Movement on the fighter jet issue? What Selenskyj is negotiating with EU leaders in Kiev The last jumbo jet has been delivered: a chapter in flight history is coming to an end

After the gun debate is before the gun debate. In Western capitals, a new discussion is brewing about the supply of heavy equipment that the Ukrainian army can use not only defensively, but also offensively.

Specifically, Washington is currently putting together the next aid package for Ukraine. According to information from the Reuters news agency, it will also contain precision-guided missiles with a range of 150 kilometers for the first time. Such a weapon would greatly increase the firepower of the Ukrainian armed forces: the weapon system HIMARS, which the Americans delivered to Ukraine last summer, has a range of only 80 kilometers.

The supposedly new miracle weapon bears the unwieldy name Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) and is jointly produced by Boeing and the Swedish Saab group. It is a combination of a precision bomb with a rocket motor, which has a relatively cheap unit price of around $40,000. The new weapon could be used on the Ukrainian battlefield as early as spring and allow retaliatory attacks in the occupied territories from the rear. However, Ukraine still has to do without the ATACMS-type short-range ballistic missiles long requested by President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, which can fly up to 300 kilometers. They are not part of the US discussion for now.

Fighter jets: With Ghaddafi, Europeans were shot down after days

But new deliveries of weapons are also waiting from the European side: France wants to make 12 Caesar available in addition to the 18 self-propelled howitzers already delivered. The decision to jointly supply the air defense system “Mamba” from France and Italy could also be imminent. In Brussels, it was said that the scope of the training mission would be doubled and that a total of 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers would be trained in EU countries.

On the other hand, there is little movement in the fighter jet debate, which ties in seamlessly with the main battle tank discussion. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseada is calling on the West to supposedly “cross red lines”. While German Chancellor Olaf Scholz does not want to know anything about it and warns of a “continuous outbidding competition”, France’s Emmanuel Macron keeps all options open. A delivery of fighter jets is not out of the question, provided certain conditions are met, President Macron said. This includes the fact that Ukraine’s jets would really come in handy in the current war and that the defensive capabilities of the French forces would remain intact.

On the other hand, it is another question whether the Europeans would be able to properly equip Ukraine. The ammunition situation for combat aircraft is likely to be even more precarious than for artillery weapons, where European stocks are already under severe pressure. As a reminder, during the 2011 NATO operation to enforce the no-fly zone in Libya, the Europeans quickly ran out of ammunition. For this reason, the delivery of American F-16s would probably be the first option. The fighter jet is already in use in several European countries, and the US has enough ammunition in its arsenals.

Europeans must slow down Selenskyj if he joins the EU

In addition to the arms deliveries, Ukrainian President Zelensky also hopes for new support on the political scene. Especially when it comes to joining the EU, for which Ukraine has been an official candidate since June. Selenskyj expects “news” and “decisions consistent with our progress” ahead of the summit meeting with EU Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen and Council President Charles Michel on Friday in Kiev, he announced.

EU officials even confirm that Ukraine has made progress in reforming the rule of law and fighting corruption despite the difficult circumstances. Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go, as evidenced by last week’s revelations of dirty practices in the defense apparatus. In any case, the ideas of some Ukrainian politicians that their country could be a member of the EU in 2026 remain unrealistic. Behind the scenes, various EU member states are said to have put pressure on EU leaders to promise Zelensky nothing but heaven at the top.

Another issue on which Zelenskyi will likely try to persuade Von der Leyen and Michel to make confessions is the confiscation of the Russian central bank’s frozen reserves, worth nearly €300 billion. Although both Von der Leyen and Michel have recently spoken out in favor of exploring this measure, its legal feasibility is highly controversial. The EU Commission itself says that the matter is “extremely complex”. It is now up to the two EU leaders to give Zelenskyi a clean slate without disappointing him. (aargauerzeitung.ch)