Biden wants to deal with Putin, he is not afraid of escalation and is preparing a counterattack in Ukraine that should start in May. According to Defense Minister Austin, the processes for assembling weapons to be delivered to Kiev were to begin yesterday. “The Ukrainians will take back the lands they lost,” he says. But the spokeswoman for the presidency, Karen Jean-Pierre, clarifies: “The White House believes that the United States has sufficient resources to support Ukraine until the end of this fiscal year, which ends at the end of September.”
It seems that the White House wants to catch Xi Jinping by surprise. The Chinese president is convinced he has the tools to put Putin and Zelensky around the table. political fantasy?
Perhaps, but the long phone call between Chinese Foreign Minister Chen Gang and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba goes in that direction. On Xhinua’s official channel, it was reaffirmed Xi’s willingness to resume talks. “The hope is that all parties will remain calm to pave the way for a political agreement,” Chen said, possibly in response to Austin. For the Wall Street Journal, Xi’s trip next week to Putin’s home cannot be ruled out, just as a video conference with Zelensky may be imminent. Kuleba said, via Twitter, that he was satisfied with the phone call with Chen, stressing that respect for territorial integrity is “a meeting point that makes us and China in harmony.” The White House is clearly suspicious, convinced that Beijing is cooperating in the dark in supplying weapons to the Kremlin. Not surprisingly, between Friday and Saturday, a Chinese-made drone was shot down by Kiev to the east. “Chinese companies, including one Linked to the Beijing government, it has sent 1,000 assault rifles and military equipment, including drone parts and bulletproof vests, to Russian entities.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon released footage of the engagement between the Russian fighter and the US drone over the Black Sea. The video (42 seconds) shows the Su-27 approaching the rear of the drone, hitting the propeller and causing it to fly off. I fell into the sea. Moscow has long denied a collision, the White House specifies that “Moscow’s lies have come to light.”
As for operations on the 386th day of fighting, Kiev recorded a number of Russian naval activities in the Black Sea, counting 20 ships, including 4 missile carriers. Moscow is reportedly preparing to attack Kherson and Odessa, targeting infrastructure and water systems to cause environmental disasters. Operation to create a bridge to the West? The Kremlin, through its spokesman Peskov, denied the existence of a Russian plan to take over Moldova. Meanwhile, Poland will transfer 4 MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine in the coming days. This was stated by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. The United States, through Kirby, still said no to the F16s for Kiev.
It is still difficult to understand the situation in Bakhmut. For ISW analysts, the Wagner Group offensive appears to be nearing its final stages due to a lack of men (30,000 Russian fighters were destroyed). and losses caused by remote anti-tank mine systems. On the other hand, the British MI6 assures that Wagner will resist, especially now “that a public dispute has broken out between Prigozhin and the Ministry of Defence.” Staying on topic 007, the head of the Ukrainian intelligence service Skibitskyi explained that Moscow is preparing a massive defense of Crimea. Kiev also denied having any role in yesterday’s fire in a building for the Russian security services in Rostov, which killed at least seven people. The Armed Forces of Ukraine reported a Russian counterattack in Vohlidar (East). Russian forces fully control the line of contact on the left bank of the Dnieper in Kherson.
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