Image: SERGIO LIMA (AFP)
Meanwhile, different signals came from Paris and Washington about the possible delivery of fighter jets to Kyiv. Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda spoke out against red lines for arms deliveries. In Nauseda’s view, the West should keep all options open in the Ukraine war when it comes to arms deliveries. “These red lines must be crossed,” he said on Monday evening, referring to reservations about Ukraine’s demand for longer-range fighter jets and missiles. These weapon systems are an “indispensable military aid”. “In this crucial phase of the war, when the turning point is imminent, it is important that we act immediately,” said the head of state of the Baltic EU and NATO country in an interview on Lithuanian television.
Lula for peace negotiations
Meanwhile, Brazil’s newly elected president has spoken out in favor of peace negotiations. “Brazil is a country of peace. And that’s why Brazil doesn’t want any involvement in this war – not even indirectly,” said Lula at a press conference with Scholz in Brasília on Monday (local time) to justify the rejection of Scholz. Instead, it is necessary “to form a group of countries that is strong enough and respected and sits down with the two at a negotiating table.” Lula named Brazil and China as possible mediators.
Germany has delivered 30 Gepard anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine and has pledged seven more. However, ammunition is scarce. A new factory of the armaments company Rheinmetall for the production of this ammunition is currently being built in Lower Saxony. However, production is not scheduled to begin until June. It is now certain that nothing will come of a transitional supply from Brazil.
No jets from the US
The US will not supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, according to President Joe Biden. When asked by a reporter, “Will the US provide F-16s to Ukraine?” Biden said “no” in Washington Monday. So far, it has been said that the US government has not ruled out any particular weapon system and is aligning support with what Ukraine needs. It would be “discussed very carefully,” it said on Friday.
Meanwhile, the US military launched the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, which had only recently been promised to Ukraine. The delivery of more than 60 Bradleys left the South Carolina coast last week, the military said on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, France and Australia have agreed to jointly supply Ukraine with artillery ammunition.
Conditions from France
French President Emmanuel Macron, on the other hand, does not fundamentally rule out the delivery of combat aircraft to Ukraine. “In principle, nothing is forbidden,” he said on Monday in The Hague when asked whether France might supply jets to Ukraine. However, Macron set some conditions against which Ukrainian requests would be examined on a case-by-case basis: First, Kyiv would have to make an “official request”. In addition, the weapons should not have an escalating effect and should not touch Russian soil, but should only be used for defense. Nor should the French army be weakened by arms deliveries.
The Ukrainian ambassador in Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, meanwhile insisted on the delivery of combat aircraft to his country after the commitment to battle tanks. “We have not yet asked Germany about fighter jets,” Makeiev told DW. But they are important because they are needed to shoot down Russian missiles. “Russia is firing many missiles at Ukrainian cities and infrastructure” – the fighter jets are part of the Ukrainian efforts to defend the airspace.
Source: Nachrichten
