The war in Ukraine has been raging for 540 days. Ukraine is not set to receive F-16 fighter jets until spring. The Baltic countries and Poland plan to discuss total closure of borders with Belarus on 28 August. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is working on getting an invite to the G20 Summit in New Delhi 9-10 September.

Read about what happened overnight in Novaya-Europe’s news round-up.

Ukraine not set to receive F-16 fighter jets until spring

Ukraine will not receive F-16 fighter jets from its Western allies until spring, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force Yury Ihnat said during the national TV marathon.

The Ukrainian army had high hopes for the F-16, seeing as the fighter jets could become part of the air defence system and help defend the country from missile strikes, he added.

He emphasised that Ukrainian pilots would soon start their F-16 training, noting that as one of the reasons it is necessary to strengthen the air defence now.

Last week, US President Joe Biden authorised the Ukrainian pilots’ F-16 training programme. The Pentagon emphasised the fact that Denmark and the Netherlands were the ones leading the programme.

Baltic countries and Poland plan to discuss total closure of Belarusian borders

The Baltic countries and Poland are set to discuss the total closure of their borders with Belarus on 28 August during a meeting in Warsaw, Lithuanian Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė said.

According to Baltic news website Delfi, the countries are currently coordinating the possible technical moves in case of a simultaneous closure of borders with Belarus.

“It’s important that this decision, if it comes to pass, be made not by one state but by the entire region,” Bilotaitė said. According to her, one of the principal tasks right now is to increase the number of border guards.

Yesterday, the Lithuanian government announced the temporary closure of two checkpoints on the border with Belarus starting from 18 August. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda previously said that Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland might have to close the borders with Belarus if the security situation becomes difficult due to the presence of the Wagner Group mercenaries in Belarus.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry working on getting invite to G20 Summit in India

Ukraine is working on getting an invite to the G20 Summit in New Delhi that will take place 9-10 September, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Mykola Tochytskyi said during a TV marathon.

Interfax Ukraine reports that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is working on this issue “with India and other partners among the participants of the summit”.

According to the EFE news agency, India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said that Ukraine wouldn’t be invited to this summit. The decision was made “taking into account that G20 promotes growth and development instead of conflict resolution which should be done through the UN Security Council”, he stated.

Russia is a permanent G20 member, the participation of its delegation in the summit is not under question.

The G20 comprises 19 countries and the European Union. In 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was invited to the G20 Summit that took place in Bali.