Geopolitical situation
Yesterday, Joe Biden announced that the United States will support the training of Ukrainian pilots using F-16s. The training of Ukrainian pilots is likely to take place in Europe, but will include US instructors. The training is expected to last several months.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also commented on the good news, stating that the issue of a possible delivery of the fighter jets will be discussed as early as June at a meeting of the Alliance's Defence Ministers.
The UK and the Netherlands have agreed to create a "fighter coalition" for Ukraine. France has already joined the coalition. French President Emmanuel Macron has also expressed readiness to train Ukrainian pilots, noting that this could start "now". Since the early days of the war, Ukraine has been calling on its allies to hand over advanced fighter jets to help protect its airspace from terrorist attacks by Russia.
We called for fighter jets to be provided to Ukraine in the very first days of the invasion, despite the Kremlin's threats of nuclear war, knowing full well that the Russians would not do so. At the time, the decision-makers, the politicians with their knuckles in a twist, did not even dare to think about it, and they wanted to punish us for warmongering. Today, we are glad that the awakening of sleepy heads has taken place, 'better late than never', but our proposed options for ending the war are still up in the air. We hope that our thoughts will work in their brains and bear fruit in the future.
That is why we are working. Every day. That's why you support us. Every day.
Joe Biden added that the US and its allies are now focused on providing Ukraine with the bulk of the weapons and training it needs for offensive operations next summer. "Discussions on improving Ukraine's air force reflect our longstanding commitment to Ukraine's self-defence," the US President said.
Good signs from Uncle Sam. It has just been announced that there will be no more aid to Ukraine, so the spring counter-offensive must be successful. However, when Kyiv began to delay, saying that the counter-offensive might not succeed because of a lack of weapons, that more than one such counter-offensive might be needed, the West shifted its priorities.
It is cynical to demand victory at all costs from the Ukrainian people, by supplying the country with iron (not the latest) and other material resources, but not by sending troops themselves. War is not a horse race. Bets are not enough. Thousands of people are dying in "this race". So far, we are only paying in euros and dollars for our peaceful skies. But once again, without direct Western intervention, this war could last a very long time and cost us all much more than we can imagine today.
Significant steps forward
Last night the Russians launched another massive drone attack on Kyiv. Initial reports indicate that Shahed drones were used. All terrorist drones were shot down. The falling debris set fire to a residential house, the fire was extinguished. There were no casualties or injuries.
The losers continue to demonstrate their technological, military, moral and other backwardness. Such attacks are becoming an embarrassment for the Kremlin.
The Drisks have thrown a few thousand more troops at Bakhmut and are firing with all the fire systems at their disposal. According to Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikoff, the Russian invader forces are now firing about 25-30 thousand shells a day, roughly half the size of Lithuania's arsenal.
This has reportedly led to a slight reduction in the pace of Ukrainian advances. However, the Russians have not been able to regain their lost positions. The terrorists are forcibly mobilising miners in the Ukrainian occupied territories into their army.
At the G7 summit, British Prime Minister Risha Sunak sent a "direct message" to Russian dictator Putin: "We are not going to withdraw. Russia should know that we and other countries are firmly committed to supporting Ukraine, not only here and now with the resources it needs to defend itself, but also in the long term".
The resolve and action of the allies are crucial, shattering the Kremlin's hopes that the West will tire of supporting Ukraine and Moscow will just have to pressure the West and bomb Ukraine.
The war is, shabbies, lost.
Briefly
Mr Zelensky has arrived in Saudi Arabia, where he will meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud for bilateral talks. The return of political prisoners in Crimea and the temporarily occupied territories and the return of all imprisoned and abducted persons is a priority for Kyiv. "Another priority is the protection of Ukraine's Muslim community. The leader of the Crimean Tatars, Mustafa Dzhemilev, is with us. Crimea was the first to suffer from the Russian occupation and the majority of those who suffered repression in occupied Crimea are Muslims", the Ukrainian President added.
The right move, a value-laden climbdown for the Saudi elite. The kings and princes of the land of Scheherazade's fairy tales deserve to decide whether they support their brothers in faith and common human values or whether they are in the primitive oil business with looters and terrorists.
Putin stated that the West is trying to drive a wedge between different ethnic and national groups in Russia and to divide the country into dozens of states. The Führer said that the more sanctions the West imposes on Russia, the more Russian society is mobilised.
Fool and liar. The West thinks the opposite and shudders at the mere thought of a nuclear state splitting into dozens of nuclear principalities ruled by barbarians.
The Kremlin has accused the US and Ukraine of coordinating the murder of Darya Dugina, the daughter of the Russian nationalist Alexander Dugin, and the propagandist Vladlen Tatarsky. Earlier this month, nationalist Zakhar Prilepin was also injured in a car bomb explosion.
Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Russian Security Council, stated that all the attacks "were planned and carried out in coordination with US special services". "The terrorist attacks in Russia are accompanied by an information campaign prepared in advance in Washington and London, aimed at destabilising the social and political situation, undermining Russia's constitutional foundations and sovereignty," said the maniac-murderer Patrushev.
Kirill Budanov, Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, stated that Russia began active preparations for aggression against Ukraine as early as 2007.
Useful intelligence information revealing that for 15 years, Western and Ukrainian intelligence was simply asleep. The political elite have also been asleep, reading worthless reports, following their intuition, their opinions and the splinters of 'experts'.
Washington has targeted Russia's sanctions evasion and future revenues from energy and military supply chains. The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on 22 individuals and 104 entities associated with more than 20 countries or jurisdictions, while the State Department has imposed sanctions on nearly 200 individuals, entities, vessels and aircraft.
It would be fantastic for the West to impose sanctions on Lithuanian companies, businessmen and politicians who support the bloody Putin regime because we cannot do it ourselves.
Yesterday, five fighters from the Kęstutis Kalinauskas Regiment were killed near Bakhmut while repelling an attack by the occupiers. Glory to the heroes.
Lithuania
We regret and sympathise with our readers for the stress and frustration they are currently experiencing with the government in the current difficult period.
We see the bursting of nerve capsules and the bubbling of rage and frustration on social media. Yes, this is all very wrong.
But.
If our limitations make us vulnerable, both internally and externally, and if, God forbid, a geopolitical disaster were to strike, historians in the next century would be writing about us - a country lost by the cream of the nation, embroiled in strife, in the petrol-bill scandal, underestimating the threats facing the country and the war outside the door.
However much some may dislike this, however much we may like (or dislike) the Prime Minister and her team, only the short-sighted who do not think beyond their own noses and village fences can talk about early elections and the resignation of the government.
Whatever party is in power, we are always in favour of seriousness and stability at such a difficult time for the country.
There are already too many state wreckers and clique-mongers.
Pictured here is a US F-16 fighter jet (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
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