Britain promised on Thursday to send to Ukraine sophisticated medium-range missile systems, joining the United States and Germany in equipping the country in battle with advanced weapons.
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) – Britain on Thursday promised to send to Ukraine sophisticated medium-range missile systems, joining the United States and Germany in equipping the country in battle with modern weapons for shooting down planes and knocking out artillery.
Western weapons were crucial to Ukraine’s success in deterring a much larger and better-equipped Russian army during the 99th-day war. But as Russian forces approached a key city in recent days, the Ukrainian government said its fighters needed the best missile launchers to win.
The Kremlin spokesman again warned of “absolutely undesirable and rather unpleasant scenarios” when the latest weapons supplied by the West will be released in Russia.
“This pumping of Ukraine with weapons … will bring more suffering to Ukraine, which is just an instrument in the hands of those countries that supply it with weapons,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Russian troops continued to strike at cities and towns overnight and tightened their grip on the eastern city of Severodonetsk. The UK Ministry of Defense said Russia had captured most of the city, one of two in Luhansk province that remained under Ukrainian control.
Speaking on video at a security conference in Slovakia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for even more weapons and sanctions against Russia.
“Today, the occupiers control almost 20% of our territory, almost 125,000 square kilometers (48,262 square miles),” he said.
Zelensky said that Russia had fired 15 cruise missiles in the past 24 hours and used 2,478 missiles, invading Ukraine on February 24, “most of which were aimed at civilian infrastructure.”
UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has said the UK will send an unspecified number of M270 launchers that can fire precision missiles at a distance of up to 80 kilometers (50 miles). He said that the Ukrainian military will be trained in the UK on the use of technology.
The British government says the decision to provide launchers has been closely agreed with the US government, which said on Wednesday that it would supply high-mobility missile systems to Ukraine.
Both missile systems are similar, but the American has wheels, and the British – also American-made – works on caterpillars.
Germany has been criticized for not doing enough to help Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf said on Wednesday that his country would supply Ukraine with modern anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems. He told lawmakers that the IRIS-T ground-to-air missiles Germany had planned to supply were the country’s most advanced air defense system.
On Thursday, Sweden also announced plans to hand over weapons to Kiev. These include missiles, semi-automatic rifles and anti-tank weapons, said Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist. The country’s parliament is expected to approve the donation.
After the weapons supplied by the West helped Ukraine repel Russia’s attempts to storm the capital, Moscow shifted its focus to capturing the entire industrial region of eastern Ukraine, Donbass. As the Russian military has been steadily bombing Ukrainian-occupied areas, an attack on them has led to an increase over the past week, as well as
The Ukrainian military expert said that the growth of Russian missile strikes was a response to the new promised weapons.
“The supply of Western weapons is of great concern to the Kremlin, because even without sufficient weapons, the Ukrainian army is boldly resisting the offensive,” military analyst Oleg Zhdanov told the Associated Press.
Military analysts believe that Russia hopes to capture the Donbass before any weapons that can break the course. The Pentagon will need at least three weeks to withdraw high-precision weapons and trained U.S. troops to the battlefield. But Deputy Defense Minister Colin Cal said he believes they will arrive in time to change the situation.
Kyiv is also going to receive a diplomatic stimulus with the official installation of a new US ambassador to Ukraine. U.S. Ambassador Bridget Brink was scheduled to present her credentials to Zelensky on Thursday.
Brink will become Washington’s first ambassador to Kyiv after former US President Donald Trump abruptly expelled Ambassador Marie Jovanovic in 2019. She later became a key figure in Trump’s first impeachment proceedings.
Ahead of Senate approval last month, Brink promised senators she would work to make Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “strategic failure.” Her work in Kyiv is expected to focus on coordinating Western arms supplies.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Ukraine’s repeated desire for more weapons “a direct provocation aimed at involving the West in hostilities.” He warned that US-supplied multiple rocket launchers would increase the risk of escalating the conflict.
Meanwhile, Russian troops continued to bomb the Donbass and other parts of Ukraine, and ground forces advanced in the east,
The governor of the region said that Russian forces now control 80% of Severodonetsk, a city that is key to Moscow’s efforts to complete the capture of Donbass. Russian-backed Ukrainian troops and separatists fought in the eastern region for eight years, and the separatists held areas until the Russian invasion.
Military analyst Zhdanov noted that after the fierce fighting in and around Severodonetsk, Russian forces would be “exhausted,” and military leaders would need to replenish both their troops and weapons.
“Ukraine will try to use this pause to accumulate Western weapons, form a strategic reserve and prepare for a counteroffensive,” he said.
The only city in Luhansk province that the Russians have not yet captured, Lisichansk, is still completely under Ukrainian control, the governor said, but is likely to be the next target. The two cities are separated by a river.
Moscow forces also stormed the city of Kamyshuvakha in the southeastern Zaporozhye region, much of which is under Russian control, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Thursday.
In the western Lviv region, a Russian missile hit railway lines that were a key channel for Western arms supplies and other supplies, officials said.
In his night video, Zelensky drew attention to the children of Ukraine. According to him, 243 of them died in the war, 446 were wounded and 139 went missing. The real numbers could be higher, he added, as his government does not have a complete picture of areas under Russian occupation.
Zelensky said that among the Ukrainians who were forcibly deported to Russia and dispersed across this vast country, there are 200,000 children: “The goal of this criminal policy is not just to steal people, but to make deportees forget about Ukraine and cannot return. ”
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This was announced by Bekataros from the Ukrainian Slavyansk. Yuras Karmanov from Lviv, Ukraine, Ricardo Mazalan in Kyiv, Alexander Stashevsky from Patashnya, Ukraine, and Associated Press reporters from around the world.
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