The upcoming delivery of F-16 combat aircraft to kyiv by the West will only “prolong the conflict” in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday September 12. “They’re going to deliver F-16s. Is that going to change anything? I don’t think so,” he told an economic forum in Vladivostok, in Russia’s Far East. Since the start of the Russian offensive, these combat planes have occupied a prominent place in the list of demands of the Ukrainian authorities from their allies. They are supposed to decisively reinforce the Ukrainian army in its counter-offensive, facing the Russian defense lines. Follow our live.
Kim Jong-un is in Russia, where he is due to meet Vladimir Putin. The North Korean leader, who left Pyongyang on Sunday aboard an armored train, arrived in Russia on Tuesday. He must talk about “sensitive subjects” with the Russian president in the coming days, somewhere on the Pacific coast Russian, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov, quoted by the Russian agency Ria Novosti. Washington fears that Moscow is sourcing weapons from North Korea for its military operations in Ukraine. Kim Jong-un has repeatedly expressed his support for Russia in the conflict in Ukraine.
Russia forced to “beg” North Korean aid, according to Washington. American diplomacy commented on the meeting between the two leaders. “Having to cross your entire country to meet an outcast from the international scene” come back “begging for help”judged Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the US State Department, on Monday.
Vladimir Putin assures that 270,000 Russians have joined the army. The Russian president welcomes the fact that these hundreds of thousands of citizens have voluntarily joined “these last six-seven months” the ranks of the army and volunteer formations fighting in Ukraine, which are added to the 300,000 soldiers mobilized in September 2022.
Ukraine announces that it has taken back an oil and gas platform in the Black Sea from the Russians. This has been controlled by Moscow since 2015. “Ukraine regains control of the ‘Vishki Boika'”, welcomed the military intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense in a press release. Attacks between Ukrainian and Russian forces have increased in the Black Sea since mid-July, when Russia slammed the door on an agreement allowing for a year the export of Ukrainian cereals despite the war.