The American House of Representatives finally approved this weekend the military and economic aid package of nearly $61 billion for Ukraine. News celebrated in kyiv, but which should not immediately upset the balance of forces.
The bill still needs to be passed by the Senate and approved by US President Joe Biden, and only then can the long transport of aid to Ukraine begin. And this, while Ukrainian intelligence expects a difficult situation on the front in the coming weeks, and while fighting is still raging around the key town of Chassiv Yar, in the east of the country.
Information to remember
⇒ Aid to Ukraine: the EU promises not to rely on the United States
⇒ The situation on the front will worsen around mid-May, warns kyiv
⇒ Poland says it is ready to host nuclear weapons on its soil
Aid to Ukraine: the EU promises not to rely on the United States
The Europeans assured Monday that they would continue to help Ukraine after the United States granted aid of nearly $61 billion to kyiv. “We must move forward, this is a crucial moment,” said the head of Latvian diplomacy, Baiba Braze, upon her arrival in Luxembourg for a meeting of Union foreign and defense ministers. European.
“This is not only a positive and important moment for Ukraine, but also to better ensure peace in Europe,” declared the head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock. And, “this is why we are going to discuss intensely here (in Luxembourg) […] how to increase our aid to Ukraine, particularly with regard to anti-aircraft defense,” assured the German minister.
Situation on front will get worse by mid-May, says kyiv
The situation on the Ukrainian front will worsen around mid-May and early June, which will be a “difficult period”, Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Boudanov warned on Monday, as fears of a new Russian offensive grow. reinforce.
The Russian army “is carrying out a complex operation”, he said. “We think that a rather difficult situation awaits us in the near future. But we must understand that it will not be catastrophic,” Kyrylo Boudanov reassured. “Armageddon will not happen, contrary to what many are saying at the moment. But there will be problems from mid-May,” he added.
Poland says it is ready to host nuclear weapons on its soil
Poland is ready to welcome nuclear weapons on its territory if NATO, of which it is a member, decides to strengthen its eastern flank in the face of Russia’s deployment of new weapons in neighboring Kaliningrad and Belarus, said the Polish president in an interview published Monday.
“If our allies decide to deploy nuclear weapons within the framework of nuclear sharing on our territory in order to strengthen the security of the eastern flank of NATO, we are ready to do so,” Andrzej Duda explained to the popular daily Fakt. Asked about this possibility, the Kremlin spokesperson said on Monday that Russia will guarantee its “security” if this were to happen.
Fierce fighting towards Chassiv Iar
Russian and Ukrainian forces engaged in fierce fighting this Sunday near the key town of Chassiv Yar. The Russian Defense Ministry said at midday that the town of Bogdanivka (east) had been “completely liberated”. But at the end of the day, the Ukrainian forces declared that they had “repulsed” the Russian army which “with the support of the aviation, tried to improve its tactical situation”.
A small town with fewer than 100 inhabitants before the war, Bogdanivka is less than 10 km from Chassiv Iar, a target town for the Russian army. The latter is itself less than 30 km southeast of Kramatorsk, the main city still under Ukrainian control in the Donetsk region and an important rail and logistics hub for the Ukrainian army.