The situation at the front is tough, but Kyiv is confident. For President Zelensky, there is no other option than his country’s victory – militarily and humanitarian. The news at a glance.
Barely a year after the start of the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated the need for his country’s complete victory. “Russian terror must lose everywhere and in every respect: both on the battlefield and insofar as not a single ruin remains in our country,” said Zelenskyy in his evening video address. “So that we can rebuild everything and prove that freedom is stronger.”
Meanwhile, France and Australia have agreed to jointly supply Ukraine with artillery ammunition. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen visited the south of the attacked country. And Kyiv continues to press for Russia to be banned from the Olympics. Different signals are now coming from Paris and Washington about the possible delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine.
Lula wants to mediate with Xi
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has proposed a mediation initiative by Brazil and China to end the Ukraine war. “It is necessary to form a group of countries that is strong enough and respected and sit down with the two at a negotiating table,” Lula said in a joint press conference with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the Brazilian capital Brasília. He has already spoken to Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron about the initiative.
The left-wing politician brought himself into play as an intermediary to talk to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy or Russian President Vladimir Putin – as well as China. “Our Chinese friends play a very important role in this,” he said. “It’s time for China to get involved.”
Zelenskyj: Humanitarian aid is also very important
In addition to security initiatives, humanitarian aid is also essential, emphasized Selenskyj. In the southern city of Mykolaiv, for example, restoring the water supply destroyed by Russian troops was particularly important, said the Ukrainian head of state a few hours earlier, with a view to a visit there with Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen.
Frederiksen and Selenskyj had visited a hospital and the seaport in Mykolaiv, which had around 470,000 inhabitants before the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.
France and Australia supply artillery ammunition
France and Australia want to jointly supply Ukraine with artillery ammunition to ward off the Russian war of aggression. The French Foreign Ministry said the 155mm ammunition was urgently needed by Ukraine. The ammunition intended for artillery pieces can be used, among other things, to shell tanks. There are several thousand projectiles that the defense industries of both countries jointly manufactured. The Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles spoke of a project worth millions.
Ukrainian ambassador stresses importance of fighter jets
The Ukrainian ambassador in Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, meanwhile insisted on the delivery of combat aircraft to his country after the commitment to battle tanks. “We have not yet asked Germany about fighter jets,” Makeiev told DW. But they are important because they are needed to shoot down Russian missiles. “Russia is firing many missiles at Ukrainian cities and infrastructure” – the fighter jets are part of the Ukrainian efforts to defend the airspace.
Biden: US will not deliver F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine
The United States will not deliver F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, according to President Joe Biden. When asked by a reporter, “Will the US provide Ukraine with F-16s?” Biden said “no” in Washington. So far, it has been said that the US government has not ruled out any particular weapon system and is aligning support with what Ukraine needs. It will be “discussed very carefully,” it said last Friday.
Macron does not fundamentally rule out the delivery of fighter jets
French President Emmanuel Macron, on the other hand, does not fundamentally rule out the delivery of combat aircraft to Ukraine. “In principle, nothing is forbidden,” he said in The Hague when asked whether France might supply fighter jets to Ukraine.
However, Macron set some conditions against which Ukrainian requests would be examined on a case-by-case basis: First, Kyiv would have to make an “official request”. In addition, the weapons should not have an escalating effect and should not touch Russian soil, but should only be used for defense. Nor should the French army be weakened by arms deliveries.
Ukraine is demanding fighter jets, and the United States has not fundamentally ruled out a delivery. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far spoken out against it.
Ukraine continues to press IOC for Russia’s Olympic ban
At the same time, Ukraine is continuing to put pressure on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) not to allow Russia and Belarus to compete in international competitions because of the war. “The IOC is a promoter of war, murder and destruction. The IOC joyfully watches the Russian Federation destroy and then offers it a platform to promote genocide and encourages it to continue killing,” wrote Mykhailo Podoliak, Advisor in the Ukrainian Presidential Office, on Twitter.
Addressing IOC President Thomas Bach, he added: “Obviously Russian money buying Olympic hypocrisy doesn’t have the smell of Ukrainian blood. Right, Mr. Bach?” A little later, an IOC spokesman “strongly rejected these and other defamatory statements”.
What will be important on Tuesday
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) presents its new forecast for global economic growth. Despite the consequences of the war in Ukraine and continued high inflation, she does not expect the global economy to slip into recession this year, said IMF director Kristalina Georgieva in advance.