INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
President Joe Biden said Monday the United States would not provide F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, as Kyiv expands the list of weaponry it
needs to be better able to drive Russian forces from occupied territories.Fighting continued at key points along the long front as Russian
forces sought to expand their hold on territory in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.The Kremlin-appointed Donetsk leader, Denis
units have established positions in the eastern part of Vugledar, and work is also being carried out in the vicinity," Pushilin said,
according to Russian news agencies.But Kyiv rejected the claim, while conceding that the fighting there was tough."The enemy doesn't count
its people and, despite numerous casualties, maintains a high intensity of attacks," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said late
Sunday.Jets for Ukraine?At the White House, Biden said he was opposed to supplying American fighter jets to Ukraine."No," he said when asked
by reporters at the White House if he was in favor of sending F-16s or others, now that the United States , Germany and other countries have
agreed to boost the Ukrainian arsenal by providing heavy battle tanks.But European leaders said they were open to the idea, even if Ukraine
up for significant offensive movements in the coming months and Western aircraft could increase Kyiv's strength, with its own air force
significantly depleted by 11 months of war.French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday he would not rule out giving fighter aircraft to
Ukraine but warned against the risk of escalation in the conflict.Macron had talks with Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who has
already floated the idea of sending Dutch F-16s to Ukraine."Nothing is excluded in principle," Macron said.Any arms delivery "must not
weaken the capacity of the French armed forces," he said, adding that France would have to be confident that the weapons would not be used
Ukraine's supplies of artillery munitions heavily depleted, France and Australia announced Monday a deal to jointly produce 155 mm shells
for Kyiv's forces."Several thousand 155 mm shells will be manufactured jointly," French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said."There are
some unique capabilities that exist in Australia and some synergies that can be achieved by Australia and France working together in
relation to the supply of this ammunition," said his Australian counterpart Richard Marles.Meanwhile, in Seoul, NATO Secretary General Jens
Stoltenberg asked South Korea to "step up" military support for Ukraine, suggesting it reconsider its policy of not exporting weapons to
countries in conflict.There is an "urgent need for more ammunition," Stoltenberg said.It is "extremely important that President Putin
Zelensky following the unattributed weekend strikes that targeted an Iranian defense industry site in Isfahan that reportedly produced
bills the authors and accomplices strictly," he said, adding: "Ukraine did warn you."Iran has been supplying attack drones to Russia for use
against Ukraine.Iran's foreign ministry said Ukraine's charge d'affaires in Tehran had been summoned to provide "an official and
immediate explanation" for remarks it called "strange and biased."The foreign ministry added in a statement that it hoped "such positions
