On a new trip abroad, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is campaigning for support for his Russian-attacked country and for NATO membership. Late Thursday evening in Prague, he praised the Czech Republic for its outstanding commitment to military aid. “The Czech Republic and the Czech people are really helping us to bring victory closer,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
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EU wants to create incentives for the arms industry
Meanwhile, the EU wants to create financial incentives for the defense industry to support Ukraine to expand its ammunition and missile production capacity. US media reported that Washington now meets Kiev’s demands for the supply of internationally banned cluster munitions. Selenskyj had repeatedly demanded this in order to kill as many Russians as possible.
US investigates transfer of cluster munitions
The New York Times reported Thursday that the US government plans to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine, citing unnamed government sources. The Pentagon initially declined to confirm this. “I have nothing specific to announce today,” said Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder. The White House had previously stated that it was investigating the transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine. According to CNN, the plans could now be officially announced on Friday.
Cluster munitions are missiles and bombs that explode in the air above the target and disperse or release many small explosives – so-called sub-munitions. The ammunition type has been criticized because a significant percentage of explosives often fail to detonate, remaining in place as duds, endangering the population. Germany and many other countries have signed a treaty banning cluster munitions. However, the United States did not sign the agreement.
“I would note that the Russians have already used cluster munitions on the battlefield,” said Pentagon spokesman Ryder. The US had cluster munitions in its stockpiles. Ryder pointed out that older ammunition had more duds. “We would carefully select bullets with a lower percentage of duds for which we have current test data,” Ryder said. Human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized the use of cluster munitions in the war in Ukraine.
The EU wants to use a lot of money to increase the production of ammunition and missiles
Meanwhile, representatives of the governments of the EU member states and the European Parliament agreed on Friday evening on a plan to provide the European arms industry with financial incentives to rapidly expand production capacity for munitions and missiles. It was proposed by the European Commission in May and provides for spending €500 million from the EU budget.
The background to the project is the difficulties of EU countries in supplying Ukraine with sufficient ground-to-surface and artillery munitions and missiles for the defensive war against Russia. An expansion of production should now prevent further bottlenecks in the Ukrainian armed forces and also ensure that the EU states remain able to defend themselves and maintain sufficient supplies. The agreement still needs to be confirmed by the Council of Member States and Parliament and could enter into force before the end of July.
Zelenskyj expects a clear signal from the NATO summit in Vilnius
Zelenskyj expects the upcoming NATO summit to send a clear signal for membership in the Western Defense Alliance. «What is ideal for us? We want to be invited to NATO,” he said after a meeting with his Czech counterpart Petr Pavel. The time had come to demonstrate the alliance’s unity and courage. At the same time, Selenskyj admitted resistance. Some people are still watching Moscow, criticized the 45-year-old.
Pavel spoke out in favor of starting accession negotiations with NATO immediately after the end of the war. “It is also in the interest of our security, it is in the interest of regional stability and economic prosperity,” the former NATO general stressed. The Czech Republic will also do everything possible to ensure that Ukraine’s accession negotiations to the EU start this year.
Selenskyj thanked the Czech Republic for its support, both in the form of arms deliveries and by taking in hundreds of thousands of war refugees. He acknowledged that the current counter-offensive is not progressing quickly, but it is continuing and not backing down, he stressed. Ukraine has been fighting a Russian invasion for almost a year and a half.
NATO heads of state and government will meet in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on Tuesday and Wednesday for a summit.
After political talks in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia, Zelenskyy announced that Kiev needed a signal at the NATO summit “to motivate Ukraine to defend Europe”. He was convinced that Ukraine would join the military alliance after the war. But one sign is important now. “That’s not such a high price to pay for such a war and such suffering.”
What will be important on Friday
Selenskyj is now also expected in Turkey. The Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported that he would meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul. There was initially no confirmation from the Ukrainian side. According to Anadolu, the meeting will include the agreement to ship Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea, which expires on July 17. Russia threatens not to renew the agreement reached between the United Nations and Turkey last summer. (sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
