UK, Germany lead talks on Ukraine

July 22 ------ THE UK and Germany are chairing a meeting to discuss US President Donald Trump’s plans for NATO allies to provide Ukraine with weapons, a week after Trump said deliveries would arrive in Ukraine within days. The virtual meeting will be led by British Defense Secretary John Healey and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius.

Healey said US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and NATO leader Mark Rutte, as well as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, will attend the meeting of Ukraine Defense Contact Group. The talks come after Russia pounded Ukraine with some 300 drone strikes Saturday, Ukrainian officials said. Moscow continues to intensify its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities, and analysts say the barrages are likely to escalate.

NATO’s Grynkewich told The Associated Press (AP) on Thursday that “preparations are underway” for weapons transfers to Ukraine, while US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said he couldn’t give a time frame. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday that Germany will finance two new Patriot systems for Ukraine and raised the possibility of supplying systems it already owns and having them replaced by the US. But delivery could take time, Merz suggested, because “they have to be transported, they have to be set up; that is not a question of hours, it is a question of days, perhaps weeks.”

Other Patriot systems could come thanks to Switzerland, whose defense ministry said Thursday it was informed by the US Defense Department that it will “reprioritize the delivery” of five previously ordered systems to support Ukraine. While Ukraine waits for Patriots, a senior NATO official said the alliance is still coordinating the delivery of other military aid — such as ammunition and artillery rounds — which includes aid from the US that was briefly paused. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his officials have proposed a new round of peace talks this week.

Russian state media on Sunday reported that no date has yet been set for the negotiations, but said that Istanbul would likely remain the host city. The Kremlin spokesman said Sunday that Russia is open to peace with Ukraine, but achieving its goals remains a priority.

Source: manilatimes.net