Chris Lange, FISM News
Ukrainian and Western officials have announced that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will make an appearance at the Group of 7 (G7) summit in Hiroshima, Japan on Sunday.
“Very important things will be decided there,” Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, told state television, as reported by Reuters. Danilov stressed that Zelenskyy’s attendance is “absolutely essential in order to defend our interests.”
G7 members — the U.S., Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan — will discuss strategies to crack down on Russia’s circumvention of Western-imposed sanctions. They are also expected to announce new sanctions in an effort to ramp up pressure on the Kremlin over the invasion. Relentless pressure from the West coupled with the arrival of advanced weapons in Ukraine ahead of a planned counteroffensive has put considerable strain on Russian morale and resources.
US SIGNALS WILLINGNESS TO CONSENT TO THIRD-PARTY F-16 DELIVERIES TO UKRAINE
European Council President Charles Michel told a press briefing Friday that G7 members will also discuss providing Ukraine with fighter jets, CNN reported.
A reporter asked Michel about the network’s report that the Biden administration had recently signaled a willingness to allow European allies to export U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine — a request the administration has rebuffed in the past.
“In terms of fighter jets, you have seen probably that some countries have announced a coalition in order to start training for pilots. This is a topic today with the United States and with the other partners,” Michel said.
A few European countries, including Britain and the Netherlands, that are in possession of F-16s have said that they would supply them to Ukraine. Such a move, however, requires formal approval from the U.S. Officials in Washington told CNN that they were not aware of any formal request from allies to export the fighter jets.
CRIMEA TRAIN DERAILMENT CUTS OFF SUPPLIES TO BLACK SEA FLEET
Thursday’s train derailment in Crimea has caused alarm among Kremlin officials that Russia may be unable to protect other critical infrastructure in the annexed territory in Ukraine. The U.K.’s Ministry of Defense said Friday that Russia will rush to make repairs to the only rail line to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in the port of Sevastopol. The disruption has cut off supplies and weapons to the BSF.
“Any sabotage in this sensitive area will further increase the Kremlin’s concerns about its ability to protect other key infrastructure in Crimea,” the Ministry noted in its assessment. “The peninsula retains a vital psychological and logistical role in enabling Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Moscow blamed the derailment on “interference from outsiders.” Witnesses reported hearing a loud explosion around the time of the incident.
WAGNER FORCES RECLAIM SOME LOST GROUND IN BAKHMUT
Russian forces in Bakhmut fought tooth and nail to take back territory reclaimed by Ukrainian troops in the devastated eastern Ukrainian city.
Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on Friday that Ukrainian troops had been repelling increased attacks, according to Reuters.
“The enemy is trying to regain what they have lost … but our forces are repulsing the attacks,” she said in televised remarks. “It’s very difficult to carry out combat missions there and every meter (of advance) is like 10 kilometers in other conditions.”
Maliar acknowledged that the Russians managed to take back some ground but stressed that they did not control the city.
Wagner mercenary forces chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said that it is unlikely that the city would fall over the next two days. He added that Ukrainian troops had fashioned a “fortress” of sorts in the city’s south.