Geopolitical situation
Russian dinosaurs warn the West of "huge risks" if F-16 fighter jets are supplied to Ukraine. The comments come after US President Joe Biden endorsed training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets, reversing his previous position.
The F-16 is considered a high-performance forward weapon system with a range of 860 km. The US also supports the upgrading of aircraft currently in the Ukrainian Air Force. European NATO countries have stocks of US-built F-16 fighters, including the Netherlands, which has expressed a desire to export some of its fighters to Ukraine.
After stating earlier this year that Kyiv does not need the fighters, US President Joe Biden reversed himself, signalling to European allies that they can supply F-16s to Ukraine. Biden's top national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters in Japan yesterday that the US President believes that Ukraine needs to be equipped for the long-term fight against Russia.
This is a historic event, another big step towards victory for Ukraine. If until now we have doubted the resolve of our allies, today we see that victory is assured. It does not matter that it may not happen this year, what matters is that a fundamental break has taken place in the minds of Western leaders. We would have liked this to have happened a year ago, but however long it took, the lessons have been learned and internalized.
Yesterday, Mr Zelensky flew to Japan, where he met with the leaders of the G7 countries on the eve of the summit. With the leaders of the most powerful countries, Mr Zelensky discussed military aid to Ukraine, the provision of new air defence systems and fighter jets. Zelensky is confident that after the G7 meeting Ukraine will return home with more options for its military. Ukraine is coordinating positions with partners and preparing new joint steps. "Defence: weapons, air defence, fighters. Involving as many countries and leaders as possible for the benefit of Ukraine. The peace formula. Long-term support programmes for Ukraine. Finance and economy", Zelensky tweeted.
There was also a very important conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has so far not directly condemned the Russian invasion, while his country has increased its imports of Russian oil, coal and gas since the start of the war in February 2022, helping to mitigate the impact of the sanctions on the Russian economy.
V. Zelensky thanked Modi for "supporting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country" and his Indian counterpart promised to do "everything we can".
It is very difficult for the representatives of countries that are not threatened by direct Russian aggression to demonstrate why they should refuse to benefit from a terrorist country. Economic benefits, profits, GDP growth, reducing unemployment are factors that lead to the tacit support of many countries for Moscow. This is also the position taken by the West itself towards Russia after the occupation of Crimea in 2014. That is why Zelensky's meetings with the leaders of countries such as India, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates are so important, in an effort to open eyes to humanity and to the pain of others.
Significant developments
Serhiy Cherevaty, spokesman for the Eastern Group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said that the Ukrainian army had destroyed the powerful Prigozhin military group. Meanwhile, Putin's own Chef Putin stated that the "Wagnerites" had captured the whole of Bakhmut, but that they would withdraw from the city by 25 May. "We have completely occupied the whole town, from house to house. The meat-grinder-operation of the occupation of Bakhmut lasted 224 days", the recidivist said.
Putin congratulated Wagner and the Russian army's so-called troops on the capture of the ruins of Bakhmut.
Anna Malyar, Ukraine's deputy defence minister, claims that Prigozhin's statement is a lie: heavy fighting is still taking place in Bakhmut. Ukrainian troops control some industrial and infrastructural facilities in the area.
However, the President of Ukraine, speaking this morning in Hiroshima alongside the President of the United States, said that the city had fallen, but added: "You have to understand that there is nothing there". Referring to the Russians, he said: "They destroyed everything. Today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts. There is nothing here."
As of 18 May, it is reported that there are no people left in Bakhmut. Ukrainian troops have advanced from 500 metres to 1 kilometre on the outskirts of Bakhmut on May 18, May 18. In total, Ukrainian troops have liberated around 20 square kilometres in this direction. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has revealed shocking figures on enemy losses near Bakhmut: the number of Russian troops liquidated has reached 70 000.
Briefly
The G7 leaders agreed to continue to support Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. The G7 formally called on China to pressure Russia to "immediately withdraw its troops fully and unconditionally from Ukraine" and to stop its military aggression.
"We commit ourselves to strengthen diplomatic, financial, humanitarian and military support to Ukraine, and to increase spending on Russia and those who support its military efforts," reads the statement, which reaffirms "our unwavering support for Ukraine for as long as it takes to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace," the countries' communiqué says.
The Emilia-Romagna region has been hit by severe flooding. More than 36,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in north-eastern Italy, regional officials say, as rising waters have submerged more homes and new landslides have cut off villages and settlements.
Fourteen people have been killed this week as rivers have swollen the streets of the region's towns and cities. Severe flooding in the region caused more than 305 landslides and damaged or closed more than 500 roads. Meteorologists say the heavy rainfall followed months of drought, which dried out the land and reduced its ability to absorb water. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will leave the G7 summit in Hiroshima a day earlier than planned to lead the flood response.
Climate change, caused and caused by human activity, is causing irreversible changes to our planet's ecosystem. In the future, unfortunately, we are likely to see more such natural disasters, which will also affect Lithuania. The increase in CO2 and indiscriminate deforestation have unbalanced the natural cyclicity of nature, the so-called 'biological pump'.
Lithuania
In Vilnius, real estate developers cut down a century-old oak tree, once again angering the city's inhabitants and the mayor. However, the problem is not the cutting down of this oak tree, because punishing the vandals who decided to cut it down will not solve the problem in principle. The problem is in the heads of all of us and in the heads of the decision-makers.
A tree, especially an oak tree, which for hundreds of years was sacred to our grandparents, providing shade, air, refreshment and peace of mind, has nowadays been turned into a mere piece of wood for most people, which can be used to make bucks, or as a stumbling block to construction.
It will take many years to educate the descendants of serfs and the Lithuanian Drisksis about the health and climate benefits of trees, not to mention the aesthetic pleasure.
The national barbarians claim that replacing an old tree with a new one will restore the infrastructure of the parks. However, what they do not realise in their one-track minds is that some trees will take decades to grow and mature, which means that many people will no longer be able to find a new green home.
Lithuania's nobility once cherished parks and suburbs by planting them with exceptional trees, and built mansions and buildings away from water bodies, without damaging the landscape, complementing it, decorating it and improving its aesthetic appearance. Today's shackled, dark-skinned serf, after having cut down the trees, climbs into the water with greasy shoes, wheels and buildings, thinking that this is a great good and a quality of life 'level'.
In this photo, US President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Sunday, May 21, 2023 (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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