While Russian forces continue to make progress on the battlefield and in the last few hours have claimed the conquest of the village of Miasozharivka (Luhansk region) and that of Tymkivka (Kharkiv), a few hours after the capture of the town of Staromayorskoye (Donetsk) , disputed for many months, many questions remain open in Europe regarding the impact that the results of the European elections could have on military support for Ukraine after the setbacks suffered by the French, German and Belgian governments.
The United States announced a new $275 million package to quickly respond to “critical needs” of Ukrainian forces and which includes: Hawk and Stinger surface-to-air missiles, ammunition for the HIMARS multiple field rocket launchers, M777 155 mm howitzers and projectiles 155 and 105 mm, 81 mm mortars, M113 troop carriers.
River and coastal patrol boats, TOW, Javelin and AT-4 anti-tank weapons, small arms ammunition, spare parts, demolition charges and heavy-duty trailers.
US President Joe Biden yesterday approved the sending of another Patriot missile system to Ukraine, the New York Times reported, citing senior administration officials and military sources. The new Patriot system, the second from the United States, will arrive from Poland, and could be deployed on the front lines in Ukraine in the next few days.
Additional Patriots were also promised by the Germany together with thousands of drones and sniper rifles as announced by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius when meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a Bundesewehr base where Ukrainian soldiers are trained.
Italy while keeping the military contribution offered secret, Kiev has launched the ninth aid package which will also include a battery of the SAMP/T air defense system which will be delivered as soon as possible. “A matter of weeks,” assured the deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Antonio Tajani.
“The first strategy for the reconstruction of Ukraine is to protect the infrastructure through air defense systems, and Italy is ready to send new military aid,” said Tajani, who also announced “a new package” of aid, 140 millions of euros for initiatives on infrastructure, health, the humanitarian sector, agriculture and demining.
Me too’Argentina seems to want to take the field to help Kiev (it would be the first Latin American state to do so) after President Javier Milei approved a plan that provides for the sending of 5 French-produced Super Etendard fighter planes to Ukraine which Buenos Aires cannot use it due to the embargo imposed by the United Kingdom against the country after the Falklands War (1982).
This was reported by the Argentine online newspaper Infobae. France’s participation is essential to overcome this geopolitical obstacle, and Foreign Minister Diana Mondino and Defense Minister Luis Petri have been working for weeks to implement the plan, which also involves the United States and NATO, the newspaper writes.
Mondino, according to Infobae, discussed the project in a meeting in Paris with the French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné, in a secret meeting in Brussels, and in a meeting in Washington with the US national security advisor, Jake Sullivan. These conversations will be explored in depth during Petri’s tour this week in Europe.
The Argentine Defense Minister, in fact, will meet the NATO leaders in Brussels, will participate with the Foreign Minister in the summit on peace in Ukraine which will be held in Switzerland and is also expected to meet his French counterpart in Paris. The 5 Argentine Super Etendards delivered in the early 1980s (like the European F-16s delivered to Ukraine) equipped with Exocet anti-ship missiles and no longer capable of flying for a long time could return to operation only after a radical intervention by the French industry. Their delivery to Ukraine could therefore be combined with that of 6/12 Mirage 2000s that Paris recently promised to Kiev.
Photo: Argentine Ministry of Defense, Difesa.it and Raytheon
