Ukraine needs ‘weapons, money and sanctions’ says Rudik
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The news comes as Russian advances appear to have stalled, forcing President Vladimir Putin to announce new tactics encompassing a wider field across Ukraine than expected. Western-provided long-range missiles -many of which have come from NATO allies – have seen an immediate impact on the conflict, giving the impression Ukraine is starting to regain some control over the war.
Writing about the current situation on Twitter, Kyiv Independent defence reporter Illia Ponomarekno says he is often asked to give his opinion on the actual situation on the ground, and how the war is progressing.
He said: “Foreign journalists often ask me if I was thinking that Ukraine was losing the war in March, April, or May.
“Generally speaking, in my opinion, we were not losing strategically — but we had no prerequisites for winning this war in the long run.
“Now with Western support, we have them.”
The latest Russian advances have been mapped out in the latest British Ministry of Defence (MoD) intelligence report on the conflict.
It states: “Russian and separatist forces continue to attempt small-scale assaults along the Donbas front line.
“Russian forces are likely closing in on Ukraine’s second biggest power plant at Vuhlehirska, 50km north-east of Donetsk.”
The report suggested Russia is once again seeking to tackle strategic targets in an effort to gain full control of the region.
It continued: “Russia is prioritising the capture of critical national infrastructure, such as power plants.
“However, it is probably also attempting to break through at Vuhlehirska, as part of its efforts to regain momentum on the southern pincer of its advance towards the key cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.”
Russian plans to expand the conflict wider were confirmed yesterday by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
In an interview published by the state news agency RIA Novosti on Wednesday, Mr Lavrov said that when Russia and Ukraine discussed a possible deal to end the hostilities, “our readiness to accept the Ukrainian proposal was based on the geography of March 2022.
“The geography is different now.
“It is not only about Donetsk and Luhansk.
“But also the Kherson region, the Zaporizhia region and a number of other territories.
“This process is continuing, consistently and persistently.”
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The United States believes Russia is preparing to annex seized territory in a similar way to Crimea.
Ukraine has suggested Russia is shying away from diplomacy in favour of conflict.
Mr Lavrov however, suggested Ukraine is not worthy of holding talks.
He said: “They simply will never be able to articulate anything that would deserve the serious attention of serious people.”
“Peace talks don’t make any sense in the current situation.”
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The European Union has also suggested Moscow is “blackmailing” Europe over energy supplies, in particular as Autumn and Winter are fast approaching and demand for fuel increases to meet the harsh weather conditions in certain parts of the continent.
The US has agreed to send more HIMARS systems to Ukraine in an attempt to further dissuade Moscow from advancing across more of the country.
Speaking of the need to supply such weapons, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said: “Ukraine needs the firepower and the ammunition to withstand this Russian barrage and to strike back.”
In addition, the US will provide additional Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (Gmlrs) ammunition, which can precisely strike targets up to 50 miles away.
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