The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, promised this Tuesday (05/14/2024) in kyiv that his country will support Ukraine until its security is “guaranteed” against Russia, which claimed new progress in its offensive in the northeast.
“The United States is on your side from day one” and “we will continue until Ukraine’s security, sovereignty and ability to choose its own path are guaranteed,” Blinken declared during a speech to students in the Ukrainian capital.
Blinken, who arrived in kyiv in the morning on a surprise visit, promised in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that US military aid is “on the way.”
“A part has already arrived. And more will arrive” and “this is going to make a real difference against Russian aggression on the battlefield,” said the Secretary of State.
Ukraine declared electrical blackouts in all regions because the damage from Russian bombing prevents the system from coping with the drop in temperatures, the state operator Ukrenergo reported this Tuesday.
“From 9:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m., Ukrenergo was forced to impose controlled emergency blackouts in all regions of Ukraine. The reason is the shortage of electricity in the system due to Russian bombing and the increase in consumption due to the cold” , indicated the operator in a publication on Telegram.
In the capital kyiv, the municipal administration said 10% of homes were disconnected.
Zelensky urged the West to accelerate the delivery of weapons in the face of the new Russian ground offensive, launched on Friday, May 10, in northeastern Ukraine, after weeks of bombing.
“We need a notable acceleration of deliveries. Too much time has already passed between the announcement of the packages [de ayuda] and the actual arrival of weapons on the front lines,” he lamented on Tuesday night, after his meeting with Blinken.
The surprise Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region, located near the border with Russia and whose eponymous capital is Ukraine’s second city, forced the evacuation of thousands of people.
A Russian bombing this Tuesday caused at least 20 injuries in the city of Kharkiv, which had almost one and a half million inhabitants before the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
A guided aerial bomb hit a residential building and “destroyed a part of the [décima] plant,” the region’s police chief, Serguii Bolvinov, explained to AFP.
For its part, the Russian Army assured on Tuesday that it continues to “advance deeply towards the defenses” of Ukraine and claimed the capture of a new town near the border and the city of Vovchansk.
This attack occurs when the Ukrainian defense is weakened due to the delay in deliveries of American and European military aid.
Unlocking US aid
On April 20, 2024, the US Congress voted on a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine that was blocked for months by internal political issues in the United States, in the middle of an election year.
Since then, the United States has released some $1.4 billion in military aid, primarily Patriot and NASAMS anti-aircraft systems, as well as artillery ammunition.
The Ukrainian president also insisted on the need to receive more air defense means, and demanded two batteries of Patriot surface-to-air missiles for the Kharkiv region.
The situation in Vovchansk is “critical,” the head of the local administration, Tamaz Gambarachvili, told television, citing “constant shelling” and fighting “in the outskirts of the city.”
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, Russia has achieved “tactical successes” and about thirty villages are under enemy fire. Around 7,000 people were evacuated. This operation raises fears of the Russian advance against a Ukrainian Army that lacks resources.
Zelensky assured on Monday, May 13, that Ukrainian troops were counterattacking in the region and that the sector had been reinforced.
The head of Ukrainian national security, Oleksandr Lytvynenko, said in an interview with AFP that “more than 30,000” Russian soldiers were attacking in this area, but that there was no “threat” at the moment in Kharkiv, located about 30 km from the fighting.
In a telephone conversation with Zelensky on Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned “the intensification of Russian bombing” in Ukraine and the current offensive in the northeast.
For his part, the new Russian Minister of Defense, Andrei Belousov, declared that he wanted to achieve victory in Ukraine with “minimal human losses”, while numerous military experts estimate the losses suffered by the Russian Army at several tens of thousands of deaths.
mg (afp, ap)
Russia intensifies attacks on Ukrainian border towns
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