Minefields and Russian air supremacy are Ukraine’s biggest problems

Kyiv Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed confidence in his country’s European future. It has always been impossible to imagine a “common house in Europe” without Ukraine, but now Kiev has achieved that, even at the political level, European affairs are no longer thought of without Ukraine, he said in his daily video address on Saturday evening.

The visit of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on the first day of Spain’s EU Presidency was an important gesture in this regard, he added. He thanked Madrid for the political, economic and military aid and for taking in refugees. However, he is confident that they will soon be able to return home once it is safe there again. Part of this security is Ukraine’s entry into NATO, which Kiev is aiming for. He thanked Spain for supporting Ukraine’s NATO ambitions.

The Ukrainian head of state gave his speech in the north-west of the country at the Rivne nuclear power plant. There he had a briefing with military and political decision-makers, among other things, on the safety of nuclear power plants, said Selenski. In recent weeks, Kiev has repeatedly accused Moscow of provoking a nuclear incident at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russians. Russia denies these allegations.

Selenski complains about delays in pilot training on US fighter jets

During Sánchez’s visit, Zelenskiy lamented delays in training Ukrainian pilots on US-made fighter jets. “I think some of our partners are dragging here,” he said in Kiev on Saturday. There are still no fixed dates for the start and no timetable for pilot training.

In May, several European countries announced the formation of a fighter jet coalition for Ukraine. Washington paved the way for this by giving the green light to training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.

Kuleba: Minefields and Russian air sovereignty are the biggest problems

According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Russian air superiority and minefields are the biggest problems for Ukrainian troops in their counter-offensive. At risk of their lives, Ukrainian soldiers sometimes have to crawl 200 or 300 meters through a minefield a day to clear the terrain for the to evacuate advancing troops, said Kuleba in Kiev in an interview with “Bild”, “Welt” and “Politico”. The Russian fortifications, reinforced with concrete, steel and other materials, are difficult to destroy.

This is how the Handelsblatt reports on the Ukraine war:

In addition, the armed forces are suffering greatly because “we lack anti-aircraft, anti-helicopter and anti-aircraft weapons on the ground,” Kuleba said. With the use of combat helicopters and combat aircraft, the Russians managed to “hit our counter-offensive forces”.

Spain’s Prime Minister Sánchez promises Ukraine 55 million euros

Meanwhile, Spain’s Prime Minister Sánchez pledged 55 million euros in new aid to Ukraine during his visit to Kiev. “Spain will provide another 55 million euros to support the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises in Ukraine,” he said during his speech to parliament in Kiev on Saturday.

At the same time, the socialist politician assured that the Europeans’ support for Ukraine in their defense against the Russian war of aggression was unbroken. Spain took over the scheduled presidency of the EU Council on Saturday.

What will be important on Sunday

Fighting at the front continues in Ukraine. Kiev recently reacted angrily to criticism of the slow progress of their own offensive. However, it is also clear to the Ukrainian leadership that they must show results against the background of Western arms aid. A further intensification of the fighting is therefore to be expected in the near future.

More: All developments in the Ukraine war in our news blog