LIVE UPDATES: Slovak Government Approves Transfer of MiG-29 Jets to Ukraine

"The mobile fire group of the enemy from the 105th Territorial Defense Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine attempted to reconnoiter our forward positions from the Novodarovka village. Motorized rifle units, with the support of artillery, inflicted a fire defeat on the enemy," the spokesperson said.

On September 30, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics, as well as Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, signed agreements on the accession of these territories to Russia, following referendums that showed that an overwhelming majority of the local population supported becoming part of Russia.

In addition, two Ukrainian infantry fighting vehicles were destroyed on the eastern outskirts of the village of Stelmakhovka.

In February, the head of Ukrainian power grid operator Ukrenergo said that direct damage to Ukraine's energy infrastructure caused by Russian strikes carried out since October 10, 2022 (two days after the terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge) may amount to hundreds of millions of dollars, with economic losses ranging in billions.

EU members have been in disagreement on specifics of procurement of ammunition for Ukraine, with some arguing whether they should rely on their own production capabilities or buy shells from third countries, media reported on Friday, citing sources.

The EU has reportedly been finalizing the 2-billion-euro ($2.1-billion) deal on joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine and replenishing stocks in Europe itself. The talks are scheduled to continue later in the day, while EU foreign and defense ministers are expected to approve the plan on March 20, before a final agreement is made at the EU leaders’ summit later next week.

European diplomats told the media that EU members have come to an agreement to spend the first billion euros on supplying Ukraine with shells from their own stocks, while the use of the second billion remains a topic of heated debates.

Some participants have also expressed concern regarding compensation they will receive under this initiative, according to media's sources. They agreed in principle to split the costs of supplying Ukraine with ammunition between the EU's weapons fund and the member states themselves. This agreement implies that around 60% of the member states’ expenditures will be compensated by the bloc's financial instruments. However, Poland has expressed its dissatisfaction with the plan and argued for greater reimbursement of expenses, sources told the news outlet.

The US and South Korea were named as third countries capable of supplying artillery shells during discussions, an EU diplomat told the news outlet.

On March 6, EU defense ministers, at the informal meeting in Stockholm, presented a three-point plan that provides for the urgent delivery of existing ammunition to Ukraine, as well as joint purchases of shells by EU countries and the expansion of EU production capabilities.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov has said that EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell's plan to allocate around 1 billion euros for ammunition supplies to Ukraine is insufficient as Kiev needs artillery shells worth 4 billion euros.

Berlin has not received requests from Poland and Slovakia to coordinate the export of fighter jets that were once in service of East Germany, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Friday.

"Since we have not received any requests at the moment, we cannot evaluate this information," Hebestreit said, commenting on the decision of Slovakia and Poland to provide combat aircraft to Kiev.

The spokesman explained that it is not known whether the MIG-29 fighters that Poland and Slovakia want to supply have ever been in service of East Germany, which would mean the need to coordinate exports from Germany.

The Slovak government has approved the transfer of MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine, incumbent Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger said on Friday.

Earlier in the week, Heger said that Bratislava could make a positive decision on deliveries of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine.

"The government has made a decision and unanimously approved an international agreement on the transfer of MiG-29 jets and Kup air defense systems to Ukraine," Heger was quoted as saying by the Slovak newspaper Pravda.

The Slovak President and the Speaker of the Parliament have agreed with this decision, according to Heger.