Ukraine’s biggest allies have so far said they won’t send fighter jets to Kyiv, denying a key request from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy ahead of an expected escalation in fighting.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda still urged countries to cross the red line and send military planes and long-range missiles, saying it’s vital to act without delay because “the turning point is about to happen”.

Beijing is closely watching Russia’s war in Ukraine and learning lessons that may influence future decisions, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on a visit to Tokyo, stressing warnings about China’s behavior including its threats toward Taiwan. 

On the ground 

Russia carried out three aviation strikes and four missile strikes in the past 24-hour period, the General Staff of the Ukrainian army said on Facebook. Russian forces continued their offensive in the directions of Lyman, Bakhmut and Avdiivka. Russian attacks were repelled near two settlements in the Luhansk region and 11 settlements in the Donetsk region. Russian forces continued shelling residential areas near the border with Russia to the north and along the contact line. Ukrainian aviation carried out four strikes against Russian military strongholds. 

Longer-range artillery part of $2bn in US aid

The US will provide Ukraine with longer-range artillery and ammunition as part of a new $2-billion package of military assistance, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday night.

The package is being finalised as Ukraine prepares for a new Russian offensive and tries to not only hold onto recaptured territory but to seize fresh advantages on the battlefield. 

The new aid will consist largely of artillery and rounds and not include advanced weapons like long-range missiles, according to the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans had not been announced. 

Kyiv’s allies say they won’t send fighter jets 

President Joe Biden said on Monday that the US wouldn’t send F-16s to Ukraine, joining the UK and Germany, which have also ruled out sending their military fighters.  

The UK said it’s not practical to send fighter jets to Ukraine, even as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told his cabinet on Tuesday that Britain is accelerating its support to the war-torn nation.

“In terms of the UK’s fighter jets, these are sophisticated pieces of equipment so we do not think it’s practical,” Sunak’s spokesman, Max Blain, told reporters on Tuesday, citing the length of time needed to learn to use “very complex pieces of equipment.”

Norway wealth fund’s Russia exit held up by sanctions on its bank 

Norway’s $1.3-trillion sovereign wealth fund is prevented from selling its Russian holdings as the custodian bank is under sanctions. 

“The situation is deadlocked” regarding assets in the country, worth $292-million, Trond Grande, deputy chief executive officer, told reporters at a news conference in Oslo. Just days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, Norway decided to shed Russian assets from the fund, though its management had initially warned against such a plan.

Ukraine improves ranking on Corruption Perception Index 

Transparency International moved Ukraine up its Corruption Perception Index scale to 116th position among 180 countries in 2022, from 122nd a year earlier, according to its website. Corruption investigations followed by a government shakeup in January were not included in the 2022 ranking.

“Recent outstanding corruption cases concerning, in particular, procurement during the war with Russia, are difficult to explain not only to Ukrainians, who protect freedom on their different fronts, but also to foreign partners,” Andriy Borovyk, executive director of Transparency International Ukraine, said according to the statement on website.

China is learning from Putin’s war, NATO chief warns 

Beijing is closely watching Russia’s war in Ukraine and learning lessons that may influence future decisions, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said, stressing warnings about China’s behaviour including its threats toward Taiwan. 

“If President Putin wins in Ukraine, this would send a message that authoritarian regimes can achieve their goals through brute force. This is dangerous,” Stoltenberg said at a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo. “What is happening in Europe today could happen in east Asia tomorrow.”

Estonia pressures top priest to drop out of pro-Kremlin event 

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Estonia, Metropolitan Eugeni, pulled out of a planned demonstration in Tallinn that the Estonian government said was organised by a pro-Kremlin group.

The Estonian Interior Ministry demanded an explanation from the church, which sits adjacent to the Estonian Parliament building in the mainly Lutheran country, saying it was “disturbing” that the metropolitan bishop had “befriended a Kremlin-minded movement”. The church quickly withdrew from the event on Tuesday, saying in a statement that it had regrettably been “the victim of a political provocation”.

Last year, the ministry threatened to revoke Metropolitan Eugeni’s Estonian residence permit, pressuring him to distance himself from Moscow Patriarch Kirill, who supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. BM/DM