Battle | Former NATO commander Ukraine needs fighter jets

324th day since the start of the war: Dozens of Russian soldiers are said to have died in Soledar. The debate over the provision of Leopard tanks continues. All information on news blog.

12:30 PM: James Stavridis, the former commander of NATO in Europe, advocates the delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine. “Maybrit Illner” Stavridis says in the ZDF project: “I think Ukraine needs fighter jets. In particular, he advocates getting Kyiv MIG29s from Poland and F16s from the USA. MIG29s can be delivered directly, Ukrainians know how to operate them. .”Ukrainian pilots F16 Can be trained in “A second, more complex wire takes longer to pass through.” “It’s a relatively simple aircraft that’s easy to learn.” Former US Admiral Invites Western Tanks to Ukraine “Critically important”, this type of weaponry of Ukrainian troops is important for ground combat, regardless of which NATO country the tanks come from.

Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová has authorized seven comrades to volunteer in the Ukraine conflict. According to Slovakian newspaper “Pravta”, there were even more requests rejected for security reasons. According to former general Pavel Masek, there are fears that foreigners are easy targets for Russian troops. In Slovakia, Article 392 of the Criminal Code actually prohibits citizens from fighting in a foreign army. According to Pravda, the Attorney General’s Office interpreted the passage to require permission for such activities. This may be provided under the Recruitment Act, which also applies to foreign armed forces. The President must give his assent.

12:05 am: American Taylor Dudley was released from Russian custody after nine months. This was announced on Thursday (local time) by former diplomat Bill Richardson, who said he had negotiated the release. The 35-year-old former marine has reportedly been in Russian captivity since April. According to CNN, he was detained by Russian border officials in April while traveling from Poland to the Russian outpost of Kaliningrad.

10:09 PM: According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian soldiers are holding their positions in the hard-fought town of Soledor. In doing so, they inflicted significant losses on Russian troops, Zelenskyj says in his evening video address. Information cannot be independently verified. Russian report not available.

9:14 pm: In discussions about supplying Ukraine with main battle tanks, Finland cautiously expressed its willingness to hand over the Leopard 2 tanks to the country attacked by Russia. Finnish President Sauli Niinistö told STT news agency on Thursday that if there is a common European approach to support Ukraine in this regard, Finland’s contribution is also needed.

However, Finland is in a special position because it is not yet a NATO member and directly borders Russia. If the tanks are handed over to Ukraine, the Finnish contribution cannot be particularly large.

According to STT, there are more than 200 German-made Panther 2 tanks in Finland. However, as a rule, the Federal Republic of Germany must approve the transfer of arms from German production to third parties.

6:12 PM: Ukrainian troops in the eastern Ukrainian cities of Pakmut and Soledor have been fending off heavy Russian offensives for several days. Soldiers there will also be given all the support they need, President Volodymyr Zelensky said after a general staff meeting in Kiev on Thursday.

The Russian military has been trying to breach Ukraine’s defenses in this part of Ukraine for weeks. The aim is to bring the entire Donetsk region, which Moscow has already illegally annexed, under Russian control.

5:16 PM: According to Russian sources, Russia and Ukraine did not agree on a new exchange of prisoners during talks in Turkey. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported that the exchange of more than 40 prisoners each represents the number of people the two sides have already exchanged in the past, Russian human rights chief Tatiana Moskalkov told AFP on Thursday. news agency.