Skip next section Ukraine does not want China as a mediator – Zelenskyy
08/01/2024August 1, 2024
Ukraine does not want China as a mediator – Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President does not want to act as a in its ongoing war with , 29 months on from .
“If China wants, it could force Russia to end this war,” Zelenskyy told reporters. “I don’t want [China] to mediate. I want it to put pressure on Russia to end this war.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba recently visited Beijing, which has refrained from condemning Russia’s invasion and indeed has , purchasing cheap Russian oil and gas.
In May, China published its own six-point peace plan for Ukraine, along with Brazil, including an international peace conference recognized by both warring parties.
When Ukraine hosted a peace summit in Switzerland in June, to which Russia wasn’t invited, China didn’t attend. A second such summit could take place in November, potentially with Russian participation.
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Skip next section Russia holds military drills near disputed Kuril Islands – reports
08/01/2024August 1, 2024
Russia holds military drills near disputed Kuril Islands – reports
Russian troops conducted missile drills this week on the island of Matua, part of the , a chain of islands which stretches between and , four of which are disputed.
Citing the Russian Defense Ministry, the Russian news agency Interfax said troops practiced moving and camouflaging their vehicles on Matua, an uninhabited volcanic island on which Russia has built a runway and stationed anti-ship cruise missiles in recent years.
While Matua itself is not disputed, it is only a few islands away from the four islands off the coast of Hokkaido in northeastern Japan which are claimed by Tokyo but have been occupied by Russia, and formerly the , since the end of the second world war.
In June, Moscow protested against Japanese military exercise conducted together with members Germany and Spain off Hokkaido, saying: “We view such activity as a potential threat to the security of the Russian Federation.”
The Russian Defense Ministry said Tokyo’s “irresponsible” actions were putting Japan “on a path of dangerous escalation in northeast Asia and throughout the Asia-Pacific region.”
https://p.dw.com/p/4izYb
Skip next section First F-16 fighter jets arrive in Ukraine
08/01/2024August 1, 2024
First F-16 fighter jets arrive in Ukraine
has taken delivery of its first batch of , according to US and Lithuanian officials.
“F-16s in Ukraine. Another impossible thing turned out to be totally possible,” wrote Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis on social media on Wednesday night.
The statement was corroborated by US government sources, according to the Reuters news agency and the Associated Press.
The modern fighter jets, built by US arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin, have long been coveted by Kyiv due to their advanced offensive and defensive capabilities as well as for their availability, being a staple part of many Western militaries.
and the , two leading countries in an international coalition to procure F-16s for Ukraine, have promised 19 and 24 jets respectively. and have also promised a handful each.
The won’t be directly supplying Kyiv with F-16s from its own inventory, but President Joe Biden did give the green light for the US-built jets to be deployed in Ukraine.
Western fighter pilots generally train for three years to learn how to fly and operate the complex jets on a course that has been condensed to roughly nine months for Ukrainian pilots in the US and Europe.
mf/ab (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)
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The post Ukraine updates: First F-16 jets arrive in Ukraine appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
