France to send Mirage warplanes as Putin threatens to arm West’s enemies

The Russian foreign ministry accused Ukraine of using US- supplied HIMARS rockets to shell civilian targets in Russia’s Belgorod region and of being responsible for the deaths of women and children.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova set out the allegation at a news conference held on the sidelines of an economic forum in St Petersburg.

She said fragments of the HIMARs rockets would serve as proof of what had happened.

Russia has arrested a French NGO worker on suspicion of spying on its military, a move that is likely to further strain already frought relations with Paris.

The Russian authorities claimed, without providing evidence, that the Frenchman was involved in the “targeted collection of information in the field of military-technical activities of the Russian Federation”.

They have launched a criminal case against him for allegedly violating the country’s law requiring any person receiving foreign support to register as a “foreign agent”.

Ukrainian forces drowned 48 drones and five cruise missiles overnight, the military said in its morning update today.

The drones were launched from occupied Crimea, the Russian town of Yeysk and Primorsko-Akhtarsk, located on the coast of the Azov Sea, it added.

Russia reportedly flew Tu-95MS bomber planes to launch Kh-101 cruise missiles from Saratov Oblast.

US president Joe Biden yesterday drew parallels between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and World War II throughout his speech commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in France.

Mr Biden warned “the autocrats of the world are watching closely to see what happens in Ukraine”.The president vowed that the US would “not walk away” from the conflict, claiming “if we do, Ukraine will be subjugated, and it will not end there”.

“Ukraine’s neighbours will be threatened, all of Europe will be threatened.”

US president Joe Biden said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is “not a decent man” but “a dictator” amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“He’s a dictator, and he’s struggling to make sure he holds his country together while still keeping this assault going,” Mr Biden told ABC World News during his trip to France to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.

When asked about the US administration’s decision to authorise Ukraine to use American weapons to strike inside Russia, Mr Biden said the weapons were authorised to be used “in proximity to the border”.

“We’re not authorising strikes 200 miles into Russia, and we’re not authorising strikes on Moscow, on the Kremlin.”

“We’re not talking about giving them weapons to strike Moscow, to strike the Kremlin, to strike against — just across the border, where they’re receiving significant fire from conventional weapons used by the Russians to go into Ukraine to kill Ukrainians.”

President Emmanuel Macron said France plans to provide Mirage 2000 warplanes to Ukraine and train Ukrainian pilots this summer.

Mr Macron did not specify how many single-engine jet fighters would be provided, by when or under what financial terms.

He said France had proposed to train 4,500 Ukrainian soldiers but did not clarify where the soldiers would be trained.

He made the announcement on the occasion of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to France as part of D-Day anniversary celebrations.

Mr Zelensky earlier in September said he had struck an agreement on training Ukraine pilots in France in conversation with Macron.

The head of the Ukrainian Air Force said in January that French Mirage aircraft may reinforce the Ukrainian air force.

The US will send about $225m in military aid to Ukraine, US officials said Thursday, in a new package that includes ammunition Kyiv’s forces could use to strike threats inside Russia to defend the city of Kharkiv from a heavy Russian assault.

The officials said the aid includes munitions for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, as well as mortar systems and an array of artillery rounds. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss aid not yet publicly announced.

Under a new US directive, Ukraine can use such weapons to strike across the border into Russia if forces there are attacking or preparing to attack.

That change, however, does not alter US policy that directs Ukraine not to use American-provided ATACMS or long-range missiles and other munitions to strike offensively inside Russia, according to US officials.

The US has tracked Russian warships and aircraft that are expected to arrive in the Caribbean for a military exercise in the coming weeks.

The ships also are expected possibly to make port calls in Venezuela and Cuba, as Russia establishes a Western Hemisphere military presence that the senior Biden administration officials said was notable but not concerning.

The exercise will involve a “handful” of Russian ships and support vessels, the two officials said.

It’s not the first time Russia has sent its ships to the Caribbean.

This exercise, however, is taking place as Russian president Vladimir Putin has suggested that Moscow could take “asymmetrical steps” elsewhere in the world in response to president Joe Biden‘s decision to allow Ukraine to use US-provided weapons to strike inside Russia to protect Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.

The authorities in Russia have arrested a French NGO worker on suspicion of allegedly gathering information about the activities of Vladimir Putin’s military.

A criminal case has been launched against the Frenchman for allegedly violating Russia’s law that requires a person receiving foreign support to register as a “foreign agent”.

Moscow said the man, who it did not name, was involved in the “targeted collection of information in the field of military [and] military-technical activities of the Russian Federation”.

“Such information, if obtained by foreign sources, may be used against the security of the state,” it added.

The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue told AFP it was trying to secure the release of a member of its team, identifying him as Laurent Vinatier.

The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue is a Geneva-based non-profit that works to prevent and resolve armed conflicts through mediation and discreet diplomacy, according to its website.

“We are aware that Laurent Vinatier, an adviser at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, has been detained in Russia,” it said in a statement. “We are working to get more details of the circumstances and to secure Laurent’s release.”