yesterday

On the 341st day of war in Ukraine it is still the arms match that raises the tension on the conflict. The US will not send F16 fighters to Ukraine. Joe Biden told the following reporters. “No”, replied the American president to those who asked him whether he was in favor of sending jets to the forces of Kiev who are asking for them more and more insistently these days. Joe Biden then announced his next trip to Poland without specifying whether he will go on the anniversary of the war in Ukraine.

And after the tanks, it was instead the French president Emmanuel Macron who opened a window on the fighters invoked by Kiev: “Nothing is excluded in principle,” said the head of the Elysée, giving hope to the new requests of the Ukrainian government, which in addition to jets wants other missiles and even German submarines, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk. On sending F16s, Polish premier Mateusz Morawiecki specified that a decision will only be taken in “full coordination” with NATO, but Berlin is not talking about it, at least for now: “It’s the wrong time” to discuss it, he said German government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann, reiterating Chancellor Scholz’s words that in any case “there are no” fighter planes at stake. Instead, the French president underlined that there are “criteria” to be respected before any decision: an officially “formulated request” by Ukraine, that “there is no escalation”, that “Russian soil is not touched” and finally that “the capacity of the French army is not weakened”.

From Italy, on the other hand, the supply of Samp/T anti-aircraft defense systems to Kiev is becoming more and more concrete: “It is probable that they will be sent”, said Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, underlining that before any move “Parliament will be informed by Defense Minister Crosetto”. A support, the Italian one, which will materialize precisely with the contribution of France, while the confirmation of an agreement with Rome for the manufacture of another 700 Aster anti-aircraft missiles has arrived from Paris. Not to send them to Kiev, it is assured by Italian sources, but to “update the air defenses of the two countries”. However, Macron’s words demonstrate that the debate on fighter jets in Ukraine is open among Western partners, after that so far there had only been closed doors for Kiev in an issue even more thorny than that of tanks, which have already provoked anger of Moscow and its allies. China entered the discussion with a straight leg, which after asking NATO to put aside its “Cold War mentality”, attacked the United States: “They should stop sending weapons and reap the fruits of war”. warned Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.

ANSA agency

Former premier at the BBC: ‘He told me that ‘a minute would have been enough'” (ANSA)

While for Moscow the continued shipment of armaments to Kiev “is a dead-end situation leading to a significant escalation”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned. The West however rejects the accusations and stands by its line: France and Australia have reached an agreement to supply 155mm shells to Ukraine, while British Defense Minister Ben Wallace reported that Challenger tanks will arrive in Kiev “before of summer, or May, probably around Easter”. If military support is clear, political support must be equally clear for Kiev, which also includes sport. Thus the Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhaylo Podolyak took issue with the International Olympic Committee accusing it of “promoting war” by not excluding the Russians from the Paris 2024 Olympics. “Defamatory statements”, replied the IOC. While the discussion is underway, the dead are being counted on the ground in the aftermath of the Russian attacks in nine Ukrainian regions, in which five people were killed and 13 others were injured. Donetsk remains the hot spot on the front, and after Soledar the clash of claims between Kiev and Moscow has moved to Vugledar, the new epicenter of the fighting 150 km from Bakhmut. The pro-Russians speak of advances near the city, but Kiev denies it: “We have not lost our positions”.

ANSA agency

Kiev today defined the International Olympic Committee as a “promoter of war”: the Ukrainian presidency made it known. (HANDLE)