US President Joe Biden promised at a meeting today with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris, new aid to Ukraine in the amount of 225 million dollars, Reuters reported.
Biden told Zelensky that the US will always support Ukraine. The Ukrainian president, for his part, thanked for the huge American support on which his country relies.
The package of support for Ukraine includes ammunition for HIMARS missile systems, mortars and artillery shells.
The US president confirmed that Washington “will not back down” and will continue to support Russia-attacked Ukraine.
Biden publicly apologized for the first time to Volodymyr Zelensky for suspending US military aid for several months, which allowed Russia to achieve successes on the battlefield, the Associated Press reported.
The Democratic president emphasized that the American people will support Ukraine in the long term. “We still fully support you,” he made clear.
Zelensky before the French Parliament: Europe is no longer a continent of peace
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated today before the French Parliament that Europe is a continent at war and that Russia will not stop its aggression on his country’s borders, DPA reported.
Zelensky is on an official visit to France, where he will be received by President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace.
“We live in a time when Europe is no longer a continent of peace, unfortunately,” Zelensky said in his address to French MPs, adding that European cities and villages continue to be destroyed by Russian bombing in Ukraine. He also condemned the abduction of Ukrainian children in the occupied territories.
“Now this is directed against Ukraine, but tomorrow it may be the turn of other countries, and we already clearly see the direction of the aggression – the Baltic republics, Poland, the Balkans,” said the Ukrainian president. He noted Russia’s military actions in Syria and Russia’s presence in the Sahel region of Africa, which he said showed that “the Russian regime does not recognize borders.”
Zelensky also said Russian President Vladimir Putin was also trying to “weaken” countries through food and energy insecurity. He thanked France for its support and said he hoped to soon see French warplanes in Ukrainian skies after French President Emmanuel Macron announced he would provide Ukraine with Mirage 2000 fighter jets.
Zelensky has long expressed frustration with how long it is taking Western allies to make key decisions about military support for Ukraine and actually send aid, Reuters notes.
Stoltenberg: Ukraine has the right to hit targets in Russia
Ukraine has the right under international law to strike military targets in Russia to defend itself, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said today, as quoted by Reuters, during a visit to the alliance’s newest member country, Sweden.
“Ukraine has the right to self-defense,” Stoltenberg said during a joint press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson at a military base near Stockholm.
“The right of self-defense includes the right to strike legitimate military targets on the territory of the attacking country, the aggressor, in this case – Russia,” he added.
The Kremlin said earlier this week that Western countries providing Ukraine with weapons for strikes on Russian territory would have to expect a Russian response, with President Vladimir Putin saying he was considering arming Western adversaries in response.
“This is a war after Russia attacked peaceful, democratic and neighboring Ukraine, which has never been a threat to Russia. It is indisputable that Ukraine has the right to strike targets on Russian territory,” Stoltenberg said.
“As long as we leave no room for misunderstandings or misjudgments in Moscow or other capitals of countries that could potentially attack us, there will be no military threat against NATO member countries,” assured the Secretary General of the organization.
To a question about the possibility of Russia testing the commitment of member countries to defend each other in the event of an attack according to Art. 5 of the NATO Charter, Stoltenberg stated that “there is no direct military threat against the NATO countries”. Therefore, I do not think that there will be a check on our Article 5″, he added.
These statements come after a new escalation of tensions between Russia and NATO member countries, which have announced an increase in their military support for Ukraine, notes AFP.
Ulf Christershon announced during the press conference that Swedish combat aircraft, mainly domestically produced Gripen, will participate in the alliance’s air surveillance forces in the Baltic Sea
Rome: We do not agree with Macron on Ukraine, we are against escalation
Italy does not support French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to send military instructors to Ukraine and is against any form of escalation in the Russian-Ukrainian war, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said today on national air, as quoted by the Italian news agency ANSA.
“Putin is conducting pre-election propaganda. We are in favor of respecting Ukrainian independence, but we will not send soldiers to Ukraine and we will not send weapons to Russian territory,” Tajani said. “Macron’s position is not that of Italy. We are not following anyone: escalation should be avoided. We are not at war with Russia,” he added. “At the moment, an election campaign is being conducted and Putin is trying to divide Europe, which is united on this issue,” the deputy prime minister concluded.
Macron has previously stated on several occasions that the deployment of NATO forces to Ukraine will be necessary in the future.
Discussing another topic, the recent attack by coalition partner and right-wing League leader Matteo Salvini, who accused him of splitting the coalition over Ukraine, Tajani, who is leader of the centre-right Forza Italia, said: “I understand Salvini’s campaign notes , who is trying to attract votes: I am a foreign minister, I cannot use vulgarities against the president of another country. I am an Italian patriot, I have worked in the NATO operations department. I do not enter into an argument, but I do not accept lessons from nobody when I talk about my homeland Italy’.
Former President of the European Parliament and two-time European Commissioner Tajani, 70, is a former military pilot and journalist by training.
Switzerland: The peace conference on Ukraine is likely to be followed by a conference on Russia
The peace conference on Ukraine, which Switzerland is organizing at the end of next week, is only the beginning of the negotiations, and will most likely be followed by negotiations with Russia, Swiss President Viola Amherd said, quoted by DPA.
“It is clear to us that at the end of the conference we will not sign a peace agreement,” Amherd said in comments published by Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.
Both sides should be at the table for peace talks, she said, referring to the fact that Russia was not invited to participate in the summit in Switzerland. 4Then Russia could attend a possible follow-up conference,” Amherd added.
Switzerland has invited around 160 countries to discussions on possible ways to achieve lasting peace in Ukraine. Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago, has not received an invitation. Ukraine participated in the conference.
So far, more than 80 countries have confirmed that they will join the meeting in Switzerland, which will take place on June 15 and 16.
Moscow has said that Russia would not participate even if it had been invited.
Amherd also said that the conference aims to create a platform for dialogue, where the first step will be to discuss how peace can be achieved in Ukraine.
She stated that it would not be about peace in Ukraine in the narrow sense of the word, but “only” about humanitarian issues, nuclear safety, freedom of navigation and food security.
“We want to build trust and seek solutions to these issues that are important for the civilian population and then for peace later,” she said.
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