The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen called on Saturday February 18 to “redouble your efforts” in military support to Ukraine to help repel the Russian invasion. “We must continue the very massive support necessary to frustrate the imperialist plans of [Vladimir] Cheese fries”she said during a speech at the Munich Security Conference. “It’s time to speed up because Ukraine needs equipment to survive”, she insisted. Follow the situation in our live.
The US military has released almost a billion dollars to restock artillery ammunition. This is 155 mm caliber artillery ammunition, used in large quantities by Ukraine. Caesar cannons, for example, use them. The aim is to produce between 12,000 and 20,000 additional artillery rounds per month, she said. A US official said Russian forces fired around 20,000 rounds a day. For its part, Ukraine was firing between 4,000 and 7,000 rounds a day, a higher rate than Western arms manufacturers can produce.
A first group of Ukrainian soldiers completes their training by American forces. Some 600 Ukrainian soldiers have completed training provided by the United States, including large-scale maneuvers that could help Ukraine in its upcoming operations against Russia, the Pentagon said on Friday.
The Wagner militia claims to have taken over a locality in North Bakhmout. Russian militia leader Wagner said on Friday that his troops had taken the Ukrainian town of Paraskoviïvka, a town bordering Bakhmout to the north, the scene of the longest battle in the Donbass for a year. “Despite the ammunition blockade, despite heavy losses and bloody battles, the guys took the entire settlement of Paraskoviïvka”, said Evguéni Prigojine, quoted by his press service. On Friday evening, these statements could not, at this stage, be verified by an independent source.