Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday May 20 that “peace will be closer” following the G7 summit meetings, after a diplomatic source said he had arrived in the Japanese city of Hiroshima in Japan. For his part, the American president, Joe Biden, has said he is ready to take a new step by authorizing other countries to supply Kiev with the fighter jets it ardently demands, American-made F-16s.
Thanks to the G7 “peace will be closer”, says Zelensky
The plane of the French Republic which transported Volodymyr Zelensky from Saudi Arabia, where he stopped on Friday, landed at the airport of the Japanese city of Hiroshima, and the red carpet was rolled out for its descent, have observed by AFP journalists. “Japan. G7. Important meetings with Ukraine’s partners and friends. Increased security and cooperation for our victory. Today peace will be closer,” the Ukrainian president said on social media.
For its part, the G7 called on Beijing to “put pressure on Russia to stop its aggression.” Bilateral meetings of Volodymyr Zelensky with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, President Emmanuel Macron and his American counterpart Joe Biden are also planned.
Biden clears way for delivery of F-16 jets to Ukraine
This is a major turning point in Western support for Kiev and a decision described as “historic” by President Volodymyr Zelensky: Joe Biden is now ready to allow other countries to supply Ukraine with fighter jets it ardently demands, American-made F-16s. The American president assured his interlocutors of his “support for a joint initiative aimed at training Ukrainian pilots on fourth-generation combat aircraft, including F-16s”, according to a senior White House official.
The announcement was quickly welcomed by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as well as Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren. “The UK will work with the US, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to provide Ukraine with the air combat capability it needs,” Rishi Sunak said.
kyiv claims to have repelled a new drone attack on the capital
Kiev’s civil and military administration said on Saturday that it had completely repelled a new Russian drone attack on the capital, targeted overnight, but that debris had fallen on Kiev, without causing any casualties at this stage. “Last night, the aggressor carried out another massive drone attack,” the head of the civil and military administration of kyiv, Serhiï Popko, wrote on Telegram.
“All detected aerial targets were shot down by the city’s air defense,” he said, adding that according to preliminary information, Shahed-type drones were at work. “Kiev was not hit by any strike!”, He welcomed, but debris from machines fell on the capital, notably causing a fire – since extinguished – on the roof of a residential building in the Dniprovskyi district. The fire did not cause any casualties, said Serhiï Popko.
‘Some’ Arab countries ‘turn a blind eye’ to Russian invasion, says Zelensky
The Ukrainian president on Friday accused “certain” Arab countries of “turning a blind eye” to Russia’s invasion of his country, addressing Arab leaders meeting at a summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. “Unfortunately, some countries around the world and here among you turn a blind eye to these illegal prisons and annexations,” said Volodymyr Zelensky, a surprise guest at the Arab League summit, inviting regional leaders to “take a look honest” about the war.
The Ukrainian leader, who was making his first trip to the Middle East since the start of the war in his country, addressed the leaders of a region much less united in its support for Ukraine than its European and American allies. Host country Saudi Arabia has taken a relatively neutral stance on the conflict, stressing the importance of maintaining ties with both Kyiv and Moscow. Bashar al-Assad’s Syria, on the other hand, is one of five countries to have voted against UN Security Council resolutions calling on Russia to cease hostilities in Ukraine.
Denmark to train Ukrainian F-16 pilots after US green light
Denmark will contribute to the training of Ukrainian pilots on the American-made F-16 fighter jet, after the support and “positive” of Washington, announced Friday the Danish Minister of Defense. The Scandinavian country, which is in the process of replacing its F-16 fleet with F-35s, will now be able to help “train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s as well”, acting minister Troels Lund Poulsen said. . “Denmark will make every effort to make this a priority contribution,” he added.
“We will now agree on more details with our close allies,” the minister said in a statement, welcoming the “positive” green light from US President Joe Biden. However, he did not specify whether Denmark would contribute to the delivery of some of the devices. The Danish Air Force has about 40 F-16s, of which about 30 are operational. The Nordic country recently began receiving its first fifth-generation F-35s to replace them.
kyiv refuses any mediation involving loss of territory or freezing of the conflict
Ukraine refuses any peace mediation with Russia which would not rule out from the outset any territorial loss for Kiev or a cessation of fighting, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Friday in Lisbon. “No peace plan or initiative, no mediation should involve a legal or real loss of Ukrainian territory,” he said after a meeting with his Portuguese counterpart Joao Gomes Cravinho.
“No initiative, no mediation should be based on the premise that we should freeze the conflict and then see what happens,” added Dmytro Kuleba, speaking to reporters in English. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in Jeddah on Friday and thanked him for supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty. As early as March 2022, a week after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the de facto ruler of the Gulf monarchy had called for a “political solution” to the conflict and offered to mediate during a telephone interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin.