Kyiv urges fast Taurus missiles delivery – DW – 09/04/2023

Russia said on Monday it had destroyed four Ukrainian military vessels carrying troops through the Black Sea.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the four US-made high-speed boats were “Willard Sea Force.”

They carried landing groups of the armed forces of Ukraine, traveling in the direction of Cape Tarkhankut on the Crimean coast, the ministry added on the Telegram messaging platform.

The boats were destroyed in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, the ministry said.

Tensions have heightened in the Black Sea since Russia pulled out in July of a UN-brokered deal which allowed Ukraine to export grains via the sea amid the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced a “very important agreement” which involves training Ukrainian pilots in France, a deal which was reached in conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday.

Speaking during his nightly video address, Zelenskyy did not give further details regarding the training, such as which jets would be used.

France does not have the F-16 fighter jets, which neighboring Denmark and the Netherlands have recently promised to provide. It does possess the French-made Rafale warplanes, as well as the previous-generation mirage 2000 jets.

“Our coalition of modern fighters is becoming stronger,” Zelenskyy said.

The two presidents also discussed potential French support to the Ukrainian city and region of Odesa, which is critical to the export of grains, Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine has urged Berlin to supply it withTaurus missiles, with several Ukrainian officials stressing the importance of the missiles in the fight against Russia.

Presidential adviser Mychailo Podolyak told Germany’s Bild newspaper that Berlin needed to make “decisions faster and more decisively.” He stressed there is “no other way to destroy Russian logistics and rearguard, so Taurus is needed.” 

Podolyak reassured that Kyiv’s goal was not “to attack Russian territory,” but “to destroy the resources of the occupiers.”

Meanwhile, German Free Democratic Party (FDP) politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann has blamed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for the delay. Writing on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, she said Scholz “alone is blocking this decision within the coalition.” 

“This is irresponsible,” she wrote. 

Both Kyiv and Germany’s Greens and FDP have been calling for the delivery of the cruise missiles, which have a long range and destructive power.

The chancellor’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) is wary that the delivery of a weapon system with a range of over 500 kilometers (310 miles) might escalate the conflict, if the missiles are used to strike Russian territories.

Chancellor concerned Taurus could be used to attack Russia

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Ukraine has accused Russian forces of attacking a major exporting port overnight, ahead of scheduled talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Russian resort town of Sochi on Monday.

Ukrainian officials said Russia attacked Izmail port, one of two major grain-exporting ports on the Danube River in the Odesa region. The Ukrainian air force called on the residents in the area to seek shelter.

Putin is hosting Erdogan, as the United Nations strives to revive a grain deal which Moscow withdrew from last July. The UN-facilitated deal, which was brokered with Turkey’s help, allowed Kyiv to export grains via the Black Sea amid the war.

Russian air defense systems shot down two drones over the southern Kursk region, the Defense Ministry said early on Monday, adding that the drones were launched by Kyiv.

The ministry said in a statement on the messaging platform Telegram that the drones were destroyed over the Black Sea, near the Crimean peninsula.

The Kursk region borders Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

“Oleksiy Reznikov has been through more than 550 days of full-scale war,” Ukraine’s president said in his nightly address.

“I believe that the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society at large.”

Zelenskyy nominated Rustern Umerov as Reznikov’s replacement.

“Now Rustem Umerov should be the head of the (defense) ministry,” Zelenskyy said. “I expect parliament to support this candidate.”

Umerov, a Crimean Tatar, is currently the head of the Ukrainian government’s privatization body, the State Property Fund. He also participated in negotiations on the Black Sea grain deal.

Reznikov was accused of corruption in January, leading to the resignation of his deputy, Vyacheslav Shapovalov.

rmt/sri (AFP, Reuters, AP, dpa)