Polish, Czech & Slovenian leaders visit 'war-torn Kiev', Poland suggests NATO 'peace mission', US to send long range weapons & killer drones

Deutsche Welle
Tue, 15 Mar 2022 12:00 UTC

From left to right: Slovenian PM Janez Jansa, Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki and his deputy Jaroslaw Kaczynski, and Czech PM Petr Fiala, studying a map of Ukraine prior to departure

The Polish and Czech premiers pledged support for the country's independence after meeting with Ukrainian leadership in Kyiv, while Polish deputy PM Kaczynski called for a peacekeeping force to be sent to Ukraine.

The leaders of three EU countries traveled by train to Ukraine to pledge their support.

The prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday to express EU solidarity as Russia continues its assault on Ukraine's capital city.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki shared a photo from Kyiv on social media after arriving, saying "It is here, in war-torn Kyiv, that history is being made. It is here, that freedom fights against the world of tyranny. It is here that the future of us all hangs in the balance."

Comment: Surely if Russia was being so ruthless, maniacal, and barbaric, these leaders wouldn't stand a chance at entering Kiev? Speaking of maniacal, where's Zelensky? Further, why would they risk going to Kiev to voice their support when they could do so over the phone?

Whilst technically Kiev is a war zone, the trains are still running - Russia has intentionally avoided critical infrastructure - and there's even chance for a moments silence:

The leaders met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, having gone in their capacity as representatives of the European Council.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, deputy PM and leader of Poland's ruling PiS party, called for an international peacekeeping mission be sent to Ukraine and for it to be given the means to defend itself.

"I think that it is necessary to have a peace mission - NATO, possibly some wider international structure - but a mission that will be able to defend itself, which will operate on Ukrainian territory," Kaczynski said.

Comment: So Poland is, yet again, encouraging extremely provocative moves by inviting NATO to Ukraine? Which is precisely one of the red lines Russia has already made clear; this is Poland's attempt at a 'peace mission'?

"It will be a mission that will strive for peace, to give humanitarian aid, but at the same time it will also be protected by appropriate forces, armed forces," he added.

Comment: This kind of humanitarian aid? 'Flights of death': 'Humanitarian flights' for Ukraine loaded with weapons say protesting airport workers

NATO itself and various western leaders, including US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, have so far ruled out sending Alliance troops to Ukraine in any capacity.

Europe must 'guarantee Ukraine's independence'

Morawiecki said in a tweet ahead of the visit that "Europe must guarantee Ukraine's independence and ensure that it is ready to help in Ukraine's reconstruction."

Comment: Any semblence of indepence in Ukraine died with the US-backed coup in 2014.

According to Poland's presidential aide Michal Dworczyk, the leaders were also expected to present an EU aid package for Ukraine, agreed at a recent summit in Versailles.

Comment: Ukraine is clearly a zombie country being propped up by tens of billions in US & EU 'aid' for their proxy-war against Russia.

"In Kyiv, in addition to a strong signal of support for Ukraine, a concrete support package will be presented by the prime ministers," Dworczyk said.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a tweet: "The aim of the visit is to express the European Union's unequivocal support for Ukraine and its freedom and independence.''

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said in a tweet that "there is no country on the whole of our continent that is more European than Ukraine," and thanked Ukrainians for defending "European values" with their lives.

Comment: If neo-Nazism is you idea of "European values": Zelensky is Not in Charge of Ukraine, Nazis Are - And They Believe They Are on a Mission From God to 'Derussify Ukraine in Holy War'

The three countries are all EU member states and also members of the NATO alliance. Over the weekend, EU leaders made it clear that there could be no shortcut to EU membership, following the two-day informal summit at the Palace of Versailles in France.

Germany's Scholz backs trip

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has welcomed the trip, saying it was "good to try and help in different ways in this situation."

Scholz said the international community was following a clear political strategy to help Ukraine.

He added that it was important to continue discussions with Zelensky, but also with Russian President Vladimir Putin to encourage a ceasefire.

"We are all engaged in different ways, and that is how it ought to be," he said.

The leaders of the 27 EU member states did pledge military aid amounting to €1 billion ($1.1 billion).

At last week's two-day summit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Ukrainians were exercising "their right to choose their own destiny" by starting the process to join the EU.

Comment: RT reports the US is considering more 'humanitarian aid' in the form of kamimaze drones:

Explosive drones are said to be part of a 'wishlist' of American weapons sought by Kiev

© YouTube / AeroVironment Inc.

A rendering of a 'Switchblade' drone, seen in a promotional video

The Biden administration is weighing whether to send explosives-laden 'Switchblade' drones to Ukraine, NBC News reported on Wednesday. The aircraft, which can loiter above the battlefield before propelling themselves toward an enemy, are just one weapons system Kiev has petitioned the US for.

The drones, manufactured by Virginia defense contractor AeroVironment, come in two varieties: One that targets personnel and another that targets vehicles. Equipped with cameras, guidance systems, and explosives, the robotic bombs can fly up to 50 miles to strike a target, or can circle above a battlefield before dive-bombing an enemy below.

These "kamikaze" drones are significantly cheaper than larger and more sophisticated vehicles, and have a lower price tag than other single-use munitions that the US has supplied to Ukraine in recent weeks. A single Javelin launch system and missile costs $178,000, according to the Pentagon's 2021 budget, while an anti-personnel Switchblade drone costs $6,000, NBC reported.

Never before has the business of death been so affordable.

It is unclear how many of these drones the US has in its stockpile, how quickly they could be sent to Ukraine, and how much training Ukrainian soldiers would need to correctly operate them. So far, NBC reported, the UK is the only foreign country authorized to purchase the killer robots.

Congressional Republicans meanwhile wrote a letter to Biden and other administration officials on Tuesday, urging them to send to Kiev cash allocated for military aid "without delay," and to include weapons from a "wish list" submitted by Zelensky.

Among the weapons named on the list are "armed drones, anti-ship missiles, 'off-the-shelf' electronic jamming equipment and surface-to-air missiles that can strike aircraft at higher altitudes," NBC reported, citing unnamed sources in Washington. Republicans have also called on the administration to send Soviet-era warplanes recently provided to the US by Poland, although delivering these jets into Ukraine could be seen by Russia as an act of war, and Biden has thus far refused.

President Joe Biden is expected to discuss a new package of military aid for Ukraine on Wednesday, after an address to Congress by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. During his address, Zelensky again called for the US to increase sanctions on Moscow and impose what he termed a "humanitarian no-fly zone" over Ukraine, imploring the American lawmakers: "is this too much to ask?" As an alternative, he asked for S-300 air defense systems or fighter jets.

While imposing this zone would counter Russia's air superiority over the country, there are fears that it would also bring NATO troops into direct conflict with Russia, and in the words of Biden, would lead to a "third world war."

Moscow attacked its neighbor in late February, following a seven-year standoff over Ukraine's failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, and Russia's eventual recognition of the Donbass republics in Donetsk and Lugansk. The German- and French-brokered protocols had been designed to regularize the status of those regions within the Ukrainian state.

Note that, by trying to rope NATO into Ukraine, European leaders are violating the very protocols that other EU countries designed.

Russia has now demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.

RFE/RL reports:

US announces 'unprecedented' new weapons aid to Ukraine

Flanked by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about assistance the U.S. government is providing to Ukraine on March 16.

U.S. President Joe Biden has announced $1 billion in new security aid and the deployment of longer-range weapons and drones to Ukraine, while expressing "unprecedented" support for Kyiv in its war with Russia.

But Biden's position remained unchanged over Kyiv's repeated appeals for a Western-imposed no-fly zone over the ex-Soviet state, which NATO has consistently rejected for fear of an escalation that could put the alliance on a warpath with Russia.

The amount includes $200 million allocated over the weekend and $800 million in new funds from an aid package approved by Congress last week.

"These are direct transfers of equipment from our Department of Defense to the Ukrainian military to help them as they fight against this invasion," said Biden.

The U.S. president also announced U.S. help for Ukraine to acquire "additional longer-range anti-aircraft systems."

Biden said Ukraine will receive an additional 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 9,000 anti-tank weapons, 7,000 light weapons, and 20 million rounds of ammunition.

The United States will also be providing Ukraine with 100 drones -- or Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems -- which Biden said "demonstrates our commitment to sending our most cutting-edge systems to Ukraine for its defense."

For further insight into the situation, check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Russian Operations in Ukraine Proceeding as Planned, But Risk of War Contagion Grows