Ukraine’s president has announced that he will arrive in London on Monday for talks with UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak. In a tweet, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said “The UK is a leader when it comes to expanding our capabilities on the ground and in the air. This cooperation will continue today. I will meet my friend Rishi. We will conduct substantive negotiations face-to-face and in delegations.”
Sunak has said the UK will be “sustaining our support” for Ukraine as he prepares to meet the country’s leader. In a statement, the prime minister said “This is a crucial moment in Ukraine’s resistance to a terrible war of aggression they did not choose or provoke. They need the sustained support of the international community to defend against the barrage of unrelenting and indiscriminate attacks that have been their daily reality for over a year. We must not let them down.”
Britain will send hundreds of new long-range attack drones with a range of over 200km to Ukraine, the government said. “Today the prime minister will confirm the further UK provision of hundreds of air defence missiles and further unmanned aerial systems including hundreds of new long-range attack drones with a range of over 200km,” it said in a statement.
France has announced dozens more light tanks and armoured vehicles for Ukraine’s army, together with training for the soldiers using them, following talks between the Ukrainian and French presidents in Paris. Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Emmanuel Macron also called for fresh sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The leaders’ joint statement also said Paris would focus its efforts “in supporting Ukraine’s air defence capacities”.
The two leaders’ comments came after Zelenskiy flew into France late on Sunday during a whistle-stop tour of Europe and joined Macron for a dinner at the Élysée Palace. Zelenskiy tweeted earlier as he arrived in the country at an airbase in Villacoublay, south-west of Paris: “With each visit, Ukraine’s defense and offensive capabilities are expanding.”
Zelenskiy thanked Germany for its support and what he called the largest military aid package since the beginning of Russia’s invasion as he met with president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, in Berlin on Sunday. The trip came after the German government announced a new military package worth €2.7bn as Ukrainian forces prepare for a counteroffensive to reclaim territory captured by Russia.
During Zelenskiy’s visit to Germany, he was awarded the prestigious Charlemagne prize on behalf of the Ukrainian people in honour of services to Europe. The Ukrainian president received the award, which honours services to European unification, in the western city of Aachen with Olaf Scholz after their talks in Berlin.
Russia has said two of its military commanders were killed in eastern Ukraine, as Kyiv’s forces renewed efforts to break through Russian defences in the embattled city of Bakhmut. The Russian defence ministry said on Sunday that commander Vyacheslav Makarov of the 4th motorised rifle brigade and deputy commander Yevgeny Brovko from a separate unit were killed trying to repel Ukrainian attacks.
Russia has “already lost geopolitically” its war in Ukraine and is transforming into a vassal state of China, Emmanuel Macron has said. “De facto, it has entered a form of subservience with regards to China and has lost its access to the Baltic, which was critical, because it prompted the decision by Sweden and Finland to join Nato,” the French president said in an interview with Opinion newspaper published on Sunday.
Russian forces are much diminished since the start of the war, the UK Ministry of Defence has said, with troops consisting of mostly poorly trained mobilised reservists and increasingly reliant on antiquated equipment. Many of its units were severely under strength, it said.
Source : TheGuardian
