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After Merkel's statement, Putin spokesman railed against the West: Minsk agreement only "privacy protection"

2023-01-31T17:00:25.653Z


Will Ukraine get fighter jets? The debate is on. Putin spokesman Peskov, however, assumes that the West is calculating. News ticker on war diplomacy.


Will Ukraine get fighter jets?

The debate is on.

Putin spokesman Peskov, however, assumes that the West is calculating.

News ticker on war diplomacy.

  • Up to 140

    main battle tanks

    for

    Ukraine

    : Twelve countries want to deliver

  • Putin spokesman

    rails against

    the West

    : Minsk agreement only a "privacy shield"

  • Ukraine turn

    to

    fighter jets

    ?

    Kiev's Defense Minister today with Macron

  • This

    news ticker on negotiations and diplomacy in the Ukraine war

     is constantly updated.

Update from January 31, 5:24 p.m .:

Greece will not deliver Leopard tanks to Ukraine because of tensions with Turkey.

This was announced by the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, as reported by Greek state television.

"We will not give Leopard-2s for the simple reason that they are absolutely necessary to our defense strategy," Mitsotakis said.

Relations between Greece and Turkey are currently going through a very tense phase due to a dispute over sovereign rights in the eastern Mediterranean.

Greece has more Leopard tanks than any other country in Europe: around 350 Leopard 2 and 500 Leopard 1. However, the government in Athens has no interest in selling tanks because it feels threatened by NATO partner Turkey.

Update from January 31, 5:15 p.m .:

After his “no” to the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, US President Biden wants to talk to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj again about arms deliveries.

"We'll talk," Biden said today.

On Monday (January 30), when asked whether the United States would send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, the US President replied with a curt "no".

Putin's spokesman grumbles about Baltic neighbors: "Think little about the consequences"

Update from January 31, 4:43 p.m .:

Putin spokesman Dmitri Peskov has sharply criticized the fact that Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has demanded further western arms deliveries to Ukraine.

The Baltic states and Poland are doing everything to provoke another confrontation between Russia and the "collective West," Peskov said, according to the Russian state news agency Tass.

"But they don't think much about the consequences."

Nauseda had stressed on Lithuanian television that the West must keep all options open when it comes to arms deliveries - including fighter jets and longer-range missile systems.

"These red lines must be crossed," he said.

The foreign ministers of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland have meanwhile met at a meeting to discuss their common response to the Ukraine war.

The four countries bordering Russia agreed on closer cooperation and coordination and pledged support for Ukraine until victory.

Up to 140 main battle tanks for Ukraine: Twelve countries want to deliver

Update from January 31, 3:40 p.m .:

In the next few months, Ukraine expects 120 to 140 modern Western Leopard 2, Challenger 2 and M1 Abrams main battle tanks.

"There are currently twelve participants in the tank coalition," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a video message on Tuesday.

The 42-year-old cannot currently name all the participating states, as some still have to go through formal procedures.

Kyiv is also very much hoping for French Leclerc tanks and larger deliveries from countries that are already involved.

"The armed forces must be given all types of weapons they need to defend and restore the territorial integrity of our state," Kuleba stressed.

The chief diplomat mentioned in particular combat aircraft and long-range missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers.

Negotiations are already underway for this.

At the same time, according to media reports, Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov traveled to Paris.

France is considered one of the main countries in the possible supply of fighter jets for Ukraine.

The spokesman for the Air Force, Yuri Ihnat, had stated that 200 jets would be needed.

According to Western experts, before the Russian attack a little more than eleven months ago, Kyiv had a little more than 100 operational Soviet-designed fighter jets. 

Ukraine-News: No examination of the available Bundeswehr stocks by Lambrecht

Update from January 31, 3:11 p.m .:

Despite months of calls from home and abroad to deliver battle tanks and armored personnel carriers to Ukraine, Defense Minister Christina Lambrecht did not check the available Bundeswehr stocks throughout 2022.

According to a report in the

Süddeutsche Zeitung

, this is the result of a reply from the Parliamentary State Secretary in the Defense Ministry, Siemtje Möller (SPD), to the CDU MP Nicolas Zippelius.

+

Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) recently resigned.

© Fabian Sommer/dpa/archive image

"There was no comprehensive and detailed examination of the availability of the Bundeswehr's stocks of battle tanks and armored personnel carriers in the context of possible deliveries to Ukraine," writes Möller in the answer.

The reason: There was "no common position for a possible delivery of the weapons systems mentioned" among the states supporting Ukraine.

However, supply offers from the industry were "discussed, checked and continuously updated".

CDU man Zippelius criticizes the government's approach: "The answer provides information about the exclusively reactive behavior of the federal government," he said.

The non-examination is a scandal and exposes Chancellor Scholz's allegedly strategic approach as an excuse.

"If you don't check your own stocks, you can't act with foresight either."

After the resignation of Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD), her successor Boris Pistorius (SPD) ordered an examination of the deliverable stocks as one of his first official acts.

After Merkel's statement, Putin spokesman railed against the West: Minsk agreement only "privacy protection"

Update from January 31, 2:05 p.m .:

From Russia’s point of view, Germany, France and Ukraine have long been working towards a military escalation in the Donbass.

This was shown by recent statements on the conflict, said Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the Russian state news agency Tass.

Russia therefore sees its decision to invade Ukraine confirmed.

According to Peskov, Putin did everything right with his “special military operation”.

"Both for Poroshenko and for Merkel and Hollande" the Minsk agreement was "no more than a privacy screen" to cover up their real concerns, Peskov claimed.

This concern was "to prepare Ukraine to solve the Donbass problem by force," Peskov claimed.

Most recently, ex-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko explained in a BBC documentary that the Minsk Agreement, which was intended to resolve the conflict in the east, gave Ukraine time to build a powerful army.

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel had previously defended her policy towards Russia and said in an interview that the agreement had bought Ukraine time.

The Russian leadership has repeatedly interpreted such statements as meaning that Ukraine was being specifically armed for war.

Update from January 31, 1:20 p.m .:

According to its government, Poland is currently not holding any talks about the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

"There are currently no official discussions about the F-16 delivery," Wojciech Skurkiewicz, state secretary in Poland's defense ministry, told AFP.

"The issue doesn't exist," he added.

Ukraine turn to fighter jets?

Kiev's Defense Minister today with Macron

Update from January 31, 12:32 p.m .:

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksey Resnikov wants to meet French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris today.

The two politicians want to discuss the delivery of F-16 fighter jets in the Ukraine war.

The US newspaper

The Guardian

reports on this .

Macron had previously emphasized on French TV that it depends on several factors whether France will provide fighter jets to Ukraine.

It is important to avoid an escalation with Russia.

Warplanes should never touch Russian soil.

US President Biden had clearly rejected the delivery of F16 fighter jets on Monday (January 30).

Update from January 31, 12:12 p.m

.: According to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, the West should keep all options open for arms deliveries in the Ukraine war.

"These red lines must be crossed," he said of reservations about supplying fighter jets and longer-range missiles to Ukraine.

These weapon systems are an "indispensable military aid," said Nauseda in an interview on Lithuanian television.

"At this crucial time in the war, when the tipping point is near, it is important that we act immediately."

Nauseda pointed out that some red lines had already been crossed in the Ukraine war.

"After the outbreak of war, Germany initially categorically stated that it would only send vests, helmets and the like, and not weapons at all," he said, adding: "Ukraine's EU candidate status was also once taboo."

First report: New sounds from the Ukraine: German fighter jets for Kyiv are currently not a priority

First report from January 31:

Kiev – The main battle tank question in the Ukraine war has hardly been resolved when a controversial debate is already underway about possible fighter jet deliveries to the war zone.

Among others, the Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Melnyk initiated the discussion immediately after the promise of Leopard 2 tanks.

The Ukrainian government is now taking a different stance: "We have not yet asked Germany for fighter jets," said the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, to

Deutsche Welle

.

Whether such an official request would still come depends on further developments at the front.

However, he does not currently see German fighter jets as a priority, the diplomat continued.

More important are “armored vehicles, main battle tanks, air defense systems and artillery units”.

Both sides are making "very good progress" with these arms deliveries, Makeiev said.

"We will continue to mainly talk about these four priorities with our German partners," he added.

"But, of course, the situation at the front may require different equipment," added the Ukrainian ambassador.

It is also important for Ukraine to get supplies of weapons and ammunition "as soon as possible".

Pictures of the Ukraine war: great horror and small moments of happiness

Pictures of the Ukraine war: great horror and small moments of happiness

War in Ukraine: Fighter jets protect infrastructure from Russian attacks

On the subject of fighter jets, Makeiev also stressed that "all fighter jets are important because they are part of our efforts to shoot down Russian missiles."

They are "part of our air defense efforts" to protect Ukrainian cities and infrastructure from attacks.

On Monday (January 30), US President Joe Biden rejected the delivery of F-16 fighter jets desired by Ukraine with a clear “no”.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz also quickly put a stop to this: he made it clear that a delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine is currently impossible.

(smu/dpa)

List of rubrics: © Sergei Bobylev/imago

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2023-01-31

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