The defense ministers of the United Kingdom, Ben Wallace, and Germany, Boris Pistorius, on Wednesday ruled out supplying fighter jets to Ukraine because of the lack of availability of suitable planes. The manifesto frustrates the aspirations of Ukraine, which nevertheless hopes to achieve them in a relatively short time.
For now, however, Wallace made it clear in an appearance before the press at the Ministry of Defense in Berlin that Britain was not going to “supply fighter jets to Ukraine”. He added that the Eurofighter Typhoon “will be an aircraft that is not suitable” and stressed that “this is not about donating a weapon system, but about providing a platform.”
Training
“We should no longer keep aircraft out there that are not suitable. I think it is important after the war that we train the capabilities needed there.”
He added that future deterrence would require Ukraine to have greater capabilities in terms of fighter jets and that it was about doing everything possible so that in the long term the country could “defend itself in the air regardless of the type of aircraft”. Could.” It wants “buy”.
He insisted that Ukraine has a preference for the F-16, something he noted was not on the United Kingdom’s list.
Pistorius agreed with Wallace that when it comes to the quality and quantity of Germany’s support for Ukraine, it is “providing things that can be used immediately or at least in the short term”.
He added that Germany does not have F-16 fighters and that neither the Tornado nor the Eurofighter are suitable to help Ukraine in the short term, especially given the complexity of training and many other aspects. He stressed that Germany is an expert in anti-tank and anti-aircraft defense and is a leader in these areas in support of Ukraine.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed confidence that an alliance would be formed this year to supply Western fighter jets to Ukraine, saying that while some countries have expressed willingness to train Ukrainian troops, others have refused to buy airplanes. Willingness to provide has been shown. “Our priority is the F-16, but we are not ruling out the option of other aircraft,” he said. It’s like tanks,” he said.
Damage record
Meanwhile, the Council of Europe (CoE) kicked off its summit of heads of state and government on Wednesday with the creation of a registry of damages for Russian military intervention in Ukraine, setting up a special court to judge Support for the process of “aggression” and demands that Moscow release civilians deported from the conflict.
The Reykjavik summit, the fourth in the Council of Europe’s 73-year history, sent a message of unity on Ukraine’s side, although the damage record, which is intended to be a first step towards a future compensation mechanism, did not have unanimous support.
Forty countries, including Spain, signed up to the initiative, including Canada, the United States and Japan, which have observer status, as well as the European Union, which provided a “substantial” contribution to the registry’s initial costs, which would Based in The Hague (Netherlands), with a satellite office in Ukraine.
Of the 46 CoE countries, three (Andorra, Switzerland and Bulgaria) indicated their intention to sign the initiative, while the other six (Turkey, Hungary, Serbia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia) refused to sign it.
