At the dawn of the start of a third year of war, the Ukrainian army, exhausted by a failed counter-offensive, finds itself bracing in defense, faced with a frozen front. Faced with more numerous and better armed Russians, kyiv is therefore counting on the clear support of Washington. This Sunday, the US Senate took a crucial step towards the adoption of $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, blocked in Congress for months. By gathering 67 votes in a procedural vote, the Senate indicates that it has the votes necessary for the subsequent approval of this envelope, which will however face stiff opposition from Republican elected officials in the House of Representatives.
Information to remember:
⇒ Aid to Ukraine advances in the US Senate
⇒ Biden denounces “distressing and dangerous” comments from Trump on NATO
⇒ Paris, Berlin and Warsaw will join forces against Russian disinformation
Crucial vote in the US Senate
The American Senate took a crucial step on Sunday for the adoption of colossal new aid to Ukraine, but the granting of this envelope eagerly awaited in Kiev risks encountering a categorical refusal from the Trumpist Republicans of the other chamber of Congress. The text provides in particular 60 billion for Ukraine – which has been fighting against a Russian invasion since February 2022 – and 14 billion for Israel against Hamas.
By gathering 67 votes for this procedural vote, the Senate indicates that it has the necessary votes for the subsequent approval of this envelope. The date of the next vote in the upper house is not yet known, but it could be held at the beginning of the week. In the House of Representatives, the measure will face stiff opposition from right-wing Republican elected officials. The package also includes funds for a strategic ally of the United States, Taiwan. The lion’s share, however, would go to Ukraine and help it replenish its stocks of munitions, weapons and other essential needs as the country enters a third year of war.
Ukraine and Russian disinformation on the agenda of a meeting between Paris, Berlin and Warsaw
The fight against disinformation coming from Russia and increased support for Ukraine are on the agenda of the discussions of the French, German and Polish foreign ministers this Monday, meeting near Paris.
The new head of French diplomacy Stéphane Séjourné invited his German counterparts Annalena Baerbock and Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski to a meeting in “Weimar” format at the Château de La Celle-Saint-Cloud, in the Paris suburbs, a historic site and property of the Ministry of Affairs foreign countries which once welcomed Queen Elizabeth II and “First Lady” Jacqueline Kennedy. On Monday, France, Germany and Poland will unveil new cooperation against foreign disinformation operations, particularly coming from Russia, Stéphane Séjourné announced this weekend.
Biden denounces Trump’s “distressing and dangerous” comments on NATO
Joe Biden on Sunday described as “distressing and dangerous” comments made the day before by Donald Trump during a meeting, during which the Republican affirmed that he would encourage Russia to attack NATO countries if they did not pay their share.
“The fact that Donald Trump admits that he intends to give Putin the green light for more war and violence, to continue his brutal assault on a free Ukraine and to extend his aggression to the people of Poland and the Baltic states is distressing and dangerous,” the Democratic president said in a statement about his likely rival in the November presidential election.
45 nighttime drone attacks
Ukraine announced Sunday that it had destroyed most of the 45 drones launched by Russia overnight Saturday, causing little material destruction. “During the night, the occupier launched 45 drone attacks… And at the end of the fighting, 40 Shahed drones were destroyed,” the Ukrainian air forces said on Telegram.
Falling debris lightly injured a 39-year-old man in the east-central Dnipro region, Governor Sergiy Lysak said. According to the authorities of kyiv and the central region of Cherkasy, no damage has been noted at this stage. But air-guided bombs targeted the village of Vodyane, in the eastern Kharkiv region, killing a 56-year-old woman, the governor, Oleg Synegoubov, said.
Russian forces use Starlink on the front, says kyiv
“Yes, “cases of use of these devices by the Russian occupiers have been recorded. This is beginning to take on a systemic character,” Andrii Yusov, spokesperson for the Main Directorate of Ukrainian Military Intelligence, told the RBC-Ukraine newspaper.
According to the UNIAN news agency, radio interceptions have established that Russian units stationed near Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine, have “begun massive use of Starlink on the front”. Starlink has a network of more than 2,000 small satellites in low orbit above the earth, which help provide internet access. Terrestrial terminals are then connected to routers which make it possible to generate wifi and therefore internet access.