Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on August 21 that he expected to have a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in September, possibly at the G20 or the United Nations General Assembly. Sweden announced that it would not send fighter jets to Ukraine.
President Erdogan shared his plans to meet with President Putin after his visit to Hungary. He added that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan could visit Moscow earlier to discuss the Black Sea grain deal that Türkiye was heavily involved in as a mediator last year. He said that direct discussions on the issue were of particular importance and would yield much better results.
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| Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at an air base in the Netherlands on August 20. (Source: Shutterstock) |
On the same day, the Swedish Prime Minister said that despite strong commitments from the Netherlands and Denmark, Sweden would not send fighter jets to Ukraine. "We do not rule out anything in the future," Ulf Kristersson told TV4 .
“We will do everything we can to support them. However, at present there are no new commitments to provide Swedish aircraft to Ukraine.”
Ukraine could receive up to 61 aircraft from Denmark and the Netherlands, raising hopes that the pledges could lead to other countries sending fighter jets to the country, although that has not happened so far.
The new F-16 fighter jets promise to put Ukraine on “parity” in the skies with Russia, said Professor Michael Clarke, a defence and security analyst.
As pilots are trained and aircraft are delivered, the force will replace Soviet-era aircraft and help fill gaps in Ukraine's air force.
Denmark has pledged to send 19 jets to Ukraine, while the Netherlands could send up to 42, but has not yet announced the exact number.
Mr Clarke said the F-16s were much better than what Ukraine had and would go towards replacing the 70 or so aircraft the country had lost since the start of the conflict. “They are as good as the Russian Su-35s and better than anything Ukraine has, so that would bring them to parity,” Mr Clarke said.
There are now reports of Russian advances in four directions in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Russian forces continue to advance in the Kupyansky, Lymansky, Avdiivsky and Marinsky directions.
Although Ukrainian troops are repelling attacks and holding the border, Moscow’s military is still shelling Kupyansk, she said. Russian troops are “on the defensive” around Zaporizhzhia and Kherson with Lancet high-explosive shells, she said.
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