Poland will deliver a first batch of four MiG-29 fighter-bombers to Ukraine, an unprecedented decision for a NATO member since February 2022.
While Kiev had asked its western allies to send it modern fighter-bombers, Poland announced on Thursday March 16 that it would deliver an initial shipment of four MiG-29 fighter-bombers to Ukraine. At the same time, the United States considered a talk between Ukrainian and Chinese Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Xi Jinping to be “a very good thing”.
Franceinfo looks back at the highlights of the day on the warfront in Ukraine.
Poland supplies fighter-bombers to Ukraine
Poland will deliver a first batch of four MiG-29 fighter-bombers to Ukraine, the Polish President announced on Thursday. This shipment requested by Kiev will be the first such shipment by a NATO member since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022,” Andrzej Duda told reporters.
However, the Polish decision “does not change” the Americans’ refusal to do the same, asserted John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House, shortly thereafter. Responding to the Warsaw announcement, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuri Ignat said: “MiGs will not solve any problems, we need F-16s. But MiGs will help strengthen our capabilities.”
Washington promotes dialogue between Kiev and Beijing
Talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Chinese President Xi Jinping “would be a very good thing,” the White House National Security Council spokesman said on Thursday. John Kirby assured that the United States has long “encouraged” such contact, saying, “We think it is very important that the Chinese hear the Ukrainians’ point of view and not just that of (Vladimir) Putin.”
UN investigators say they saw no genocide in Ukraine
Since the Russian invasion of that country, UN investigators have not observed any genocide in Ukraine. Erik Moses, one of the three commissioners responsible for the investigation, told reporters on Thursday. However, they recommend continuing studies on the subject, stressing “that certain aspects may raise questions about this crime”.
A Russian spy network dismantled by Poland
Poland claims to have completely dismantled a Russian spy network working in support of the offensive launched by Moscow in Ukraine. “The entire network has been dismantled,” Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak told public radio PR1 on Thursday. The suspects were arrested after the discovery of hidden cameras installed at key railway lines and junctions, recording and transmitting traffic data. “It was a spy group, a group of people collecting information for those who attacked Ukraine,” the minister said. “The threat was real,” he insisted, without giving further details.