Published February 28, 2024
- Ukraine claims to have downed jets in the occupied east and a plane over Russia
Vladimir Putin‘s air force has been blitzed by Ukraine over the past ten days – with ten of its warplanes worth a total of £601 million reportedly wiped out in an embarrassing setback for the invaders.
As it announced that two of Russia’s Su-34 fighter-bombers had been blasted out of the sky yesterday, Ukraine’s defence ministry boasted that it had eliminated ten enemy planes in as many days – a rate of loss that Russia’s air force cannot sustain.
The loss of the bombers will have set Putin’s army back millions, with each worth £39m ($50m). Other planes Kyiv claims to have taken out this month include two SU-35 jets, costing £34m ($43m) each, and an A-50U AWACS reconnaissance plane – which intel suggests cost Russia £260m ($330m).
The strikes will be a welcome success for Kyiv, but come at a difficult time, with Russia advancing and recently claiming its first major victory since May in Avdiivka after months of bitter fighting.
Ukraine’s weapons supplies have also been choked, with shortages of munitions including its crucial 90-mile-range, US-made Patriot air-defense missiles – making it even more important that the Ukrainian forces hit their targets.
READ FULL ARTICLE
SOURCE: www.dailymail.co.uk
RELATED: NATO allies rule out sending troops to Ukraine as Russia rebukes Macron
This photograph taken on Feb. 27, shows an empty mast amongst member nation flags in the Cour d’Honneur of the NATO headquarters, ahead of a flag-raising ceremony for Sweden’s accession to NATO, in Brussels, Feb. 27. AFP-Yonhap
Published February 28, 2024
The United States and key European allies said on Tuesday they had no plans to send ground troops to Ukraine, after France hinted at the possibility, and the Kremlin warned that any such move would inevitably lead to conflict between Russia and NATO.
French President Emmanuel Macron had said on Monday that Western allies should exclude no options in seeking to avert a Russian victory in Ukraine, though he stressed there was no consensus at this stage.
His comments, made at a hastily convened meeting of European leaders in Paris on ways to boost flagging support for Kyiv, come amid battlefield gains by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces in eastern Ukraine as well as growing shortages of ammunition and manpower on the Ukrainian side.
However, Germany, Britain, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic distanced themselves from any suggestion they might commit ground troops to the Ukraine war, now in its third year.
“…There will be no ground troops, no soldiers on Ukrainian soil sent there by European countries or NATO states,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday.
READ FULL ARTICLE
SOURCE: www.koreatimes.co.uk
RELATED: North Korean Missiles Used by Russia Against Ukraine Are Products of Sanction Loopholes
Published February 27, 2024
WASHINGTON — The discovery of a North Korean missile in Ukraine that had more than 200 components from U.S. and European companies revealed loopholes that North Korea uses to evade sanctions, said analysts.
North Korea is operating its arms factories at full capacity to supply Russia with weapons needed to fight Ukraine, said South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik at a news briefing on Monday.
South Korea estimates Pyongyang sent about 6,700 containers to Russia since September, Shin said, according to South Korean media.
The U.S. puts the number even higher, estimating that North Korea delivered more than 10,000 containers of munitions or munition-related materials to Russia since September.
The U.S. announced the estimates on Friday as it issued sanctions against more than 500 individuals and entities in Russia.
North Korean weapons have been turning up on the Ukraine battlefield since December, according to the Security Service of Ukraine. It said on Thursday that Russia has fired at least 20 North Korean missiles at Ukraine since then, adding that the missiles had killed or injured civilians.
Russia denied any military or technical cooperation with North Korea during a Jan. 26 news briefing conducted by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.
READ FULL ARTICLE
SOURCE: www.voanews.com
