The head of American diplomacy, on a surprise visit to Ukraine on Tuesday, tried to reassure kyiv about the arrival of American military aid, at a time when Moscow assures “advance in depth” during its offensive in the Kharkiv border region .
The Russian army assured Tuesday that it had penetrated “deep into the Ukrainian defenses” and claimed the capture of a new village in the northeast of the country, where it launched a ground offensive on Friday, after weeks of bombing.
At the same time, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who arrived in kyiv in the morning, promised during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that aid was “on the way”.
“Some of it has already happened, more will happen” and “it will make a real difference on the battlefield,” he assured.
The United States, against a backdrop of internal disputes between Republicans and Democrats, took months to release some $61 billion in assistance promised by the White House, so much so that the Ukrainian army found itself short of funds. armaments as Russia returned to the attack during the fall and winter of 2023-2024.
Mr. Zelensky insisted on the need to receive more air defense assets, demanding two batteries of Patriot surface-to-air missiles for the Kharkiv region, targeted by a Russian ground assault since May 10 and which has suffered intense bombardment in recent years. weeks, leading in particular to rationing of electricity.
Mr. Blinken, whose fourth visit to kyiv since the start of the invasion in February 2022, had lunch with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kouleba in a pizzeria in the capital, before strolling for a few moments on foot in the center -city.
“Reassure the Ukrainians”
Three weeks after the release of American assistance, the United States released some $1.4 billion in military aid to draw on its stocks, mainly Patriot and NASAMS anti-aircraft systems which Ukraine sorely lacks, as well as as ammunition for artillery.
But the flow must accelerate considerably to make up for the lost months, especially since Russia has the initiative on the battlefield, has reserves of men and weapons and has established a war economy.
“This trip aims firstly to send a strong signal to reassure the Ukrainians who clearly find themselves in a very difficult situation, both due to the intensification of fighting on the Eastern Front, but also because the Russians are now expanding their cross-border attacks to Kharkiv,” a senior American official aboard the train carrying the secretary of state told reporters.
Russia launched an offensive on Friday against the Kharkiv region, whose eponymous capital, Ukraine’s second largest city, is located near their common border.
The Russian Defense Ministry assured Tuesday that its soldiers had “liberated” a village near the Russian border and the Ukrainian city of Vovchansk, and had “advanced deep into enemy defenses”.
Critical situation “
The situation in Vovchansk is “critical”, the head of the local military administration, Tamaz Gambarashvili, indicated on television, referring to “constant bombings” and fighting “in the vicinity of the city”.
According to the Ukrainian general staff, Russia has achieved “tactical successes” and around thirty villages are under enemy fire. Some 7,000 people were evacuated.
This operation raises fears of a Russian breakthrough in the face of a Ukrainian army lacking resources and which was already under heavy pressure on the Eastern and Southern fronts. President Zelensky assured Monday evening that “counterattacks” were taking place in the Kharkiv region and that the sector had been reinforced.
The head of Ukrainian national security, Oleksandr Lytvynenko, told AFP that “more than 30,000” Russian soldiers were attacking in this area, but that no “threat” currently weighed on Kharkiv, located a thirty kilometers from the fighting.
In a telephone exchange with Mr. Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned “the intensification of Russian strikes” in Ukraine and Moscow’s offensive in the northeast.
He “reiterated France’s determination to provide all the necessary support, over the long term and with all of its partners, to defeat Russia’s war of aggression.”
For his part, the new Russian Defense Minister, Andrei Beloussov, said he wanted to achieve victory in Ukraine with “minimal human losses”.
Many military experts observe that the Russian army has suffered heavy losses since the start of the war, estimated at several tens of thousands of deaths.