Ukraine war: NATO wants to take the next step - Russia spokesman takes a deep look at the negotiation question

Created: 06/16/2022, 04:52

By: Bedrettin Bölükbasi

In the Ukraine war, Kyiv keeps demanding more heavy weapons.

NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg is now promising that the alliance will meet this requirement.

The news ticker.

• Kremlin

  wants

  dialogue with the West

  : A spokesman for Putin called for "mutual respect" with Western countries.

• Selenskyj invited

  to the

  NATO summit

  : The type of participation is still unclear.

• Stoltenberg

  announces

  heavy weapons

  for

  Ukraine

  : NATO countries have committed to providing more military support to Ukraine.

• This

  news ticker on the negotiations in the Ukraine war and on war diplomacy

  is continuously updated.

Update from June 15, 4:25 p.m .:

The USA expects further western arms deliveries to Ukraine.

The country is "before a decisive moment on the battlefield," said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the start of a meeting of 45 countries of the so-called Ukraine Contact Group at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

He was alluding to the bitter fighting against Russian units in the east of the country.

"We will deepen our support for the Ukrainian armed forces," Austin said.

The Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov also attended the meeting.

His ministry had previously complained that Kyiv had only received "around ten percent" of the weapons demanded by the West.

For the fighting in the Donbass, Ukraine wants heavy weapons such as tanks and howitzers, among other things.

Ukraine-News: London wants to supply Kyiv with multiple rocket launchers - "imminent"

Update from June 15, 4:10 p.m .:

Britain says it will soon supply Ukraine with multiple rocket launchers to help the country defend itself against Russia.

"I think delivery is imminent," British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in Oslo on the sidelines of a meeting of the multinational Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF).

Great Britain had already announced the delivery of the multiple rocket launcher system MLRS on June 6th.

According to Wallace, the country is considering the delivery of Harpoon anti-ship missiles, which Denmark and the Netherlands have also promised Ukraine, in addition to the MLRS missile launchers.

After meeting Wallace, Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram said his country was also considering further arms sales to Ukraine.

The two defense ministers made the statement a few hours before a meeting of the Ukraine contact group, which consists of almost 50 countries, at which US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is to discuss further military aid for Kyiv.

Austin called on the US allies not to let up on arms deliveries.

The contact group was launched in April at the US military base in Ramstein, Germany.

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Ukraine-News: Zelenskyj calls for further help against Putin's war of aggression

Update from June 15, 3:40 p.m .:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has requested further help from the EU in the fight against Russia.

In a video address to the Czech parliament, Zelenskyy recalled the invasion of Warsaw Pact troops into Czechoslovakia in 1968. Today, Ukraine is fighting "for freedom" and "against the cruel invasion of Russia," said Zelenskyy.

Ukraine therefore needs every possible support to defeat Russia.

The invasion of Warsaw Pact troops in August 1968 put an end to the Prague Spring.

Zelenskyy said today Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine is just the first step in Moscow's plan to recapture former Soviet satellite states.

"A tyrant who ... wants everything will never stop," says Zelenskyj.

Zelenskyy thanked the Czechs for taking in more than 300,000 Ukrainian refugees and delivering weapons worth more than 3.5 billion Czech crowns (almost 142 million euros).

He also called on the government in Prague to push through another package of sanctions against Russia after taking over the EU Council Presidency in July.

"Take action so that all European leaders agree that defending and strengthening Europe is our common goal," stressed the Ukrainian leader.

Ukraine-News: Macron calls for negotiations - "must have a clear head"

Update from June 15, 3:15 p.m .:

French President Emmanuel Macron has called on Ukraine to negotiate with Russia.

France made it clear from day one "that Russia is the aggressor," Macron said during his visit to Romania, according to US-funded broadcaster

.

"We have to be clear-headed: we are not at war with Russia," Macron added.

According to him, Ukraine must sit at the negotiating table with Russia: "The Ukrainian President and his officials will have to negotiate with Russia."

Ukraine-News: Kremlin wants dialogue with the West - Putin spokesman calls for "mutual respect"

Update from June 15, 2:05 p.m .:

Regardless of the deeply strained relationship, the Kremlin does not want to completely give up dialogue with Western countries.

"Communication is necessary, we will also have to communicate in the future," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the Interfax agency.

"America isn't going anywhere, Europe isn't going anywhere, so we have to communicate with them somehow," Peskow said.

However, communication must be based on mutual respect and the protection of security interests, Peskow added.

However, this is currently not foreseeable. 

Ukraine-News: Zelenskyj campaigns for EU status - "Putin will not stop in Ukraine"

Update from June 15, 1:10 p.m .:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has urged his country to be granted the status of a candidate for EU membership.

The 44-year-old spoke via video to both chambers of parliament in the Czech Republic, which will take over the EU Council Presidency in the second half of the year.

Candidate status would prove that Europe is a real community and that European values ​​mean more than empty phrases, Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy warned that if Russia were to win, President Vladimir Putin would not stop at Ukraine.

His imperial ambitions ranged "from Warsaw to Sofia, from Prague to Tallinn".

Finally, he quoted the motto of the former Czechoslovak and Czech President Vaclav Havel (1936-2011): "Truth and love must triumph over lies and hate." For this he received minutes of standing applause from the Czech parliamentarians. 

Ukraine-News: Podoliak points to Russian superiority - "in a ratio of ten to one"

Update from June 15, 12:35 p.m .: Given

the increasingly difficult situation of its troops in the Donbass, Ukraine has pushed for accelerated arms deliveries from its western allies.

"Brussels, we are waiting for a decision," said Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podoliak on Twitter shortly before the meeting of the so-called Ukraine Contact Group.

Russia is superior to Ukraine in its artillery "by a ratio of ten to one," Podoljak wrote.

"I get messages every day from our fighters saying, 'We're standing, just tell us when the guns are coming,'" he added.

Ukraine-News: Selenskyj invited to the NATO summit - type of participation still unclear

Update from June 15, 12:20 p.m .:

NATO invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj as a guest to its summit in Madrid.

However, as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced, it is not yet clear whether Selenskyj will actually be arriving or will be connected from his office in Kyiv.

“He is welcome to come in person.

If that is not possible for him, he will speak to us via video conference,” said Stoltenberg.

At the summit meeting of the western military alliance that begins on June 28 in the Spanish capital, the heads of state and government of the 30 NATO countries want to decide how the alliance will react to the threats posed by Russia's war policy in the medium and long term.

Specifically, this involves, for example, strengthening the eastern flank with additional NATO troops.

The Baltic states in particular have been pushing for significantly greater support from allies since the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine.

Ukraine-News: Stoltenberg announces heavy weapons for Ukraine - including long-range weapons

Update from June 15, 11:15 a.m.:

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has described the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine as a "brutal war of attrition" and signaled further heavy weapons for Ukraine.

There is "destruction on a very large scale," he said at a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Tonight's defense ministers' meeting with Ukraine, Georgia, Sweden, Finland and the EU will give Ukraine's defense minister the opportunity to "inform what Ukraine urgently needs."

For the NATO partners, it will be an opportunity "to continue to support Ukraine and to make this public".

Earlier, Stoltenberg promised more heavy weapons for Ukraine.

Allies have committed to continuing to provide military support to Ukraine

announced the Secretary General.

This would include heavy weapons as well as long-range weapons.

Ukraine-News: Putin's military attacks eastern Ukraine - Kyiv demands heavy weapons from the West

First report from June 15:

The Hague/Munich - In the Ukraine conflict, the troops of the Russian ruler Vladimir Putin continued their attacks on Ukrainian territory without interruption.

The Donbass region in eastern Ukraine is the primary focus.

This map shows where the Ukraine war is raging.

Russia is attacking eastern Ukraine from all sides.

In order to be able to defend itself more effectively against Putin's war of aggression, the Ukrainian government has long been demanding more heavy weapons such as tanks and artillery from Western countries.

These demands have been partially met, but only after lengthy discussions and to a limited extent that does not satisfy Ukraine.

NATO has now indicated further deliveries of heavy weapons.

Ukraine-News: Kyiv demands heavy weapons - Zelenskyj's adviser with a list of demands

Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine's chief negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted on Monday

a list of the number of heavy weapons Ukraine needs to end the war with Russia.

The weapons involved were:

• 1000

  howitzers

  of 155 mm caliber

• 300

  Multiple Rocket Launchers

• 500

  tanks

• 2000

  armored vehicles

• 1000

  drones

“The meeting of the defense ministers' contact group is in Brussels on June 15.

We are waiting for a decision," Podolyak wrote in his tweet.

NATO could soon make the decision expected by Ukraine to increase its heavy weapons, as statements by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a meeting with the heads of state and government of several NATO countries suggest.

Ukraine-News: NATO signals heavy weapons for Ukraine - Poland criticizes previous attitude

The meeting at the official residence of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in The Hague was attended by Stoltenberg and Rutte, as well as the Prime Ministers of Denmark, Belgium, Poland, Portugal and Latvia, as well as the President of Romania.

The main focus of the meeting was continued support for Ukraine.

news agency quoted

Stoltenberg as saying in The Hague.

The NATO allies and partners have already provided heavy weapons.

"But now there will be more," announced the Secretary General.

Ukraine depends on it "to defend itself against the brutal Russian invasion".

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (r) and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, after a press conference at NATO headquarters.

(Archive image) © Olivier Matthys/AP/dpa

NATO must be ready "to provide support for a long time," Stoltenberg emphasized, and Rutte confirmed this with a nod and a hand gesture.

This will be discussed in Brussels.

At the meeting, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki criticized the previous stance on supporting Ukraine.

"We haven't done enough to defend Ukraine and support the Ukrainian people to defend their freedom," Morawiecki said, according to the

news agency .

The Ukraine War in Pictures - Destruction, Resistance and Hope

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He called on NATO countries to supply more heavy weapons, including artillery.

"Where is our credibility if Ukraine fails?" asked the Polish Prime Minister, adding: "Can we imagine that if Ukraine fails, we will just go back to the original situation?"

I hope not.” The delivery of further heavy weapons should also be a major topic during Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit to Kyiv.