Kremlin scoffs at new aid for Ukraine
MOSCOW – The Kremlin said Thursday that any new U.S. military aid for Ukraine would not change the situation at the front, where Kyiv’s forces were in a poor position, and cast such aid as part of a “colonial” policy that enriched the United States.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said he will hold a long-awaited vote on a new aid package as early as Saturday.
The proposed package includes $60.84 billion to address the conflict in Ukraine, of which $23.2 billion would be used to replenish U.S. weapons, stocks and facilities.
While the European Union has pledged more overall aid, the United States has given by far the biggest military contribution to help Ukraine fight Russia.
“Ukraine has to not only fight to provide profit for the Americans but it also has to fight to the last Ukrainian and is loaded up with debt,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “The favorite colonial policy of the United States of America.”
Peskov noted that “a very significant” part of the proposed aid would remain in the U.S. military-industrial complex.
“All experts and semi-experts can now see with the naked eye the situation on the front, which is far from favorable for the Ukrainian side, so this cannot change anything,” Peskov said of the aid package.
Russia controls about 18% of Ukraine, and Western leaders and intelligence chiefs say the war is at a crossroads that could lead to victory for Russia and humiliation for the West unless Ukraine urgently gets more support.
Russia’s war against Ukraine has triggered the worst crisis in relations between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, according to Russian and U.S. diplomats.
Ukraine, supported by the West, says it is defending itself against a Russian imperial-style land grab. Russia says the United States tried to shunt Ukraine into the West’s orbit and then use it to threaten Russia.
Stoltenberg says NATO working on more air defenses for Ukraine
NATO is working to send more air defense systems to Ukraine, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday, adding that delays in providing such aid were harming Kyiv’s efforts to resist Russia’s attacks.
“We have compiled data about the different air defense systems we have in NATO and focused on the Patriot systems. And we are working with allies to ensure that they redeploy some of their systems to Ukraine,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Italy.
“We are working at the possibility of more Patriot batteries to Ukraine. We are in dialogue with some specific countries,” Stoltenberg said, calling supply of the Patriot “critical” as it is the most advanced defense system the alliance can count on.
Stoltenberg said other defense systems might also be provided to Ukraine, including the NASALS surface-to-air missile system.
“Delays in the delivery of air defense mean that more Russian missiles will hit their targets in Ukraine. Delays in delivery of ammunition mean that Russia will be able to push more along the front line,” he added.
Stoltenberg said a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council would take place on Friday and that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was expected to participate virtually.
“I am encouraged by the commitment and the determination by NATO allies to stand up for Ukraine,” he told reporters, adding there were encouraging signs that the U.S. Congress might soon unlock the aid package for Ukraine worth $60.84 billion.
Russian missile launchers ‘critically damaged’ in Crimea
A Ukrainian attack on a military airfield in Russian-occupied Crimea on Wednesday seriously damaged four missile launchers, three radar stations and other equipment, Ukraine’s military spy agency said on Thursday.
Four launchers for S-400 surface-toair missiles and an air defense control point stationed at an air base in Dzhankoi were among equipment “destroyed or critically damaged,” the agency said on Telegram.
It added that the number of aircraft damaged or destroyed as a result of the attack was being clarified.
Several Telegram channels reported powerful blasts in Dzhankoi on Wednesday. Reuters was not able to verify the accounts.
Russia tightens rules on travel for some government officials
Russia is making overseas travel harder for some officials due to fears that foreign powers may try to gain access to state secrets during the worst crisis in relations with the West for more than 60 years, nine sources told Reuters.
The Federal Security Service or FSB is putting pressure on employees across government ministries not to leave Russia at all, even to visit so-called “friendly” countries that have not imposed sanctions against Moscow, the sources said.
Foreign travel was highly restricted during Soviet times, and even before the Ukraine war, those with access to certain secret information were banned from leaving Russia. Major Western powers also have tight travel rules for those with access to top-level secrets.