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Live blog: Ukraine presses US lawmakers for F-16 jet fighters

Sunday, February 19, 2023

Ukrainian officials have urged US Congress members to press President Joe Biden’s administration to send F-16 jet fighters to Kiev, saying the aircraft would boost Ukraine’s ability to hit Russian missile units with US-made rockets, lawmakers said.

The lobbying came over the weekend on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in talks between Ukrainian officials, including Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and Democrats and Republicans from the Senate and House of Representatives.

“They told us that they want (F-16s) to suppress enemy air defenses so they could get their drones” beyond Russian front lines, Senator Mark Kelly, a former astronaut who flew US Navy fighters in combat,  was quoted by a Reuters news report published on Sunday.

Biden last month said “no” when asked if he would approve Ukraine’s request for Lockheed-Martin-made F-16s.

The Munich conference – primarily focused on Ukraine – came days before the February 24 anniversary of Russia’s  operation in Ukraine.

The sides have been locked in grinding battles, mostly in the eastern Donbas region, following a string of Russian defeats.

Following are the latest updates:

Sunday, February 19, 2023

1118 GMT — France to send Kiev armoured vehicles within week

France has announced that it will begin delivering the armoured vehicles it has promised Ukraine in its war against Russia by next weekend.

The vehicles, of the AMX-10 type and sometimes described as “light tanks”, are used for armed reconnaissance and attacks on enemy tanks.

The first vehicles will be sent to Ukraine “by the end of next week”, Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu told Le Parisien newspaper’s Sunday edition.

He declined to specify the number of vehicles in the first batch, saying he did not want to give Russia any “strategic information”.

According to the French defence ministry, AMX-10s are highly mobile, “powerfully armed” and offer protection against light infantry fire.

Their combat weight is 20 tonnes, around a third of that of France’s Leclerc battle tanks.

0856 GMT — West must provide more military support to Ukraine – EU’s Borrell

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Sunday the West must provide more military aid to Ukraine and speed up its deliveries.

“Much more has to be done and much quicker. There is still a lot to be done. We have to increase and accelerate our military support,” Borrell said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference.

0856 GMT — West must provide more military support to Ukraine – EU’s Borrell

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Sunday the West must provide more military aid to Ukraine and speed up its deliveries.

“Much more has to be done and much quicker. There is still a lot to be done. We have to increase and accelerate our military support,” Borrell said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference.

0831 GMT — Kremlin warns against US provocations in Crimea

The Kremlin on Sunday cast the United States was a “major provocateur” of international tensions for condoning attacks on Crimea, warning that the remarks about the peninsula underscored the depth of disagreement between the two countries.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was responding to comments by US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland who called for the demilitarisation of Crimea.

Nuland also said that Washington supports Ukrainian attacks on military targets on the peninsula.

Crimea was annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014.

“Nuland belongs to a very broad camp of the most aggressive ‘hawks’ in American politics. This is a point of view we know well,” Peskov said in comments published by the TASS news agency. 

Saturday, February 18, 2023

2050 GMT — Blinken says China considering sending weapons to Russia

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi of consequences should China provide material support to Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, saying in an interview after the two met that Washington was concerned Beijing was considering supplying weapons to Moscow.

The top diplomats of the two superpowers met at an undisclosed location on the sidelines of a global security conference in Munich, just hours after Wang scolded Washington as “hysterical” in a running dispute over the US downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon.

In an interview to be aired on Sunday morning on NBC News’ “Meet the Press with Chuck Todd,” Blinken said the United States was very concerned that China is considering providing lethal support to Russia and that he made clear to Wang that “would have serious consequences in our relationship.”

“There are various kinds of lethal assistance that they are at least contemplating providing, to include weapons,” Blinken said, adding that Washington would soon release more details.

Earlier, speaking at a panel at the conference, Wang reiterated a call for dialogue and suggested European countries “think calmly” about how to end the war.

He also said there were “some forces that seemingly don’t want negotiations to succeed, or for the war to end soon,” without specifying to whom he was referring.

For our live updates from Saturday (February 18), click here

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