said that “it is not practical” to have its Typhoon, made in the UK, or the F-35, made in the US, to send. The Poles, who talked the day before about the possibility of sending F-16s in consultation with the Allies, have now said that there are no talks about it.
According to BFMTV, the aircraft under consideration is the Mirage and not the latest Rafale. There are several models, a total of 113 units in France, 55 of which are under renovation.
Despite Joe Biden’s response, he later said he would speak to his Ukrainian counterpart. And hours later, the White House revealed that another military aid package will be announced “soon”, at a time when Russia is forcing the lines around Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region, with an ever-increasing number of soldiers.
This is evident from statements made by the head of the Ukrainian military intelligence service (GUR), Kyrylo Budanov, at the time Washington messagethere are about 326,000 men fighting for Moscow on Ukrainian territory.
Source: DN
