Ukraine: US announces $1bn package of weapons, ammo
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has pleaded for more and faster deliveries of Western arms
Agencies
WASHINGTON/KYIV: US President Joe Biden announced a new package of arms and ammunition for Ukraine on Wednesday after reaffirming Washington’s support for Kyiv against Russia’s invasion in a call with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The package of $1 billionworth of arms includes more artillery, coastal anti-ship defence systems and ammunition for artillery and advanced rocket systems that Ukraine is already using, Biden said.
In the phone call, Biden said he “reaffirmed my commitment that the US will stand by Ukraine as it defends its democracy and support its sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of unprovoked Russian aggression”, according to a statement.
West must step up arms deliveries, says Austin
The West must step up weapons deliveries to Ukraine and prove its commitment to helping the country’s military fight along a 1,000km front line in a grinding war of attrition with Russia, US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday.
Opening a meeting in Brussels on supporting Ukraine, Austin urged more than 45 participating nations to demonstrate “our unwavering determination to get Ukraine the capabilities that it urgently needs to defend itself”. The meeting came on the opening day of a a two-day gathering of Nato defence ministers at the alliance’s headquarters.
In his nightly address to the nation, President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded on Tuesday for more and faster deliveries of Western arms, specifically asking for anti-missile systems.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi are planning to visit Ukraine on Thursday for talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to people familiar with the plans.
Ukraine’s govt refuses to surrender in eastern city
Ukraine ignored a Russian ultimatum to surrender the eastern city of Severodonetsk on Wednesday. Russia had told Ukrainian forces holed up in a chemical plant in the shattered city to stop “senseless resistance and lay down arms” from Wednesday morning, pressing its advantage in the battle for control of eastern Ukraine. Plans announced by Moscow to open a humanitarian corridor for civilians stuck in the plant were disrupted by Ukrainian shelling, Russian-backed separatists were quoted by RIA news agency as saying. The separatists had planned to take the civilians to territory under their own control. Ukraine says more than 500 civilians, including 40 children, are trapped alongside soldiers inside the Azot chemical factory, where its forces have resisted weeks of Russian bombardment that has reduced much of Severodonetsk to ruins.