China’s Xi to visit Russia next week; Poland and Slovakia are sending MiG fighter jets to Ukraine

Slovakia’s government has approved a measure to send its Soviet-era MiG jets to Ukraine, officials said. The jets are at various stages of readiness and were retired last summer, so will likely require significant maintenance to be operational.

The eastern European NATO member announced it would send 13 of the jets to Ukraine, a day after Poland said it would supply four of its jets to Kiev. Ukraine has long requested fighter jets to protect its airspace from Russian attacks and to combat Russian forces inside the country.

“#Slovak reg. just approved sending 13 #MiG29 To #Ukraine! Promises must be kept&when Zelenskyy et al asked for more #Weapons incl. fighter jets, I said we will do our best. I’m glad others are doing the same,” Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger wrote on Twitter.

That NATO allies granted Kiev’s request more than a year after the war began signals a sharp shift in their willingness to send Ukraine advanced weapons that could further provoke Russia and give Ukrainian forces a major advantage in the fighting.

— Natasha Turak

Russian and Wagner Group troops have been gaining ground in the embattled town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, where brutal fighting has been going on for months, Britain’s Defense Ministry wrote in its daily intelligence update.

“In the last few days, Russian and Wagner Group troops have gained a foothold west of the Bakhmutka River in the center of the embattled Donbass city of Bakhmut. For the previous week, the river had marked the front line. Ukrainian forces continue to defend the west of the city,” the ministry wrote on Twitter.

However, it added: “More broadly, Russia is conducting some of the lowest rates of local offensive action on the front lines on record since at least January 2023.”

That’s probably because “Russian forces have temporarily depleted the combat capability of deployed formations to such an extent that even local offensive actions are currently unsustainable,” and Russian leaders “are likely to try to regenerate the offensive potential of the forces as soon as.” Personnel and ammunition have been replenished,” it said.

— Natasha Turak

Poland will send four MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in the coming days, the president said Thursday, becoming Kiev’s first ally to provide such planes.

As one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters, Warsaw has taken a leading role in convincing sometimes reluctant allies to supply Kiev with heavy weapons. It has said any transfer of Jets would be done as part of a coalition.

“Firstly, literally within the next few days, as far as I remember, we will hand over four fully operational planes to Ukraine,” Andrzej Duda said at a press conference.

“The rest is being prepared, waiting.”

On Tuesday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said deliveries could be made in four to six weeks. Duda said Poland has about 10-20 MiG 29 jets.

NATO allies in the former communist east like Poland and Slovakia have been particularly vocal supporters of Kiev since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Slovakia has also considered sending MiG-29 jets to Ukraine, but hasn’t made a decision yet. Poland has sent 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

When asked how many MiG-29 aircraft Warsaw could deliver, Head of the President’s Office Pawel Szrot said it would “certainly not” be 14.

– Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has again called for a tribunal to punish Russia for war crimes allegedly committed more than a year after its invasion of Ukraine.

“The day will come and a tribunal will be established that will restore justice to our people. A tribunal that will punish this attacker in the same way that previous attackers have been punished,” he said in a late night address, according to a translation of NBC News.

Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was mobilizing “all the necessary partners”.

A study supported by the United Nations accused Russia of war crimes, including torture and attacks on civilians.

Russia has previously said it is not targeting civilians.

— Jacob Pramuk

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was “imperative” that Russia let the deal, which reopened key Ukrainian ports, continue.

During a trip to Niger, the top US diplomat said the Black Sea Grain Initiative had helped alleviate food insecurity caused by the war and a Russian naval blockade that was holding back key Ukrainian agricultural exports to the world.

“So millions of people around the world and especially here in Africa are relying on this initiative to help them cope with food insecurity. It is imperative that it continues and it is imperative that Russia continues it,” he said, according to NBC News.

Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations are in talks to extend the deal.

— Jacob Pramuk