BRUSSELS (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy received a second $1 billion in military aid pledge in two days on Tuesday during a whirlwind visit to three European Union countries, while President Vladimir Putin warned that attacking Russian territory with Western-supplied weapons could send the war on a dangerous new path.
The 2024 aid pledge came from Belgium, which topped up its funding by pledging 30 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine over the next four years.
“Our task is to send F-16s into the battlefield for the first time this year and thus strengthen our positions,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelensky vows Russia will feel Ukraine’s ‘wrath’ when Western F-16 fighter jets arrive in the New Yearhttps://t.co/zpgv4ICuOe
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 1, 2024
As summer approaches, the onslaught of well-equipped Kremlin forces in eastern and northeastern Ukraine poses Ukraine’s biggest military test since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Long delays in Western aid, particularly U.S. military assistance, have left Ukraine at the mercy of Russia’s more powerful army and air force.
European countries are discussing the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine to help, while talk of handing over seized Russian assets to Ukraine has further angered Moscow.
Putin has threatened nuclear war and has repeatedly warned the West not to get too involved in the fighting.
Putin told reporters on Tuesday during a visit to Uzbekistan that Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons supplied by Western countries to attack Russian territory could lead to a dangerous escalation of tensions.
Denmark’s delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to be delayed by up to six monthshttps://t.co/JKaeol1nC5
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 7, 2024
Putin said the use of such weapons would rely on Western intelligence data and would mean the involvement of NATO troops, and warned that NATO allies should be aware of the possible consequences.
“NATO member states, particularly European representatives, should be aware of what they are dealing with,” he said, adding that “small territorially and densely populated countries” should be particularly careful.
The Netherlands has pledged to fast-track the construction of Patriot air defense systems with key EU partners, which Zelenskiy sees as key to preventing Russia from attacking Ukrainian power grids, civilian areas and military targets with deadly glide bombs.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the move but said more work was needed.
“Some progress has been made, but further progress and a strengthened air defence system are urgently needed in Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said on the way to a meeting of EU defence ministers.
President Zelenskyy arrived in Portugal to sign a new bilateral security agreement and was received at Lisbon’s military airport by Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Montenegrin Prime Minister Luiz.
U.S. ready to begin training Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilots and support personnel https://t.co/wPGt9yPDW0
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 25, 2023
Zelenskyy on Monday signed a security agreement with Spain that allocates 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in military aid to Ukraine in 2024 and 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion) through 2027.
The bilateral aid is essential as the 27-nation EU struggles again to overcome Hungary’s opposition to the EU itself providing billions of euros in military aid to Kiev.
The government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Russia’s staunchest ally in the EU, is blocking an estimated 6.5 billion euros ($7 billion) in aid. Member states have broad veto powers on their own, and Hungary has long blocked funding intended to bolster Ukraine’s defenses.
“We have the resources, we have the capabilities, but it is unfortunate that we have not yet put into action the decision to help Ukraine,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
Zelenskyy met with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and secured immediate financial assistance as well as a security pact aimed at guaranteeing military support until Ukraine joins NATO.
Since Russia launched its spring offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region, President Zelenskyy has insisted that Ukraine urgently needs seven U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems.
Putin said Kremlin forces were trying to set up a “buffer zone” in Kharkiv to prevent Ukraine from launching attacks across the border.
Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren, speaking with EU colleagues, said the Patriot system would be built “in a short space of time.” The Netherlands will have the core components of the Patriot system, with other EU countries providing other key components and munitions.
“Ukraine is also joining the European fight,” she said.
Zelenskyy claims Netherlands will send entire fleet of F-16 fighter jets after meeting with Dutch PMhttps://t.co/n4EzXTUR73
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 20, 2023
President Zelensky had been due to visit Belgium and Spain earlier this month but postponed all overseas trips after Russia launched its Kharkiv offensive, plunging the Ukrainian military into chaos.
In other developments, the director-general of the United Nations Nuclear Agency visited Russia’s westernmost region of Kaliningrad to discuss safety issues at Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
The plant has been occupied by Russian troops since the early days of the war, and all of its reactors are in cold shutdown. Frequent artillery shelling around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has raised global concerns about nuclear security.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi met with Alexei Likhachev, president of Russia’s state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom. The Russian state news agency Ria Novosti reported Grossi saying there was a “common understanding” on measures needed to make nuclear power plants safer, but that restarting them “does not seem possible” at this point.
Likhachev expressed a similar opinion about restarting nuclear power plants, but also asserted that the current situation is “absolutely safe.”
