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 way: both on the battlefield and insofar as not a single ruin remains in our country,” Zelenskyy said in his evening video address on Monday. “So 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 Kiev continues to press for a ban by Russia from the Olympics. There are now various signals from Paris and Washington about the possible delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine.
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Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has proposed a mediation initiative between Brazil and China to end the war in Ukraine. “It is necessary to form a group of countries that is strong enough and respected and to sit down with the two at a negotiating table,” Lula said Monday (local time) during a joint press conference with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Brazil’s capital Brasília . . He has already spoken with Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron about the initiative.
The left-wing politician acted as a mediator to talk with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy or Russian President Vladimir Putin – and also with China. “Our Chinese friends play a very important role in this,” he said. “It’s time for China to get involved.”
In addition to security initiatives, humanitarian aid is also essential, Selenskyj stressed. In the southern city of Mykolaiv, for example, the restoration of the water supply destroyed by Russian troops was of particular importance, the Ukrainian head of state said a few hours earlier, with a view to a visit there with Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen.
In Mykolaiv, which had a population of about 470,000 before the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, Frederiksen and Selenskyj visited a hospital and the seaport, among other things.
France and Australia want to jointly supply Ukraine with artillery ammunition to ward off Russian offensive war. 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 shoot at tanks. There are several thousand missiles that the defense industries of both countries have jointly manufactured.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, meanwhile, pushed for the delivery of fighter jets to his country after the main battle tank deployment. “We haven’t asked Germany about fighter jets yet,” Makeiev told DW. But they are important because they are needed to shoot down Russian missiles. “Russia is firing a lot of missiles at Ukrainian cities and infrastructure” – the fighter jets are part of Ukraine’s efforts to defend its skies.
According to President Joe Biden, the United States will not supply F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. When asked by a reporter, “Will the United States supply Ukraine with F-16s?” Biden answered “No” in Washington on Monday. So far, it has been said that the US administration has not ruled out any specific weapon system and is tailoring support to what Ukraine needs. It will be “discussed very carefully,” it said last Friday.
French President Emmanuel Macron, on the other hand, does not rule out the delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine in principle. “In principle, nothing is prohibited,” he said in The Hague on Monday when asked whether France can supply fighter jets to Ukraine.
However, Macron set some conditions on which Ukrainian requests would be examined on a case-by-case basis: First, Kiev must submit an “official request”. In addition, the weapons must not have an escalating effect and must not touch Russian soil, but only be used for defense. Nor should the French army be weakened by arms deliveries.
At the same time, Ukraine continues to pressure the International Olympic Committee (IOC) not to allow Russia and Belarus to participate in international competitions because of the war. “The IOC is a promoter of war, murder and destruction. The IOC happily watches the destruction of the Russian Federation and then provides it with a platform to promote genocide and encourages it to keep killing,” Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser in Ukraine’s presidential office, wrote on Twitter.
Speaking to IOC President Thomas Bach, he added: “Obviously Russian money buying Olympic hypocrisy doesn’t smell like Ukrainian blood. Right, Mr. Bach?” Moments later, an IOC spokesman “strongly rejected these and other defamatory statements”.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) presented its new forecast for global economic growth on Tuesday (02:30 CEST). Despite the consequences of the war in Ukraine and persistently high inflation, she does not expect the world economy to slip into recession this year, IMF director Kristalina Georgieva said beforehand. (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.
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