President Biden is persuading Congress to grant Ukraine a next $ 33 billion bailout package.
In Ukraine, airstrikes and grenade fire by Russian troops have escalated across the eastern front, local authorities said. The governor of the Donetsk region Pavlo Kyrylenkon Missile strikes have also taken place in Kharkov in the north and Mykolaiv in the south.
In some places, Ukrainian forces have also been able to counter-attack. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, the Russians were forced to destroy three bridges near Kharkov to slow down the progress of the Ukrainians.
According to British intelligence, the effective anti-tank weapons supplied by the West have also proved effective against the latest Russian tanks.
– The conflict in Ukraine is heavily taxing Russia’s best units and the most advanced armaments. Reconstruction of the Russian armed forces will take a long time and a lot of money, military intelligence concluded.
Western economic sanctions make it even more difficult to re-equip the military, military intelligence recalled.
New weapons assistance planned
President of the United States Joe Biden has announced a new arms aid package for Ukraine. The package, which includes artillery ammunition, research and other equipment, is worth $ 150 million.
According to the US Department of Defense, this is the ninth transfer of equipment to Ukraine from its reserves since August 2021.
The United States has provided Ukraine with a total of 4.5 billion worth of security assistance during Biden’s presidency. As of 2014, security assistance has been provided to the value of 6.5 billion, according to the Ministry of Defense.
According to the President, the funding granted so far to Ukraine, which defended its independence in the war of invasion of Russia, is beginning to run out, and this called on Congress to provide more support. Biden is trying to persuade Congress to give Ukraine the next $ 33 billion aid package. Military support from this package would be $ 20 billion.
According to Biden, the amount of security assistance provided by the United States to Ukraine is historic and has been provided at a significantly rapid pace. Prior to the latest arms aid package, the United States had already sent weapons and equipment worth about $ 3.8 billion to Ukraine since the start of the offensive war.
Zelenskyi: Take air alerts seriously
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi in his daily speech, called on all citizens to take air alerts seriously.
– Don’t ignore air strikes. Please, this is your life, the life of your children, the President said, adding that the regulations on outdoor activities must also be complied with.
According to the President, access to forests held by Russia is also banned due to possible mines.
Zelenskyi said evacuations from Mariupol and Azovstal continued with the help of the UN and the Red Cross. The aim is also to get the soldiers left behind in Azovstal.
Zelensky, who addressed the Icelandic parliament on Friday, was visited in Kiev by the foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
– They have consistently supported our struggle against Russian invasion. I am very grateful, Zelenskyi said in his speech, saying that the visit had dealt with increasing pressure against Russia in coordinated steps.
On Sunday, Zelenskyi will attend the German Chancellor Olaf Scholzin to lead a virtual meeting of the G7 countries.
The closed discussion, which will begin in Finnish time from the evening, will deal with, among other things, the latest developments in the war of aggression launched by Russia in Ukraine and the global effects of the war.