2023-08-21 18:16:47
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, visiting Denmark, said Monday, August 21 in Copenhagen to be convinced that Russia will lose the war.
“Today we are confident that Russia will lose this war,” he told the crowd gathered near Parliament, as Denmark announced the upcoming delivery of F-16 fighter jets to the ‘Ukraine.
L’Express summarizes the latest information on the war in Ukraine:
Zelensky is in Greece
The Ukrainian president is continuing his surprise tour of Europe and landed in Athens on Monday for an official visit, announced the services of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, adding that he would participate in an informal dinner with leaders of the European Union ( EU) and the Balkans. Since the start of the war, Athens has provided Kiev with humanitarian aid and weapons, including infantry fighting vehicles, Kalashnikov assault rifles and ammunition.
Although a traditional ally of Moscow, against a backdrop of shared Orthodox Christian faith, Athens unequivocally condemned, under Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, Greece expelled a dozen members of Russian diplomatic and consular missions and is hosting thousands of Ukrainians and their families.
Last April, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov traveled to Athens to meet his counterpart at the time. He then declared that kyiv would ask Athens for help after the war to clear the Sea of Azov and develop the country’s naval forces. Greece has offered to rebuild the bombed maternity hospital in Mariupol, a city currently occupied by Russian forces. The Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Odessa have had large populations of Greek origin for centuries.
Ukrainian army nibbling ground near Bakhmout
Ukraine has taken over 3 km2 from Russian forces in one week near Bakhmout, in the occupied east of the country, a deputy defense minister said on Monday.
“An additional three square kilometers were liberated” near Bakhmout last week, Ganna Maliar told Ukrainian television, assuring that his forces had taken over 43 km2 since June. “In the south the situation has not changed significantly, our defenders continue to advance towards (the occupied towns) of Berdyansk and Melitopol,” she added. In northeastern Ukraine, in the Kupyansk area, the only sector of the front where Russian forces are attacking, Ganna Maliar assured that the Ukrainian line was holding firm, while evacuations began in the sector.
Ukraine has been engaged since the beginning of June in a vast counter-offensive to try to liberate the regions occupied by Moscow.
Russia says it foiled two Ukrainian drone attacks near Moscow
Russia thwarted three new attacks by Ukrainian drones in the Moscow region on Monday morning, which did not cause any casualties, the Russian Defense Ministry announced.
On Monday around 6:50 a.m. local time (5:50 a.m. in France), an attempt by kyiv to carry out “a terrorist attack (by means of an) unmanned aerial vehicle […] was foiled,” the ministry said on the social network Telegram. Detected by air defense in the Moscow region, the device was “neutralized by means of electronic warfare” and then “crashed near the village of Pokrovskoye, in the district of Odintsovo”, south-west of the capital, added the Russian Defense. Another “terrorist attack of the Kiev regime” was foiled at 08:16 (07:16 in France), the Russian air defense having downed a drone in the Istra district, also in the Moscow region, northwest of the Russian capital, according to the same source.A third Ukrainian drone attack was foiled later in the morning in the Kaluga region , located southwest of Moscow, according to regional governor Vladislav Chapcha.
According to Russian news agency RIA Novosti, following the incidents, Moscow’s Vnukovo and Domodedovo international airports temporarily imposed restrictions on departures and arrivals and redirected several flights to other locations.
One dead in shelling in Kozatske
A man died Sunday following a bombardment on the town of Kozatske, in the Kherson region, in the south of Ukraine. “Around 3:30 p.m. the (Russian) occupiers dropped two explosive devices from a drone on a man walking down the street,” Governor Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on Telegram. “The 33-year-old local resident died at the scene from his injuries,” he added.
Earlier in the afternoon, a Russian tank fire on a residential building in Kozatske injured two people. According to Oleksandr Prokudin, it is “a 60-year-old woman whose vital prognosis is engaged” and “a 45-year-old woman injured by multiple shrapnel”, who was hospitalized.
Zelensky welcomes promised delivery of 61 F-16 aircraft
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday evening hailed the “historic” decision by the Netherlands and Denmark to deliver a total of 61 American F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, two days after the American green light on the subject.
“Our fighters will receive 42 super fighter planes” from the Netherlands, wrote the Ukrainian head of state on X (ex-Twitter), thanking the Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte. These 42 aircraft are in addition to the 19 announced by Denmark. The latter and the Netherlands have agreed to deliver F-16s to kyiv once the Ukrainian pilots have been trained.
Today, we took another step to strengthen Ukraine’s air shield. F-16s.
These jets will be used to keep Russian terrorists away from Ukrainian cities and towns.@MinPres Mark Rutte and I reached an agreement on the number of F-16s to be transferred to Ukraine once our pilots and…
— Volodymyr Zelensky (@ZelenskyyUa) August 20, 2023
Volodymyr Zelensky visited a Danish air force base in Skrydstrup in the southern Nordic country on Sunday afternoon. The head of state, who landed around 4:30 p.m., was welcomed in the afternoon by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Defense Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen. Princess Mary of Denmark was also present.
During this visit, they examined F-16s and took stock of the start of training for Ukrainian pilots, said the office of the Danish Prime Minister. “We know you need more (military equipment) and that’s […] why we are going to donate 19 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine”, announced Mette Frederiksen during a press conference with her Ukrainian counterpart.
“I am proud that Denmark and the Netherlands are donating F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine’s freedom struggle against Russia and its meaningless aggression,” Jakob Ellemann said. -Jensen on Sunday in a statement.
These planes will be delivered gradually to kyiv: six towards the end of the year, eight next year and five the following year, said the head of the Danish government. “This is very powerful support for us,” Volodymyr Zelensky said at the press conference, stressing that the training of Ukrainian pilots and engineers had already started in Denmark.
Zelensky on an air force base in the Netherlands
A few hours earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky was this time at a Dutch air force base in Eindhoven, where Prime Minister Mark Rutte formalized the delivery of F-16 fighter planes to Ukraine. A “historic” decision, hailed the Ukrainian president.
Volodymyr Zelensky had landed around 12 p.m., according to a Dutch government spokeswoman. “With the First Lady and the team, we arrived in the Netherlands,” confirmed the Ukrainian head of state on his Telegram account. “This is absolutely historic, powerful and motivating for us. This is another step towards strengthening Ukraine’s air shield,” Volodymyr Zelensky said on the spot.
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