Ukraine announced this Thursday (8) that it has reclaimed territory conquered by Russia, and indicated that its counteroffensive will continue its momentum thanks to the new multi-million dollar aid from the United States for the purchase of military equipment.
“Our heroes have already liberated dozens of cities. And this movement continues today,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the nation. said.
“In total, more than 1,000 square kilometers have been liberated since September 1,” he said shortly after announcing that his forces had regained control of Balakliya in the Kharkov region, which had been under Russian control since March.
In the same region in the northeast of the country, Ukrainian troops “were 50 kilometers beyond the enemy lines” and liberated “more than 20 cities”, Ukraine’s senior official of the General Staff Oleksiy Gromov reported.
The same source said Kyiv forces “liberated several cities” in the south and advanced towards Kramatorsk and Sloviansk regions in the Donbass basin (east).
According to Zelensky, the reconquest will continue its momentum thanks to military aid announced during a surprise visit to Kyiv by the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken.
“There are important signs that the United States is with us. For us, this is a guarantee that we will get our lands back,” he said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian president Blinken.
The new aid package totals $2.6 billion for Ukraine and its neighbors. It includes $675 million in weapons, ammunition and supplies, and a $1 billion long-term loan for Ukraine to purchase U.S. equipment.
The US stated that GMLRS-type rocket launch systems include “105 mm howitzers, artillery munitions, Humvees (vehicles), armored ambulances, anti-tank systems, small arms and more.”
Zelensky has repeatedly said that Moscow plans to retake “all Russian-occupied territories”, including the peninsula of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
“It is early yet, but we are seeing clear and real progress on the ground, especially in the Kherson (south) region, but also interesting developments in Donbass and the east,” Blinken told reporters.
– “continuous” support to Ukraine –
Last week, the Ukrainian army launched a counterattack in the south, but it has exhausted its Russian-made weapons and its defense now depends entirely on Western military aid.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with several allies at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany to discuss support for Kiev.
US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley said the fifth meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group was aimed at demonstrating the “unity and solidarity” of Ukraine’s allies. Representatives from more than 40 countries and international organizations attended the event.
“We now see the demonstrable success of our joint efforts on the battlefield,” Austin said. Said. General Milley assured him that the Ukrainian counteroffensive was “continuous and planned”.
However, he added that it is still “too early” to make a comprehensive assessment of the performance of the Kyiv troops.
A White House official, who asked not to be named, said US President Joe Biden would speak on the phone with his allies on Thursday, emphasizing “his continued support for Ukraine”.
The United States is Ukraine’s largest supplier of military aid and has provided approximately $15.2 billion in weapons since the beginning of the conflict, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, artillery pieces and shells compatible with NATO artillery systems.
Kyiv wants long-range weapons of the ATACMS type with a radius of 300 km, but the United States refuses to deliver them, fearing that they could hit targets on Russian soil, which could lead to a worsening of the conflict.
“Current US policy is that we don’t send ATACMS,” said General Milley. “We believe that the range of the Himars is sufficient to meet the needs of the Ukrainians in their current struggle,” he said.
Artillery is decisive in this conflict. The Ukrainian and Russian armies engaged in a war of attrition that consumed large quantities of ammunition.
Russia said on Thursday it had attacked five command posts and shot down 13 drones. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said that Russia has withstood the Western sanctions brought by the war better than expected.
Pointing out that the GDP fell by just over 1% on an annual basis in the first six months of 2022, Mishustin said, “They could not reach their main target. They did not succeed in undermining our financial stability.”
Since the beginning of the February 24 invasion of Ukraine, the West has sought to isolate Russia on all fronts.
Poland and the Baltic states announced on Thursday that they are temporarily restricting the entry of Russian citizens on European visas into their territories.
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© Agence France-Press
source: Noticias
