The Ukrainian president is apparently trying to persuade the Europeans to make additional arms deliveries with the help of intelligence information. Are fighter jet deliveries approaching?
At his meeting with the heads of state and government of the EU states, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy distributed wish lists for new arms deliveries. A senior EU official said on Friday after the end of the summit in Brussels that Zelenskyy had handed over detailed lists.
According to the information, the wishes are tailored to the respective stocks of the Member States. This should increase the pressure on the individual states to deliver more for defense in the war against Russia.
Ukrainians know better than heads of state what is in the camps, added the EU official. “It’s pretty clever what the Ukrainians are doing. (…) They know exactly what they need and they know what to ask.” When asked where the Ukrainians got the information from, the official said: “They are informed, they have contacts.” Given such intelligence capabilities, it’s no wonder they’re able to defend themselves against Russia.
EU: See fighter jet deliveries coming
From German government circles it was said on Friday in Berlin that the German delegation had not received a list from Selenskyj. For example, Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas confirmed receipt. It is conceivable that Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron did not receive a list because they had already exchanged views with Zelenskyj in Paris on Tuesday evening.
On the discussion of fighter jet deliveries, the EU official said it was something that was seen coming. Slovakia is one of the countries examining this. The government there is hoping for support from the EU money pot, which is already being used to finance arms deliveries to Ukraine. The topic is currently being discussed in smaller groups.
Scholz had previously evaded the question of possible movement in the question of fighter jet deliveries at a press conference on Friday night. “It wasn’t a topic of conversation here,” he said. French President Emmanuel Macron did not rule out fighter jet deliveries in principle. However, this would be “definitely not possible in the coming weeks”. Selenskyj had also advertised fighter jet deliveries in Brussels. So far, Scholz has been against it.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
