After having thwarted Russia’s plans, Ukraine could also win the battle of Donbass, and win the war, the United States wants to believe. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said on Monday April 25 that Ukraine was capable of this, adopting a resolutely offensive tone the day after the first visit to kyiv by American leaders since the Russian invasion. But only if they “have the right equipment, the right support”, he admitted.
“The first thing to win is to believe that you can win. And they are convinced that they can win”, also launched the American Minister of Defense to some journalists about the Ukrainians.
Lloyd Austin and US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken spoke to the press on Monday morning only after a long train journey between the Ukrainian capital and Poland, after a short and discreet visit to Ukraine. . However, this made it possible to announce the gradual return of an American diplomatic presence in Ukraine and additional military aid to the tune of 700 million dollars.
“We want to see Russia weakened to such a degree that it cannot do the same kinds of things as the invasion of Ukraine,” the Pentagon chief said. “She’s already lost a lot of military capabilities, and a lot of troops to be frank, and we wouldn’t want her to be able to quickly replenish those capabilities,” he added.
- Russia expels 40 German diplomats in retaliation
The expulsion by Russia of 40 German diplomats, in retaliation for a similar measure recently taken by Berlin, is “unjustified”, reacted on Monday the German Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“The 40 members of the Russian representations in Germany whom we expelled three weeks ago did not work a single day in the service of diplomacy during their stay in Germany”, denounces in a press release Annalena Baerbock, assuring that the German diplomats expelled had “absolutely nothing to be ashamed of”.
- Mariupol: “no agreement” for a humanitarian corridor from Azovstal, according to kyiv
No agreement was reached on Monday to create a humanitarian corridor allowing the evacuation of civilians holed up with Ukrainian fighters in the besieged Azovstal metallurgical complex in Mariupol, southeastern Ukraine, kyiv said.
“I officially and publicly declare that unfortunately there is no agreement regarding a humanitarian corridor from Azovstal today,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk wrote on Telegram, shortly after Russia announced that it would cease hostilities to allow the evacuation of civilians.
- Five dead in strikes on railway installations in the center-west of the country
At least five people were killed and 18 injured on Monday in Russian strikes on railway facilities in the Vinnytsia region of central-western Ukraine, the local prosecutor’s office said.
“As a result of enemy shelling, five people were killed and 18 injured,” he said in a statement, adding that the rocket fire in the morning had targeted “transport infrastructure” near small towns. towns of Jmerynka and Koziatyn. Earlier, Ukrainian Railways Director Oleksandr Kamyshin said on Telegram that “Russian troops continue to systematically destroy railway infrastructure”.
- Ukraine offers talks to Russia
The day before, Ukraine had offered Russia talks next to the vast Azovstal metallurgical complex in Mariupol, as announced on Sunday April 24 by the Ukrainian presidency.
“We have invited the Russians to hold a special session of talks right next to the Azovstal site,” an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleksiy Arestovitch, said during a briefing, indicating “waiting for the response” from the delegation. Russian.
- Russia says it shot down two Ukrainian drones
Russia shot down two Ukrainian drones on Monday night near the border with Ukraine, where Moscow has been carrying out a military offensive for more than two months, local authorities said. No deaths or injuries.
This announcement comes shortly after Russian authorities reported that a fire of undetermined origin was ravaging a fuel depot located in the neighboring region of Bryansk, about 200 km north of Rylsk. The fire was reported around 2 a.m. local time, authorities said, about two hours before the two drones were destroyed in the Kursk region. However, there was no immediate reason to establish a link between these two incidents.
- UN calls for ‘immediate’ truce in Mariupol
The UN called on Sunday for an “immediate” truce in Mariupol, to allow the evacuation of some 100,000 civilians still stuck in this Ukrainian port almost entirely controlled by the Russian army, in a press release from its coordinator in Ukraine.
“There needs to be a break in the fighting now to save lives. The longer we wait, the more lives will be at risk. They must be allowed to evacuate now, today. Tomorrow will be too late,” Amin Awad said.
kyiv had indicated earlier on Sunday that Russian forces were continuing to bombard this strategic city on the Sea of Azov and in particular the Azovstal steelworks, the last pocket of resistance for Ukrainian fighters and refuge for hundreds of civilians.
- Already the third month of war
As the war entered its third month, fighting continued Sunday in the east and south of the country. Kharkiv (north-east), Ukraine’s second city, is still “partially blocked” by the Russians, who continue to bombard it, according to the Ukrainian general staff.
The Russian army, for its part, said it had carried out missile strikes against nine Ukrainian military targets, including four ammunition depots south of the Kharkiv region. Moscow also said it carried out airstrikes against 26 targets, and 423 artillery strikes.
In the Donbass basin, Russian troops have “intensified their offensives” in three directions, according to kyiv: Severodonetsk, de facto capital of the Lugansk region under Ukrainian control, Popasna, about fifty kilometers further south, and Kurakhikva, near from Donetsk.