LIVE – Ukraine: France will supply 12 additional Caesar cannons to Kyiv

The United States claimed today that Russia is not honoring the New START treaty, the last nuclear disarmament agreement binding them.

US diplomacy criticized Moscow for suspending inspections and canceling planned talks under the treaty without accusing it of expanding its nuclear arsenal beyond limits planned under the treaty.

Prime Minister Denis Chmygal confirmed the holding of a Ukraine-EU summit on Friday in Kyiv, which would be “the first time in our history”, a day after “intergovernmental consultations” between Kyiv and the European Commission.

“The fact that this summit is being held in Kyiv is a strong signal addressed to both partners and enemies,” Denis Chmygal announced at a government meeting, “that the summit will reflect positively on our efforts for European integration.” to expect an interim assessment”.

Several leaders of political groups in the assembly called on Tuesday for a debate in parliament on the war in Ukraine, which Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne promised to help “until victory”.

“Are you ready to hold this debate in Parliament?” Olivier Marleux (LR) asked the prime minister.

The LFI, Communist and RN groups joined Republicans in this debate project, in front of Ruslan Stephantchuk, Speaker of the Rada, the parliament of Ukraine.

France will give Ukraine 12 additional Caesar guns and send 150 soldiers to Poland to train 600 Ukrainians per month and a total of 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers by the summer, Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced.

Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk again spoke about Kyiv’s desire to become a member of the European Union and NATO.

Last June, the leaders of the twenty-seven recognized its status as a candidate for the European Union.

Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk speaks before the National Assembly this afternoon.

“Give us the planes, the wings of our victory. These wings will protect Ukraine but also all of Europe”, launched No. 1 of the Rada.

Emmanuel Macron does not close the door on sending fighter jets but sets specific conditions.

Ukraine will receive “between 120 and 140” Western heavy tanks, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba said, days after Westerners gave the green light to such a delivery.

“In the first wave of contributions, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will receive between 120 and 140 modern tanks of Western models,” the minister said in a video on Facebook.

The boss of the Russian Olympic Committee said on Tuesday that Russian athletes should be able to participate in the Olympic Games without any restrictions, while the IOC will consider organizing the return of banned athletes under a neutral flag for the 2024 Olympics, a position that has provoked the anger of Ukraine.

“Russians must compete under the same conditions as all other athletes. Any additional conditions and criteria are not welcomed, especially as they have a political component that is absolutely unacceptable to the Olympic movement,” Stanislav Pozdnyakov Told.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked his government to negotiate the creation of joint military training centers with its neighbor and rare ally Belarus to support an offensive against Ukraine.

In a decree published on Tuesday, he instructed his defense and foreign ministers to hold talks with Minsk on building such centres, without giving any details.

In mid-October, Belarus and Russia announced the creation of a joint military force, which according to Minsk had a purely “defensive” mission. The two countries continue to hold large-scale military exercises, regularly fueling speculation that the Belarusian military would also be able to invade Ukraine.

The topic of a possible transfer of F-16 fighter jets from the Polish Air Force to Ukraine is not the subject of any “official discussions”, says a deputy defense minister, a day after the United States refused to deliver these machines Kyiv.

“The topic does not exist”, confirmed Wojciech Skrkiewicz.

Poland has 48 US-made F-16 fighter jets.

Russia on Tuesday claimed responsibility for capturing the village of Blagodatne, north of the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces have stepped up their offensive and have been slowly advancing for weeks.

The Ministry of Defense indicated in its daily press release that “the area of ​​Blagodatne had been liberated” after an offensive by “volunteer assault units” supported by aviation and artillery.

Volunteers is the Russian military’s euphemism for paramilitary groups like Wagner fighting in Ukraine. Furthermore, Wagner’s boss, Evgeny Prigogine, claimed the village was captured by his men this Saturday, which was denied by Kyiv.

Lithuania’s call to supply fighter jets to Ukraine is evidence of an “extremely aggressive stance” by the Baltic states, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, adding that “big European countries” should counterbalance the stance.

The news comes at a time when Ukrainian officials have stepped up demands from allies to send fighter jets.

As the Kyiv Post reports, an air alert was issued across Ukraine on Tuesday.

“The air alert is related to the activity of a possible hypersonic missile carrier ‘Kinzal’ – MiG-31K in Belarus”, Ukrainian media reported.

A Russian court on Tuesday fined streaming service Twitch 4 million rubles (52,000 euros) for failing to remove “false information” about Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, Reuters reports.

Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram has promised to deliver the tanks to Ukraine “as soon as possible”, the latest of several Western countries to confirm such a delivery.

The number of tanks has not yet been determined, he said, but the transfer should include German-made Leopard 2s.

The Croatian president called the decision of NATO allies to supply tanks to Ukraine “crazy”.

Zoran Milanovic said, “I am against sending lethal weapons there. It prolongs the war.”

He also claimed that “it is clear that Crimea will never again be part of Ukraine”, despite Volodymyr Zelensky’s aim to recover the occupied province in 2014.

Emmanuel Macron will receive Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov at the Elysee Palace on Tuesday, the French president announced.

The purpose of the meeting is to “reiterate its full support for Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression and to recall France’s readiness to meet the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces”, specifies a press release.

He will also meet with the speaker of the Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, Ruslan Stephantchuk, who is scheduled to speak at 3 p.m. at the National Assembly, then before senators on Wednesday.

Human Rights Watch on Tuesday called on Ukrainian authorities to investigate the use by its military of antipersonnel landmines fired by rockets in and around Izyum in the east of the country while Russian forces occupied the area.

“Ukrainian forces have widely spread landmines around the Izium area, causing civilian casualties and posing a continuing risk,” said Steve Goose, weapons director at Human Rights Watch.

“Russian forces have repeatedly used anti-personnel mines and committed atrocities across the country, but this does not justify Ukraine’s use of these banned weapons,” he added.

Russia and its ally Belarus have started a week-long training session for their regional group of armed forces, SkyNews reported.

The training is part of preparation for joint exercises that the two countries will hold in Russia in September, the Belarusian Defense Ministry explained.

Belarus is not directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, but Russian troops have been participating in training in the country for months. In addition, Moscow and Minsk have formed a group of joint forces.

The French and Australian ministers of defense and foreign affairs announced on Monday the delivery of jointly produced 155mm shells to Ukraine.

“The idea is to provide vital assistance, and an effort that continues over time,” said Sébastien Lecornu.

On his part, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles praised an Australian “multi-million dollar project” and “new co-operation between the Australian and French defense industries” following the submarines’ failure.

This Monday, Joe Biden assured this evening that the Americans are not going to deliver fighter jets to Ukraine, thus taking away Volodymyr Zelensky’s appeal.

For his part, Emmanuel Macron didn’t close the door on him. “In principle, nothing is prohibited,” he said during a visit to The Hague, adding that it should not weaken the French army or touch Russian soil.

Welcome to this direct dedicated to the war in Ukraine this Tuesday, January 31, 2023.