The war is getting bogged down. Since last summer, Russian forces have been on the offensive again at various points on the front, notably in the direction of Kupiansk, without however obtaining major advances. The Ukrainian authorities also announced that they had repatriated the bodies of 77 Ukrainian soldiers.
Information to remember
⇒ Washington gives the green light to the F-16s requested by Turkey
⇒ Putin calls Ukraine veterans the new Russian “elite”
⇒ kyiv announces the repatriation of the bodies of 77 Ukrainian soldiers
Washington gives green light to F-16s requested by Turkey
Ending months of negotiations, the American government gave the green light on Friday to the sale of F-16 fighter planes to Turkey, for an amount of 23 billion dollars, in the wake of Ankara’s ratification of Sweden’s accession to theNATO. The sale will see Turkey acquire 40 new F-16s and Greece 40 F-35s for $8 billion, the State Department said Friday. The latter formally notified Congress of this double sale late Friday afternoon, as required by American law.
To do this, the United States waited until the instruments of ratification by Turkey of Swedish membership in NATO were physically deposited in Washington, said an American official speaking on condition of anonymity, testifying to the ultra-sensitive nature negotiations which led to this agreement.
Putin calls Ukraine veterans new Russian ‘elite’
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that veterans of the offensive against Ukraine would form the country’s new “elite”, pitting them against the naked stars of show business who recently caused a scandal in Moscow. “These are the people we will have to make into the country’s elite in the future,” said Vladimir Putin, after meeting in St. Petersburg with Russian students engaged in the army for the operation in Ukraine. “Not those who, forgive me, expose their genitals or show their behinds,” he added, according to footage of a government meeting on Russian television.
kyiv announces repatriation of bodies of 77 Ukrainian soldiers
Ukrainian authorities announced Friday that they had repatriated the bodies of 77 Ukrainian soldiers, the “long-planned” procedure having been concluded despite the recent crash of a Russian military plane in troubled conditions. Russia accuses Ukraine of shooting down a military transport plane in a Russian border region on Wednesday, killing, according to Moscow, 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war who were going to be exchanged that day. But Moscow has provided no evidence supporting these allegations and kyiv, which has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement, has expressed doubts about the presence of Ukrainian prisoners on board.
Sudden rise in fever between Biden and the Republicans
The tone suddenly rose on Friday between Joe Biden and the Republicans over the difficult discussions in Congress on Ukraine and immigration policy, a sign among others of the intensification of the electoral campaign. Under pressure from the right, these two subjects are now negotiated together, which endangers deliveries of crucial weapons and equipment for the Ukrainian army.
In the evening, the Democratic president called on conservative parliamentarians not to block a project on immigration already partly negotiated, assuring that if it were adopted, it would be “the most severe and the most severe set of reforms fairer than we have ever had in our country in securing the border.
New anti-Ukrainian disinformation campaign
“Check this information, please”: since September, online disinformation attributed to Russia no longer consists only of relaying anti-Ukrainian fake news but also of directly calling on Western media to encourage them to verify it. A vast “diversionary enterprise” aimed at journalists, experts warn. This modus operandi was nicknamed the “Matriochka” or “Russian dolls” operation by the “Antibot4Navalny” collective which tracks influence operations linked to Russia on X.