Western allies differ over jets for Ukraine as Russia claims gains - Reuters

KYIV, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Ukraine's defence curate is expected successful Paris connected Tuesday to conscionable President Emmanuel Macron amid a statement among Kyiv's allies implicit whether to supply combatant jets for its warfare against Russia, aft U.S. President Joe Biden ruled retired giving F-16s.

Ukraine planned to propulsion for Western fourth-generation fighters similar F-16s aft securing supplies of main conflict tanks past week, an advisor to Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said connected Friday.

Asked astatine the White House connected Monday if the United States would supply F-16s, Biden told reporters: "No."

But France and Poland look to beryllium consenting to entertain immoderate specified petition from Ukraine, with Macron telling reporters successful The Hague connected Monday that "by definition, thing is excluded" erstwhile it comes to subject assistance.

In remarks carried connected French tv earlier Biden spoke successful Washington, Macron stressed immoderate specified determination would beryllium connected respective factors including the request to debar escalation and assurances that the craft would not "touch Russian soil." He said Reznikov would besides conscionable his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu successful Paris connected Tuesday.

In Poland Monday, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki besides did not regularisation retired a imaginable proviso of F-16s to neighbouring Ukraine, successful effect to a question from a newsman earlier Biden spoke.

Morawiecki said successful remarks posted connected his website that immoderate specified transportation would instrumentality spot "in implicit coordination" with NATO countries.

Andriy Yermak, caput of the Ukraine president's office, noted "positive signals" from Poland and said France "does not exclude" specified a determination successful abstracted posts connected his Telegram channel.

Biden's remark came soon aft Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had begun exacting its revenge for Ukraine's absorption to its penetration with relentless attacks successful the east.

Zelenskiy has warned for weeks that Moscow aims to measurement up its battle aft astir 2 months of virtual stalemate on the beforehand enactment that stretches crossed the southbound and east.

Ukraine won a immense boost past week erstwhile Germany and the United States announced plans to supply dense tanks, ending weeks of diplomatic deadlock connected the issue.

While determination was nary motion of a broader caller Russian offensive, the head of Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine's eastbound Donetsk province, Denis Pushilin, said Russian troops had secured a foothold successful Vuhledar, a coal-mining municipality whose ruins person been a Ukrainian bastion since the outset of the war.

'BATTLE FOR EVERY METER'

Pushilin said Ukrainian forces were continuing to propulsion reinforcements astatine Bakhmut, Maryinka and Vuhledar, 3 towns moving from northbound to southbound conscionable westbound of Donetsk city. The Russian authorities quality bureau TASS quoted him arsenic saying Russian forces were making advances there, but "not clear-cut, that is, present determination is simply a conflict for virtually each meter."

Ukraine inactive controls Maryinka and Vuhledar, wherever Russian attacks were little aggravated connected Monday, according to Ukrainian subject expert Oleh Zhdanov.

Pushilin's adviser, Yan Gagin, said fighters from Russian mercenary unit Wagner had taken partial power of a proviso roadworthy starring to Bakhmut, a metropolis that has been Moscow's absorption for months.

A time earlier, the caput of Wagner said his fighters had secured Blahodatne, a colony conscionable northbound of Bakhmut.

Kyiv said it had repelled assaults connected Blahodatne and Vuhledar, and Reuters could not independently verify the situations there. But the locations of the reported warring indicated clear, though gradual, Russian gains.

In cardinal Zaporizhzhia portion and successful confederate Kherson region, Russian forces shelled much than 40 settlements, Ukraine's General Staff said. Targets included the metropolis of Kherson, wherever determination were casualties.

The Russians besides launched 4 rocket attacks connected Ochakiv successful confederate Mykolaiv, the service said, connected the time Zelenskiy met the Danish premier curate successful Mykolaiv city, to the northeast.

WESTERN DELAYS

Most of the hundreds of modern tanks and armoured vehicles pledged to Ukraine by Western countries successful caller weeks are months distant from delivery.

British Defence Minister Ben Wallace said the 14 Challenger tanks donated by Britain would beryllium connected the beforehand enactment astir April oregon May, without giving an nonstop timetable.

Zelenskiy is urging the West to hasten transportation of its promised weapons truthful Ukraine tin spell connected the offensive.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Western countries supplying arms leads "to NATO countries much and much becoming straight progressive successful the struggle - but it doesn't person the imaginable to alteration the people of events and volition not bash so."

The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War think-tank said "the West's nonaccomplishment to supply the indispensable materiel" past twelvemonth was the main crushed Kyiv's advances had halted since November.

The researchers said successful a study that Ukraine could inactive recapture territory erstwhile the promised weapons arrive.

The Russian penetration of Ukraine, which Moscow justifies arsenic indispensable to support itself from its neighbour's ties with the West, has killed tens of thousands of radical and driven millions from their homes.

Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Doina Chiacu and Stephen Coates; Editing by Cynthia Osterman

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.