Orban visits Kiev for first time since war – DW – 02/07/2024

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on his appointment as NATO Secretary General.

Zelensky said in a post on Telegram that he spoke with Rutte in a phone call and thanked him for the military, political and humanitarian support the Netherlands has provided to Ukraine.

Zelensky made his comments as former spy chief Dick Schoof was sworn in by the Dutch king on Tuesday, heading a right-wing coalition government.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustam Umarov is holding talks with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin in Washington to discuss further military cooperation between the two countries.

“Secretary Austin and Minister Umarov will discuss bilateral defense cooperation, regional security issues, and ways to advance the U.S.-Ukraine defense partnership,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said at a news briefing.

The talks come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his appeal to allies for more weapons, after a Russian airstrike in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region killed seven people.

The United States is the largest single provider of military aid to Ukraine since the full-scale invasion, providing the country with more than $50 billion in military assistance since 2022.

Russia said it destroyed five Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jets and damaged two others at Ukraine’s Myrhorod airport in the central Poltava region.

The Russian Defense Ministry released footage of the attack showing smoke and flames rising from one of the airports. It did not say when the attack took place but said it was carried out using Iskander-M missiles.

“As a result of the Russian strike, five active Su-27 multi-purpose fighters were destroyed and two were damaged,” the Russian ministry said.

Russia is particularly keen to target Ukrainian airports as Kiev prepares for the arrival of the first US-designed F-16s, which Moscow has promised to destroy.

Ukraine said the airport was bombed, but the Russian claim was exaggerated, although it did not specify what was damaged.

“There was an attack. There were some losses, but not the losses that the enemy claims, after all, they have been doing this since the beginning of the invasion,” Ukrainian Air Force official Yuriy Ihnat said in a statement.

Hungarian PM visits Ukraine for first time since Russia launched full-scale invasion

Viktor Orban arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday morning for planned discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Orbán and Zelensky are scheduled to discuss peace prospects, as well as Hungarian-Ukrainian bilateral relations.

“Orban has arrived in Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky,” Orban’s press secretary, Bertalan Havasi, said.

Orban, the only EU leader to have maintained relations with Russia since the 2022 invasion, is said to have warm relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Hungarian prime minister has publicly criticized European financial and military aid to Kiev and has temporarily suspended a €50 billion aid package for several weeks.

Orbán met Putin in October 2023 at a regional summit in Beijing, making him the first EU leader to do so since the war in Ukraine began.

The nationalist leader, in power since 2010, also condemned Brussels’ efforts to open formal talks with Kiev on EU membership, but abstained rather than use his veto.

rc/fb (AFP, Reuters)