2023-05-20 12:38:58
In the foreseeable future, Ukraine can plan to fight the Russian invading army with modern western combat aircraft. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in a French government plane at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan on Saturday. At bilateral meetings after his arrival, he thanked the allies for paving the way in principle for the delivery of fighter jets.
“I’m very happy,” he told ZDF and made it clear that he would not expect a timely delivery. After his arrival on Saturday, Zelenskyy met British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for talks. He also met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is communicated by the governments of the countries involved.
“I thanked the UK for leading the international fighter jet coalition,” Zelenskyy wrote on his Telegram account after meeting Sunak.
A meeting was also expected with US President Joe Biden. In principle, he had cleared the way for the delivery of American F-16 jets. Last week, Great Britain and the Netherlands initiated the international fighter jet coalition that Kiev had long wanted.
First, pilots are to be trained, which takes months. According to US information, it will then be decided when and how many aircraft will be delivered by whom. Zelenskyj welcomed US support as a “historic decision”. “This will significantly strengthen our army in the sky,” Zelenskyy tweeted.
At Zelensky’s first meeting with the Indian prime minister since the Russian invasion began, Modi offered to help end the war. “India and I will do everything we can to end the war,” Modi said, according to the Indian news agency ANI. India has good relations with Russia, from which it purchases armaments and energy.
On Sunday, the President of Ukraine will take part in the sessions at the end of the three-day summit deliberations. According to a Japanese media report, a speech in Hiroshima is also planned. Japan is also making preparations for a visit to Zelenskyy at the Peace Museum. There, evidence of the consequences of the US atomic bombing of the city on August 6, 1945 are shown.
The heads of state and government also visited the museum and commemorated the more than 300,000 victims of the atomic bomb by laying wreaths at the memorial. During the US attack at the end of World War II, Hiroshima was almost completely destroyed.
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had chosen Hiroshima as the venue for the conference. With a view to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the summit round recalled the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened his country’s nuclear arsenal since the invasion began on February 24, 2022.
On the day of Zelenskyy’s arrival in Japan, the G7 countries pledged further aid to Kiev. “We are taking concrete measures to support Ukraine for as long as necessary in view of the ongoing illegal Russian war of aggression,” the G7 statement said. They pledge to “increase diplomatic, financial, humanitarian and military support to Ukraine” and increase costs for Russia and its supporters.
Upon arrival, Zelenskyy thanked him on Twitter: “Important meeting with partners and friends of Ukraine. Security and increased cooperation for our victory. Peace will come closer today.”
It is the first time Zelenskyy has traveled to Japan since the Russian war of aggression began on February 24 last year.
Biden’s National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, contradicted the impression in Hiroshima that the US President – who had initially rejected Ukraine’s request for fighter jet deliveries – had made an about-face. For the US, F-16 fighter jets have always been on the table as an option.
Sullivan said that from the outset, decisions about arms deliveries had followed the necessities of the war. Now you have “reached a point where it is time to look to the future”. And that’s where fighter jets come in.
Meanwhile, Russia warned Western countries about a possible delivery of F-16 fighter jets. In this context, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko accuses Western countries of sticking to an escalation scenario. “This entails colossal risks for them,” Grushko was quoted as saying by the state news agency Tass.
In addition to the USA, the G7 also includes Japan, Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy and Canada as well as the European Union.
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