He continues his tour in Europe. The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, who is traveling for a few hours to Brussels after a stop in Madrid and before another in Lisbon, was received in the morning by Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo to sign a bilateral agreement.
Information to remember
⇒ An agreement with Belgium on the F-16
⇒ Poland does not exclude the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine
⇒ Zelensky deplores Biden’s absence
An agreement with Belgium on the F-16
“Alexander De Croo and I signed a long-term bilateral security and support agreement between Ukraine and Belgium,” the Ukrainian president reported on the social network X.
Volodymyr Zelensky specified that the agreement included military aid from Belgium amounting to 977 million euros for the year 2024 alone, as well as this “unprecedented” commitment from the Belgians on an exact number of F- combat aircraft. 16.
Zelensky deplores Biden’s absence
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday accused his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of trying to “fail” the peace summit planned for Switzerland in mid-June.
“Putin is very afraid of the peace summit,” declared the Ukrainian leader during a trip to Brussels, Belgium. “He tried to make this summit fail and continues to do so,” he denounced to the press. The absence of American President Joe Biden from the Ukraine peace summit scheduled for June in Switzerland would be tantamount to “applauding” his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday during a trip to Brussels.
“His absence would be like applauding Putin,” said the Ukrainian president during a press conference while Washington has at this stage not confirmed the arrival of Joe Biden. The countries which are avoiding the summit are “satisfied” with the war which has ravaged Ukraine for more than two years, continued Volodymyr Zelensky.
Poland does not exclude the possibility of sending troops
Poland should not rule out the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine, Poland’s foreign minister said on Tuesday. Asked about the possibility of sending Polish soldiers to Ukraine, Radoslaw Sikorski said that “we should not exclude any option.”
“Let (Russian President Vladimir) Putin guess what we are going to do,” he added in an interview with three European dailies, including the Polish Gazeta Wyborcza.
Borrell in favor of using European weapons on Russian soil
The head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell urged the 27 on Tuesday to find a balance between fear of an escalation and the need for the Ukrainians to defend themselves, judging that kyiv must be able to strike Russian soil with Western weapons.
“According to the laws of war, it is perfectly possible, and there is no contradiction, I can retaliate or fight against anyone who attacks me from his territory,” he said before a meeting of EU defense ministers in Brussels. “There needs to be a balance between the risk of escalation and the need for Ukrainians to defend themselves,” he added.
Sweden presents energy support plan to Ukraine
Sweden unveiled on Tuesday a new aid plan to “guarantee energy supplies” to Ukraine to enable it to resist Russian forces which continue to advance in the country.
“Access to energy is essential for Ukrainian society, the economy and businesses to continue to function,” noted Johan Forssell, Minister of Foreign Trade and International Aid, at a press conference.