The President of Ukraine, in a speech during a train journey back to Kiev, after a visit to Kherson, thanked the latest initiatives at European level to supply ammunition and to Poland and Slovakia in particular for the supply of MiG-29 aircraft from the Soviet Union. made, but he told the leaders present at the European Council that it is necessary to stop wasting time and therefore people to achieve the objectives of driving the Russians out of their country, which included the supply of long-range missiles and fighter jets westerners.
In a statement at the end of the first day of the summit, the Council did not refer to the aircraft, but welcomed the agreement “to urgently deliver surface-to-surface and artillery ammunition and, if requested, missiles to Ukraine”. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian commander assured that his country’s forces would soon benefit from the exhaustion of the Russians in Bakhmut.
“Dear colleagues, don’t you think we have fewer new successes than new setbacks in our joint efforts? Unfortunately, this is the case. And the Kremlin sees this. This takes us even further away from achieving peace,” he said. Volodymyr Zelensky. He then presented five examples: the delay in the transfer of long-range missiles, the indecisiveness about the deployment of modern combat aircraft, the delay in presenting a new package of sanctions, the inability to organize a summit on the presented “peace formula” for Kiev and recalled as a warning that his country is ready to start negotiations as soon as possible so that the country can join the European club.
“If there is no delay or stagnation in our cooperation, if our joint efforts are resolutely focused on Ukraine’s victory, victory will already be achieved this year,” the Ukrainian leader said.
Slovakia has announced that it has shipped the first four MiG-29s of a set of 13, three of which are for parts. By the end of 2022, Kiev had 43 of these aircraft, according to a Flight Global report cited by AFP. Warsaw also announced that it would send four aircraft of that model in the coming days. As for the Leopard 2 tanks, Finland has said that having already delivered three, it will send many more, but these are tanks modified to neutralize mines and other explosives. And Spain has confirmed that another six Leopard 2s will be on their way next year, while four will be salvaged.
While Zelensky was visiting Kherson, in the south, after moving north and east the day before, Oleksandr Syrsky, commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, revealed that he intends to take advantage of the fact that the Russian forces ” exhausted” near Bakhmut, the site of the attack. the longest battle, which began in August. “The aggressor has not given up hope of taking Bakhmut at all costs, despite the losses in manpower and equipment,” Syrsky said. “They spare nothing, they lose a lot of strength and get exhausted. Very soon we will seize this opportunity, as we did near Kiev, Kharkiv, Balakliya and Kupiansk,” he added, referring to counter-offensives carried out last year .
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, said his troops control about 70% of the city, but it has since been revealed that the Ukrainians have mobilized 80,000 troops and modern weapons to defend the city from the Donetsk region . .
sanctions without relief
The agenda of the first day of the European Council was dominated by the presence of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the discussion on aid to Ukraine. António Guterres was invited by Council President Charles Michel and the Portuguese – who also discussed other topics such as the modernization of the organization he chairs, climate change and development aid – wanted to “exchange views” on the Russian invasion and its consequences , especially global food security, taking into account the importance of Ukrainian grain exports and Russian and Belarusian fertilizers.
One of the topics Guterres wanted to highlight was “efforts to facilitate the export of Russian food and fertilizers” during the discussion of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the agreement that allows the maritime traffic of cargo ships in that region and which was extended for four more months.
According to Politico, relief of sanctions against Belarus related to potash fertilizers would also be part of the UN Secretary-General’s concerns. But upon arriving at the meeting in Brussels, some leaders were unyielding, such as the Prime Ministers of Poland, Finland and Estonia or Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda.
“These sanctions have been imposed so that the two regimes feel the consequences for their actions and especially for the war in Ukraine. In the case of Belarus, we are also talking about other things,” recalling the cases of diverting a commercial airliner , by Belarusian warplanes, to arrest an opponent of the regime, and the migration crisis caused by the Belarusian regime by welcoming migrants from the Middle East to later send them to the borders of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia to steer. “Please tell me what happened positively so sanctions can be eased? Nothing!” concluded Nauseda.
Source: DN
