What does Zelensky (and Putin) Tell Us About the War in Ukraine with the EU (and How) it Has Been Done
He mentioned during the French presidency of the EU that the European political community is a response to the concerns. It is an idea typical of Mr. Macron: a bold, far-reaching and disruptive strategic gamble meant to stir new thinking, even if its end result and even its practicability are uncertain.
The new body is bigger than the European Union, and it includes countries like Ukraine and Moldova that are impatient with the process of joining. The association aims to give a voice to a larger Europe, and a mild provocation to the United States and Russia, which both see any Western turn by countries on its border as threatening.
“I am very inspired by your statements that Europe will be with us until our victory. Zelensky said he was grateful to a number of European leaders who had heard of it.
Michael Bociurkiw is a global affairs analyst in Odesa. He is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a former spokesperson for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He is a contributor to CNN Opinion. His own thoughts are expressed in this commentary. View more opinion at CNN.
As the war grinds into a new year, Zelensky faces a fresh dilemma. There are growing expectations for a full Russian withdrawal from pre-2014 lines in Ukraine, and how to balance those expectations with growing pressure from outside for a ceasefire.
I witnessed Zelensky pull up to the lysée Palace in a modest car, while Putin motored in with an armored limo. French President Emmanuel Macron hugged Putin but did not shake hands with Zelensky.
Zelensky’s physical appearance in Washington is surely designed to remind Republicans of the urgency of Ukraine’s fight and how a defeat for Kyiv would lead Moscow’s nuclear-backed brutality right to the doorstep of NATO, and then likely drag the US into a boots-on-the ground war with Russia.
Failure to demonstrate further progress on the battlefield with billions of dollars worth of military kit could result in a backlash among Western backers. But capitulation to Russia would be a political death sentence.
Zelensky: From a scrappy kid to a president and a comedian in the midst of the first world war
Zelensky’s upbringing in the rough and tumble neighborhoods of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine shaped him into a scrappy kid who learned how to respond to bullies.
“After the full-scale invasion, once he got into a position of being bullied by someone like Vladimir Putin he knew exactly what he needed to do because it was just his gut feeling,” Yevhen Hlibovytsky, former political journalist and founder of the Kyiv-based think tank and consultancy, pro.mova, told me.
This, after all, is the leader who when offered evacuation by the US as Russia launched its full-scale invasion, quipped: “I need ammunition, not a ride.”
It seems a long, long way since the heady campaign celebration in a renovated nightclub where a fresh-faced Zelensky thanked his supporters for a landslide victory. He stood on the stage and looked like he hadn’t defeated Petro Poroshenko at all.
The war appears to have turned his ratings around. Just days after the invasion, Zelensky’s ratings approval surged to 90%, and remain high to this day. Even Americans early in the war rated Zelensky highly for his handling of international affairs – ahead of US President Joe Biden.
His bubble includes many people from his previous professional life as a TV comedian in the theatrical group Kvartal 95. Even in the midst of the war, a press conference held on the platform of a Kyiv metro station in April featured perfect lighting and curated camera angles to emphasize a wartime setting.
I remember well the solace his nightly televised addresses brought in the midst of air raid sirens and explosions, because of his skills as comforter in chief.
The Times of Zelensky: From Fashion to Wartime: Celebrating Putin’s First Year at the White House with the United Kingdom
“By wearing T-shirts and hoodies, the youthful, egalitarian uniform of Silicon Valley, rather than suits, Zelensky is projecting confidence and competence in a modern way, to a younger, global audience that recognizes it as such,” Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, a fashion historian and author of “Red, White, and Blue on the Runway: The 1968 White House Fashion Show and the Politics of American Style,” told NPR.
Zelenska has shown that she is an effective communicator in international fora by showing how smart she is, how she is personable, and how she is compassionate. She met King Charles at the refugee aid center at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in London. (Curiously, TIME magazine did not include Zelenska on the cover montage and gave only a passing reference in the supporting text).
There are still concerns about what Zelensky’s long-term plan might be, even after Western nations rallied behind him.
Later he observed that Ukrainians will be celebrating Christmas by candlelight, “not because it’s romantic, no, but because there will be no electricity.” Russia has destroyed its electrical grid and infrastructure.
Zelensky made a case for Russia’s defeat in his speech. We are aware that Russia will lose. We know victory will change the world, and this will be a change the world needed. The United Kingdom is with us on our journey to victory. The victory over the idea of war.
“Paradoxically, Zelensky achieved the thing that Putin most wanted to achieve but failed … to rally support domestically with a patriotic war in order to deflect and distract from his abject failures at home. Michael Popow, New York-based geopolitics and business analyst said that Putin thought showing up by a comedian would be painful for him.
Zelensky’s recent video address stated that “No matter what the aggressor intends to do, when the world is truly united it is then the world, not the aggressor, determines how events develop.”
He got both after ten months. When Zelensky touched down outside Washington in a US military plane Wednesday, his arrival capped a 10-day sprint by American and Ukrainian officials to arrange a risky wartime visit meant to rally support for Ukraine’s ongoing resistance to Russia’s invasion.
The Ukrainian president was forced to leave his country after Russia invaded it and he went to Washington, DC, on his first trip outside his country. He made it clear that he would never stop asking for more from America, even though he expressed a lot of gratitude.
“(Biden) will reinforce the fundamental message on this trip to President Zelensky directly – to the Ukrainian people, the American people and the world publicly – that the United States will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” a senior administration official said.
Zelensky, who the official said was “very keen” to visit the US, determined those parameters met his needs, and the US set to work executing them. The trip was finally confirmed on Sunday.
The new, $1.8 billion package Biden will unveil includes a Patriot surface-to-air missile system, which has been a longstanding request of Ukraine’s to fend of Russian air attacks. The US was expected to give the systems to Ukraine according to a report by CNN.
Unlike smaller air defense systems, Patriot missile batteries need much larger crews, requiring dozens of personnel to properly operate them. The training for Patriot missile batteries normally takes multiple months, a process the United States will now carry out under the pressure of near-daily aerial attacks from Russia.
The official said US troops would train Ukrainians to use the system in a third country. The training would be held at a US Army base in Germany according to CNN.
The system is widely considered one of the most capable long-range weapons to defend airspace against incoming ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as some aircraft. Because of its long-range and high-altitude capability, it can potentially shoot down Russian missiles and aircraft far from their intended targets inside Ukraine.
Noisily, but that may be all. Kremlin watchers like to parse the latest statements from the Russian President Vladimir Putin each time US weapons deliveries improve Ukraine’s position. The Kremlin said the latest release does not bode well for Ukraine.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, his first trip to the United States will highlight his role in bringing about the revival of the Western alliance which kept the Soviet Union at bay, and is now being overshadowed by new expansionism by Moscow.
Zelensky said during his video address to the UK Parliament earlier this year that Britain was a model for Russia in its resistance against the Russians, and he will return to the US capital to do so again.
Zelensky’s appearance was facilitated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as one of her final acts before relinquishing the speaker’s gavel. Earlier this year she took a surprise visit of her own to meet with Zelensky in Kyiv.
Zelensky’s Visit to the U.S. Capitol Hill During the March 11, 2001 Black-Hole Infamy
She said that the defense of Ukraine would help it as Russia sends missiles and drones to kill Ukrainian civilians. “If Russia doesn’t want their missiles shot down, Russia should stop sending them into Ukraine.”
Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, Wesley Clark said that Zelensky’s trip reflects a critical moment when the destiny of a war that Ukraine cannot win without upgraded US support could be decided before Russia can regroup.
His visit to Congress will also play into an increasingly important debate on Capitol Hill over Ukraine aid with Republicans set to take over the House majority in the new year. Billions of dollars in US cash sent to Ukrainians should be spent onshoring up the US southern border because of a surge of new migrants expected within days, warn pro-Donald Trump members who will have leverage in the thin GOP majority.
McCarthy said he did not support a blank check after the speech. There should be accountability for the money we spent.
Zelensky used a virtual address to Congress in March to reference Mount Rushmore and Martin Luther King Jr. He also referred to two days of infamy in modern history when Americans directly experienced the fear of aerial bombardment.
It was terrible morning of December 7, 1941 when the sky was black from the planes attacking you. Zelensky said to just remember it. Remember September 11, 2001, when evil plotted to turn your cities, independent territories, into battlefields. Nobody expected this when innocent people were attacked, and you could not stop it. Our country is the same every day.
The War Between Europe and the West: What Mr. Biden, the United Kingdom, and the Ukraine, are trying to tell us about the progress of their cooperation
The British leader took a plane from Virginia to Washington, where he met the President Franklin Roosevelt and gave a press conference on December 22, 1941.
Over days of brainstorming and meetings – fueled by Churchill’s regime of sherry with breakfast, Scotch and sodas for lunch, champagne in the evening and a tipple of 90-year-old brandy before bed – the two leaders plotted the defeat of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan and laid the foundation of the Western alliance that Biden has reinvigorated in his support for Ukraine.
Churchill, who had pined for US involvement in World War II for months and knew it was the key to defeating Adolf Hitler, said during his visit, “I spend this anniversary and festival far from my country, far from my family, and yet I cannot truthfully say that I feel far from home.”
He told lawmakers that London has been with Kyiv since the beginning. “Since the first seconds and minutes of the full-scale war. When the world hadn’t yet figured out how to react, Great Britain gave a helping hand.
Zelensky said we need modern weapons, such as tanks, long-range missiles, and fighter jets. “We have to enhance the dynamic of our cooperation” and act “faster than the aggressor,” he added.
The second is for Ukrainian jets. Russian and Ukrainian citizens are able to usedumb munitions that are roughly fired towards a target. Western standard precision weapons, like Howitzers and HIMARS, have been provided to Ukraine.
But Moscow is struggling to equip and rally its conventional forces, and, with the exception of its nuclear forces, appears to be running out of new cards to play. China and India have joined the West in open statements against the use of nuclear force, which has made that option even less likely.
Russia has complained about these deliveries many times but has been quiet about its reaction to what recently might have been considered a red line.
Yes. An aid package worth more than $45 billion is in the works and is part of a consistent drumbeat from the Biden administration. The message is simple: Ukraine is receiving as much aid as Washington can provide, short of boots on the ground, and that aid will not stop.
Whatever the eventual truth of the matter – and military aid is opaque at the best of times – Biden wants Putin to hear nothing but headline figures in the billions, to sap Russian resolve, push European partners to help more, and make Ukraine’s resources seem limitless.
The remnants of the Trumpist “America First” elements of that party have raised doubts about how much aid the U.S. should give to the edges of eastern Europe.
Washington’s near trillion-dollar annual defense budget makes the cost of the defeat of Russia fairly light.
The Voice of Ukraine, and the War of Choice (extended Abstract) – a Conversation with Sergei Zelensky about the Russian War”
He is an inspiring rhetorician, and – as a former reality TV star turned unexpected president – the embodiment of how Putin’s war of choice has turned ordinary Ukrainians into wartime heroes.
He concluded, “May the New Year bring all this. We are going to fight for it. That is the reason why we are here. I am here. We are here. You are here. Everyone is here. We are all from Ukranian.
“The American people, in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory,” Zelensky said, quoting FDR. The Ukrainian people will win as well.
He said the battle isn’t only about the lives of Ukrainians or any other nation which Russia tries to conquer. What world will our children and grandchildren live in?
Zelensky has been working with the UK and others on getting solutions for long range missiles and the training of pilots. It’s an important road to get the fighter jets we need.
What does President Zelensky want from a war? A review of his speech to the Bali summit of the U.S. Senate on Wednesday
Clinton, who previously met Russian President Vladimir Putin as US secretary of state, said the leader was “probably impossible to actually predict,” as the war turns in Ukraine’s favor and his popularity fades at home.
Zelensky, wearing a green sweatshirt, stood on the floor of the House with the Ukrainian battle flag in front of him.
But the trip was about far more than symbols. Biden wouldn’t invite Zelensky to Washington – and endure a risky trip outside Ukraine for the first time since the war began – if he did not believe something real could be accomplished meeting face-to-face instead of over the phone.
Emerging from their talks, both men made clear they see the war entering a new phase. As Russia sends more troops to the frontlines and wages a brutal air campaign against civilian targets, fears of a stalemate are growing.
But on Wednesday, Zelensky used bellicose rhetoric that suggested such a peace was not close, saying the road to ending the war would not involve making concessions to Russia.
“For me as a president, ‘just peace’ is no compromises,” he said, indicating he doesn’t see any road to peace that involves Ukraine giving up territory or sovereignty.
At the Group of 20 summit in Bali in November, Zelenskyy presented a 10-point peace formula that includes the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, the release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for the aggression and security guarantees for Ukraine.
For his part, Biden said it was up to Zelensky to “decide how he wants to the war to end,” a long-held view that leaves plenty of questions unanswered.
Zelensky peppered his address to lawmakers with references to American history, from the critical Battle of Saratoga during the American Revolutionary War to the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.
He delivered his address in English, a purposeful choice he telegraphed ahead of the speech. Even his attire – the now-familiar Army green shirt, cargo pants and boots – seemed designed to remind his audience they were in the presence of a wartime leader.
The Zelensky Paradigm: A Day in the Life of a Soldier, Not a Problem for the U.S.
Over the course of the conflict, Zelensky has demonstrated an acute ability to appeal to his audience, be they national legislatures or the audience of the Grammys.
On Wednesday, he appealed to Americans’ emotional response to their country’s suffering, as Russia attempted to interrupt Ukraine’s power supply.
We are going to celebrate Christmas, maybe with candles. He said that it was not because it was more romantic, but because there would be no electricity. The light of our faith will be with us at Christmas even if we don’t have electricity.
He was aware that many Americans wondered aloud why billions of US dollars are needed for a conflict thousands of miles away. He sought to make the cause about more than his own homeland.
Yet it doesn’t take much to see tensions just beneath the surface. Zelensky has been demanding more US support despite the billions of dollars that Biden has directed to his country.
Biden and Zelensky have a partnership that has stayed the same. And Zelensky was effusive in his praise of Biden as he went from the Oval Office to the East Room to Capitol Hill.
That hasn’t always sat well with Biden or his team. Biden seemed to be trying to translate physical proximity into a better understanding of his counterpart, as he has with other foreign leaders.
It is all about looking at the person in the eye. I mean it sincerely. He said there is no substitute for looking the other person in the eye while facing them.
The Wartime Hero of Ukraine, Says Johnny, Tells Us What You Don’t, But We Can Give It to the House of Representatives and Senators
This story was adapted from the December 22 edition of CNN’s Meanwhile in America, the daily email about US politics for global readers. Click here to read past editions and subscribe.
The comic actor-turned-wartime hero effectively put the fate of millions of Ukrainians in the hands of American lawmakers, taxpayers and families at a time when there is growing skepticism among the incoming Republican House majority about the cost of US involvement.
He presented the flag that was signed by the troops from Bakhmut to Pelosi and asked them to back the cause of the Ukrainian people. She gave him a flag from the US Capitol that he carried out of the chamber.
“Our heroes … asked me to bring this flag to you, to the US Congress, to members of the House of Representatives and senators whose decisions can save millions of people,” he said.
His broader message was that Ukraine’s fight was not just some flashpoint over an ancient grudge on the fringes of the old Soviet empire. His fight is to make America’s and everyone’s lives better, to save global democracy.
Zelensky said a deep thank you for tens of billions of dollars in weapons and aid given to Americans. Implicitly, he argued they couldn’t abandon this gritty, independence hero without also suppressing something of their own patriotic national identify.
— To the incoming House Republican majority, some of whose members want to halt aid, the Ukrainian leader’s hero’s welcome in the chamber suggested they would be shamed if they choose to forsake him.
Vladimir Zelensky, the Leader of the United States, has defeated Russia in the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the World
He said Zelenskyy’s visit proved that the U.S. is in a proxy war with Russia.
Zelensky repeatedly pointed out that despite the largesse of US artillery support and the imminent arrival of high-tech weapons like a Patriot missile battery that Biden unveiled Wednesday, his nation was still outmanned and outgunned.
The president has limited the potency of the weapons he sends into the battle, balancing the need to defend a European democracy with the desire not to trigger a disastrous direct clash with Russia and to avoid crossing often invisible red lines whose locations are known only to Putin.
Why don’t we just give all the things there is to give to Ukranian? Biden said at the White House that it would be a bad idea to push an overwhelming force into Ukraine.
With Washington divided between Democrats and Republicans, America’s lawmakers may not be able to fund their own government next year.
When Zelensky was introduced, some Republicans who have previously expressed reservations about aid to the people of Ukraine did not applaud.
Fresh from a trip to the bloody front lines in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky strode onto the ornate US House floor on Wednesday evening in his signature green military wear to shore up his supply line.
Zelensky, the leader of Russia, claimed that his nation had defeated Russia in what he said was the battle for the hearts and minds of the world.
Although he did not mention the elephant in the room, the speech was a clear plea to Republican lawmakers, who will control the House in January, to stay with Ukraine.
His remarks came as Congress had been planning to vote this week on a year-long spending bill that includes roughly $45 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine and NATO allies.
Wednesday’s White House reception could not have been the one Zelensky envisioned years ago when he faced then-President Donald Trump’s call for him to investigate Biden in exchange for military aid. Zelensky was thanking Americans in the same chamber where Trump was impeached three years ago for his help against Russia.
Vladimir Zelensky meets Vladimir Putin in Moscow: The Battle of the Bulge and the End of Cold War II for the United States and the Cold War
He returned to US military history Wednesday, referring to the Battle of the Bulge during World War II, when US troops were surrounded in the snow after gaining a foothold in Europe on D-Day.
Zelensky said that Ukrainian soldiers are just like the brave American soldiers who fought back against Hitler’s forces during Christmas of 1944, and are doing the same with Putin’s forces this Christmas.
“He’s already established in the American people’s mind we’re in this together, but then pointing out that they’ll do the fighting for us – ‘just give us the tools and we will finish the job.’ In an interview with CNN Anderson Cooper Wednesday evening, historian Kearns Goodwin said that the leader of the free world had said that.
An address to Congress is the ultimate platform for a foreign president in the US and maybe around the world. It’s in contrast to Vladimir Putin, who canceled his annual year-end press conference.
Ukraine has performed better than anyone expected last February, when Russia invaded, but that brave fighting, with help from hardware from the US and other NATO countries has won Ukraine the beginnings of a stalemate, not the end of Russian occupation.
Zelensky endorsed the idea of a peace summit this winter. The US Secretary of State had suggested that Russia would be leaving the areas it had invaded. Zelensky believes that Russia should leave even out of the territory it claimed in the beginning of the year. Putin said he wouldn’t retreat at all.
The Dominance of the U.S. to Ukraine and the Cold War: Implications for the American-Russian Interaction with Ukraine
Petraeus added it was substantive because of the new money pledged to Ukraine both at the White House and in a larger $1.7 trillion spending bill lawmakers need to pass before Friday.
Kevin McCarthy, leader of the House Republicans, met with Zelensky and three other congressional leaders in order to get the votes he needs to become House speaker.
A majority of Americans remain behind supporting Ukraine and keeping sanctions on Russia, according to recent polling, but in a December survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the share of Americans who believe the US should support Ukraine for “as long as it takes” dropped 10 percentage points since the summer to about half. Just a third of Republicans supported indefinite support in the survey.
The only Ukrainian-born member of Congress is skeptical about some of the aid to Ukraine and concerned about corruption in the Zelensky administration.
This is not the first time Russia has accused Western nations of turning the conflict into a proxy war by supplying Ukraine with weapons. (Iran has acknowledged providing military drones to Russia.)
The Kremlin has also been selling that line to the Russian public, who is largely buying it, says Sergey Radchenko, a Russian history professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
He tells Morning Edition that most of the Russian people see the conflict as a fight between Russia and the West, which they believe is being played for a pawn.
“All the US has done is help the country defend itself against Russian aggression and Zelenskyy and Ukraine have made clear that they want a ‘just peace,’ and all that has been accused of being a proxy war is false,” said Sloat.
According to Moscow, the delivery of missiles to Ukranian is a provocative move by the U.S.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba: ‘I’m all you’ve got to do, but what’s yours?’
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s foreign minister on Monday said that his government is aiming to have a peace summit by the end of February, preferably at the United Nations with Secretary-General António Guterres as a possible mediator, around the anniversary of Russia’s war.
But Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told The Associated Press that Russia could only be invited to such a summit if the country faced a war crimes tribunal first.
Kuleba also said he was “absolutely satisfied” with the results of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the U.S. last week, and he revealed that the U.S. government had made a special plan to get the Patriot missile battery ready to be operational in the country in less than six months. Usually, the training takes up to a year.
Kuleba said during the interview at the Foreign Ministry that Ukraine will do whatever it can to win the war in 2023, adding that diplomacy always plays an important role.
He said that the UN could be the best place to hold the summit because it is not about making a favor to a particular country. “This is really about bringing everyone on board.”
About Guterres’ role, Kuleba said: “He has proven himself to be an efficient mediator and an efficient negotiator, and most importantly, as a man of principle and integrity. He would be welcome to participate.
They regularly say that they’re ready for negotiations, which is not true, because everything they do on the battlefield proves the opposite.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/26/1145539638/ukraine-russia-peace-summit-foreign-minister
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a rousing New Year’s Eve speech: “A triumphant victory over Russia in a dangerous world”
“This shows how both the United States are important for Ukraine, but also how Ukraine is important for the United States,” said Kuleba, who was part of the delegation to the U.S.
He said that the U.S. government developed a program for the missile battery to complete the training faster than usual “without any damage to the quality of the use of this weapon on the battlefield.”
Kuleba said that it would be less than six months. And he added that the training will be done “outside” Ukraine.
Kuleba has been second to Zelenskyy in carrying Ukraine’s message and needs to engage with an international audience, whether through social media or meetings with foreign officials.
On Monday,Ukraine called on the UN to exclude Russia from the world body and deprive it of its permanent member status. Kuleba said they have long “prepared for this step to uncover the fraud and deprive Russia of its status.”
The Foreign Ministry says that Russian never went through the legal procedure for acquiring membership and taking the place of the USSR at the U.N. Security Council after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
KYIV, Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine delivered a rousing New Year’s Eve address on Saturday night, recalling a year that he said truly “began on Feb. 24” with fear over Russia’s invasion but ended with his country hopeful for victory.
Mr. Zelensky said that there were many important moments from the war, such as the assault on a maternity hospital and the attack on the Azovstal steel plant.
“This year has struck our hearts,” he said, according to a translated transcript posted on his official website. We cried out all the tears. All the prayers have been yelled. 311 days. We have a lot to say every minute.
World did not lose anything, nor did Ukraine lose its freedom. And the United States refused to send a Typhoon or F-35 fighter jet to Ukraine
All Ukrainians — those working, attending schools or “just learning to walk” — are participating in Ukraine’s defense, Mr. Zelensky said. He said that he did not think that a year of losses was the right way to describe it.
“We haven’t lost anything,” Mr. Zelensky said. “It was taken from us. Ukraine did not lose its sons and daughters — they were taken away by murderers. Ukrainians did not lose their homes — they were destroyed by terrorists. We did not lose our lands — they were occupied by invaders. The world did not lose peace — Russia destroyed it.”
Mr. Zelensky said the world had come to the aid of Ukraine by way of the main squares of foreign cities and their halls of government.
The US has not indicated to allies that it would be opposed to other countries sending their stock of F-16s to Ukraine, sources told CNN. But many US officials believe that for the US to send its own would be an expensive and complicated undertaking that US officials don’t believe is worth it in the short term when compared to Ukraine’s more immediate needs of artillery, rockets, and air defense systems.
The US and allied officials feel that the jets would be impractical because of the training they would need and the fact that Russia could easily shoot them down.
The UK has so far refused to send its Typhoon or F-35 fighter jets to Ukraine, saying it was not “the right approach.” However, Wednesday’s announcement will raise hopes that there could be a future shift in attitude. In addition to giving Ukraine longer-range capabilities, the UK also said it would.
“One year ago everyone rejected HIMARS and no one could imagine Abrams tanks,” the official said, referring to US missile systems provided to Ukraine last year, and the Biden administration’s decision last week to give Ukraine the flagship American battle tank.
“I don’t think fighter jets are easier than ATACMS, but I believe we need to try to push,” the Ukrainian military official told CNN, referring to the long-range missiles they still want.
Early on in the war, the US believed that giving new fighter jets toUkraine would cause animosities between NATO and Russia. The US agreed to give Warsaw the F-16s that Poland wanted in exchange for transferring its fighter jets to Ukraine. The US ultimately decided against that plan, however, deeming it too provocative.
“We are providing them what we think they are capable of operating, maintaining, and sustaining,” deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said last week. The F-16 is a complicated system.
On the need for aircraft for Ukraine: The case of the UK and for Eurofighter jets for Ukraine, as Zelensky told Sunak at Buckingham Palace
Zelensky made a direct plea for more heavy weaponry and stroked the national ego in his speech to the parliaments of Britain, his second foreign trip since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
I believe the symbol will help us in the next coalition. And I appeal to you and the world with simple and yet most important words: Combat aircraft for Ukraine. Wings for freedom.
Zelensky commanded the attention of the Prime Minister and members of the Cabinet to stand in front of him in the historic surroundings of Westminister Hall, which is the site where Queen Elizabeth II lay in state.
Zelensky was greeted at the airport by Sunak and the plane he was on was from the Royal Air Force. Sunak uploaded a picture of the pair embracing. The caption reads “Welcome to the UK, President #ZelenskyGloryyUa.”
He went to Buckingham Palace to meet King Charles III, who told Zelensky that he had been worried about him for a long time.
Zelensky was thankful for the warm welcome and the support of the Ukrainian citizens who have taken refuge in the United Kingdom.
“We have no way out. We have to stand firm. We need armored vehicles, we need tanks, we need fighter jets, and obviously, we spent a lot of time talking about this together,” said Zelensky, speaking alongside Sunak at Lulworth Camp in Dorset, England.
Kyiv will likely welcome the news that the UK’s training program is expanding to fighter jets, with Ukrainian officials having long called for Western allies to supply the planes.
Zelensky said during a press conference with Sunak Wednesday that Ukraine would intensify their diplomacy regarding the request for Eurofighter jets and suggested that it was not solely in the hands of the UK.
“Once again, I heard from Mr. Prime Minister the desire to provide fighter jets, and officially he declared they can begin training our pilots,” Zelensky said. Not everything depends on the decision of Great Britain.
Sunak noted that it takes three years to train a Typhoon fighter pilot from scratch, to which Zelensky responded, “I didn’t even know it takes three years to train a pilot like that. Come on we will be sending you pilots who have been trained for more than two years.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/08/europe/zelensky-visit-uk-intl-gbr/index.html
Belensky: Russia is ready to defend itself against the consequences of a war in Ukraine, and his visit to Brussels with the UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace is investigating which aircraft could be given to Ukraine, but Downing Street maintained no decision has yet been taken on whether to supply the jets.
“We would like to remind London: in the event of such a scenario the death toll of yet another round of escalation, as well as and its military-political consequences for the European continent and the whole world will be on the United Kingdom’s hands,” the embassy said.
A government statement read that the package targets entities providing military equipment such as drones, as well as eight individuals and one entity linked to “nefarious financial networks that help maintain wealth and power amongst Kremlin elites.”
The UK government has already imposed sanctions on hundreds of Russian individuals and entities since last February when Russia invaded Ukraine, according to UK government data.
“This is our Europe, these are our rules, this is our way of life. Zelensky referred to the aim of Ukraine to join the European Union as a way home.
Zelensky said that the EU and his country share the same values, and that the “European standard of life” and the ” European rules of life” are also when the law rules.
The president warned European lawmakers that Russia wants to return Europe to the xenophobia of the 1930s and 1940s. He said that the answer for them was no. We are defending ourselves. We must defend ourselves.”
I have heard that we are ready to give the necessary weapons and support. He said that they are trying to raise the issue of the fighter jets and other aircrafts. We are working and will keep doing that in Brussels.
When there, Zelensky seemed confident, yet coy about getting the jet fighters he wants, “there are certain agreements, which are not public, but are positive” he said during a press conference.
The Ukrainian leader has a proven track record persuading allies to give him what he wants, hinting at success in the United Kingdom, “I think that our visit to London has achieved results.”
His meeting in Paris with the German Chancellor and French President also appears to have extended that conversation. “I see this meeting as a positive one and talking about concrete decisions. I wouldn’t want to make any announcements publicly, but I can say we will be working towards the enhancement of our capabilities.
Marrying the United Kingdom in victory over the idea of war – a journey through the dark side of history for those who do not want to do anything
Several countries, including Germany, Poland and the Netherlands, recent gave the green light to provide armored vehicles for Kyiv in order to protect it against Russian aggression.
He knew that Russia would lose. We know victory will change the world, and this will be a change the world needed. The United Kingdom is marching with us towards the most important victory of our lifetime. The victory over the very idea of war.