2023-05-15 17:37:30
After Rome, Berlin and Paris, the British stage of Mr. Zelensky’s European tour comes at a time when the Ukrainian army is claiming the first success
of its assault around Bakhmout, a city in the east, the epicenter of the fighting for several months and now largely controlled by the Russians.
Conversely, Russia says for its part that it is advancing within this city itself, which it has been tirelessly trying to conquer since last summer, at the cost of significant losses and without success at the present time.
A delayed counter-offensive?
But the moment of the counter-offensive, announced as imminent, has not yet come, tempered Volodymyr Zelensky, confirming prepare
actions, but repeating that kyiv had need more time
.
It’s a difficult time
he admitted after being received by Rishi Sunak in the very bucolic country residence of the British prime ministers of Checkers, north-west of London.
Reminder of the reality of the fighting: strikes again caused civilian casualties, four dead in Avdiïvka, a locality located on the front line near Donetsk, and two others in a village in the Kharkiv region bordering Russia, according to regional authorities.
In Lugansk, one of the strongholds of pro-Russian separatists, an explosion injured seven people, including the interior minister of the administration loyal to Moscow, Igor Kornet.
To obtain more weapons and military equipment, President Zelensky is touring several European capitals, before a busy diplomatic week with the summits of the Council of Europe, Tuesday in Reykjavik, then of the G7 powers in Hiroshima, May 19-21.
In the UK, the government promised delivery to Kyiv, in the coming months
of hundreds
anti-aircraft missiles and long-range attack drones (200 kilometres). These will be added to the Storm Shadow cruise missiles promised last week by London, a first for this type of armament that Ukraine has been demanding for months to achieve objectives far behind the front line.
The Russian army has already claimed to have shot down one of these machines.
The increase in British aid will cause more destruction
but will not have no significant impact on the progress
of the conflict, warned Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Ukraine will be discussed at the G7 Summit in Japan. kyiv’s allies are in a hurry to supply more weapons to the country. After Rome, Berlin and Paris, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, was also in London to ask for fighter planes. The United Kingdom will instead deliver hundreds of missiles and attack drones. The story of Lise Villeneuve.
But Rishi Sunak countered that British aid was for the long term, including for security arrangements
needed once Ukraine regains the occupied part of its territory. He also assured that London would play a key role
in the coalition
that kyiv wants to bring together to deliver fighter planes to it, so far without success.
I think it will happen very soon, you will be informed of decisions that I think are very important
estimated Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, saying to himself very optimistic
.
No European country has so far stepped forward to supply such planes to kyiv, but the United Kingdom will already be training Ukrainian pilots this summer.
On Sunday, Mr. Zelensky had received France’s repeated commitment in Paris, particularly in the field of light armored vehicles, which are particularly useful on the battlefield.
In the coming weeks, France will train and equip several battalions with dozens of armored vehicles and light tanks, including AMX-10 RC
according to a joint statement.
In Berlin, despite his past procrastination, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a new package of military aid to Ukraine, worth 2.7 billion euros (nearly C$4 billion), including in particular dozens of tanks , other armored vehicles, surveillance drones and four new Iris-T air defense systems.
Also on the diplomatic level, the Chinese envoy Li Hui, the special representative for Eurasian affairs in charge of discussing the settlement of the situation in Ukraine, will visit Kiev on Tuesday and Wednesday, announced a senior Ukrainian government official.
China has never publicly condemned Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine, unlike most major world powers.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that Russia had de facto started a form of vassalization with regard to China
which the Kremlin called misunderstanding
relations between Moscow and Beijing.
A sign of extreme tensions with the West, Russia announced on Monday that it had taken off one of its planes to meet over the Baltic Sea two military planes, French and German, which it accuses of having desired violate the border
Russian.
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