The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
West promises Kyiv new arms to defend Donbas
Russia has pounded eastern and southern Ukraine as the US promised to “keep moving heaven and earth” to get Kyiv the weapons it needs to repel the new offensive, despite Moscow’s warnings that such support could trigger a wider war.
For the second day in a row, mysterious explosions rocked the separatist region of Trans-Dniester in neighbouring Moldova, knocking out two powerful radio antennas close to the Ukrainian border and further heightening fears of a broader conflict erupting across Europe.
No one claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Russian missile fire also knocked out a strategic rail bridge along a route that links the southern Odesa port region to neighbouring Romania, a Nato member,
Ukrainian authorities said. The attack on the bridge – along with a series of strikes on key rail stations a day earlier – appears to mark a major shift in Russia’s approach.
Up to now, Moscow has spared strategic bridges, perhaps in the hopes of keeping them for its own use in seizing Ukraine.
But now it seems to be trying to thwart Ukraine’s efforts to move troops and supplies.
Southern Ukraine and Moldova have been on edge since a senior Russian military officer said last week that the Kremlin’s goal is to secure not just eastern Ukraine but the entire south, so as to open the way to Trans-Dniester.
US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said that more help was on the way, as he convened a meeting of officials from around 40 countries at the United States’ Ramstein Air Base in Germany to pledge more weapons.
Germany announced it has cleared the way for delivery of Gepard antiaircraft guns to Ukraine.
“This gathering reflects the galvanised world,” Mr Austin said in his opening remarks.
He added that he wanted officials to leave the meeting “with a common and transparent understanding of Ukraine’s near-term security requirements because we’re going to keep moving heaven and earth so that we can meet them”.
After unexpectedly fierce resistance by Ukrainian forces thwarted Russia’s attempt to take Ukraine’s capital Kyiv early in the war, Moscow now says its focus is the Donbas, the mostly Russian-speaking industrial region in eastern Ukraine.
That move is already having a devastating effect on civilians trapped in the conflict.
In the small city of Toretsk, residents are struggling to survive, collecting rainwater for cleaning and washing up and fervently hoping for an end to the fighting.
“It’s bad. Very bad. Hopeless,” said Andriy Cheromushkin.
With the potentially pivotal battle for the Donbas under way, the US and its Nato allies are scrambling to get artillery and other heavy weaponry to that area in time to make a difference.
German defence minister Christine Lambrecht said her government decided on Monday to clear the delivery of Gepard selfpropelled armoured antiaircraft guns to Ukraine, though she did not give details.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz has faced mounting pressure, including from within his governing coalition, to approve sending heavy weapons such as tanks and other armoured vehicles to Ukraine.
Mr Austin also noted yesterday that more than 30 allies and partners have joined the US in sending security assistance to Ukraine, and more than five billion dollars worth of equipment has been committed.