Poland has received “clear declarations” from allies willing to deliver Soviet-era fighter jets to Ukraine in an effort to press back the Russian invasion, a government spokesman in Warsaw said.
(Bloomberg) — Poland has received “clear declarations” from allies willing to deliver Soviet-era fighter jets to Ukraine in an effort to press back the Russian invasion, a government spokesman in Warsaw said.
Russia’s ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, was called to the US State Department and was warned over the “reckless, unprofessional behavior” by a Russian pilot who caused a US surveillance drone to crash in the Black Sea on Tuesday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his nation will fulfill its promise to Finland about the nation’s bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, offering the clearest signal yet that he’ll approve the Nordic country’s entry into the alliance after months of negotiations.
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(All times CET)
Turkey’s Erdogan Hints at Green Light for Finland (12:49 p.m.)
“We will meet Finland’s president and do what our promise requires of us,” the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Erdogan as telling reporters at parliament, ahead of Finnish President Sauli Niinisto’s visit to the country on Thursday.
Sweden and Finland both applied to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Turkey and Hungary are the only two NATO nations that haven’t ratified the bids, which require approval of all 30 members. Hungary has delayed its ratification vote.
US Told Ambassador ‘They Need to Be More Careful’: Kirby (12:47 p.m.)
Officials from President Joe Biden’s administration called the Russian envoy into the State Department on Tuesday — and delivered a “very direct message” on the drone crash.
The drone hasn’t been recovered yet, Kirby says, adding the US government did its best to avoid the craft from getting into the wrong hands.
Read More: Russian Fighter Jet Collides With US Drone Over Black Sea (2)
Denmark Sets Up $1 Billion Ukraine Fund (11:25 a.m.)
Denmark created a new fund for Ukraine with 7 billion kroner ($1 billion) in assets in 2023 to be used for military, civil and commercial support, the government said. The Nordic nation, which contributed with about 5 billion kroner last year, also set a goal to be one of the biggest donors relative to a country’s size, the finance ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine Wins UK Supreme Court Case Over $3 Billion Bond Default (11 a.m.)
Britain’s top court declared that a judge should pore over Russian attempts to strong-arm Ukraine into buying the bond, giving the green light to a full-blown London trial.
The long-awaited decision allows Ukraine to argue that the bond, sold in 2013 on the eve of the revolution in Kyiv, was part of unlawful political and military aggression from Moscow. The judges gave their decision Wednesday in a ruling that knocks out Russian attempts to win the case and allows Ukraine to stave off any further repayments.
Russia’s Oil Revenue Drops Sharply as Price Caps Work, IEA Says (10:45 a.m.)
Russia’s oil-export revenue fell to the lowest in more than a year in February as buyers of the nation’s barrels largely complied with price caps and sanctions, according to the International Energy Agency.
The flow of money into the country from international oil sales fell to $11.6 billion last month, down more than 40% from a year earlier, according to the IEA. February crude oil and product exports averaged 7.5 million barrels a day, the lowest since September, the agency estimated.
Poland Says Several Countries Want to Transfer MiG-29 Jets to Ukraine (10:25 a.m.)
Poland has received “clear declarations” from several countries willing to ship Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, government spokesman Piotr Muller said without naming them.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Tuesday that Poland may deliver Soviet-era jets to Ukraine in the coming weeks, a move that would cross a threshold among NATO member states cautious about sending air power.
Slovakia, Poland’s NATO neighbor to the south, has also raised the prospect of MiG deliveries, though a decision has been held up by political infighting ahead of an early election in September. Other NATO allies with MiG jets in their inventories include, Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania.
Turkey Favors 120-Day Extension of Grain Deal (10:20 a.m.)
Turkey supports the extension of the Black Sea grain deal for 120 days and is talking with its counterparts in Ukraine and Russia to secure an agreement, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said in Ankara.
The agreement, which ensures safe passage of crop exports from three ports, has enabled Ukraine to ship out more than 24 million tons since it was sealed in July, helping drive down food-commodity costs that had soared to a record after Russia’s invasion initially disrupted trade flows.
Turkey is also considering allowing US forces to enter the Bosphorus Strait to retrieve a drone that crashed after a reported collision with a Russian fighter jet above the Black Sea on Tuesday, he said.
NATO Jets Scrambled as Russian Plane Nears Estonian Airspace (10:10 a.m.)
British and German Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled Tuesday to intercept a Russian aircraft that flew near Estonian airspace. The Russian Il-78 Midas plane was flying between St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad and failed to respond to air traffic control in Estonia, the BBC reported.
Brief intrusions in Baltic airspace are not uncommon, with multiple incidents occurring over the last year. German and British fighters are policing Baltic skies as part of an ongoing NATO defense program.
US and Turkey Talk About Grain Deal in Washington (8:10 a.m.)
The US and Turkey discussed shared concerns regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Ankara’s efforts to ensure a renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, according to a White House readout of a meeting in Washington between US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and his Turkish counterpart Ibrahim Kalin.
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