The United States has decided on a new military aid package for 325 million dollars. Kiev: “Counteroffensive will not be announced”
The United States has decided a new package of military aid to Ukraine for 325 million dollars. The announcement came from Secretary of State Antony Blinken, explaining that “more ammunition is planned for the Himars, artillery shells, anti-tank rockets, small arms and logistics vehicles”.
Yesterday Kiev announced the arrival of the Patriots. “Our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes safer because Patriot air defense systems have arrived in Ukraine,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Twitter, thanking the Netherlands, Germany and the United States.
COUNTER-OFFENSE – Kiev will not announce any counter-offensive against Russian forces. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on national television as Russia continues to launch attacks on Ukraine. “It is important to understand – said Maliar – that the armed forces will never say ‘tomorrow we will launch a counter-offensive’. It’s impossible to do that, because it’s confidential information.”
“The counteroffensive would not involve just a few operations, but rather a broader effort towards the strategic goal of liberating the entire Ukrainian territory from Russian occupation,” the deputy minister added, noting that it would include “further training of her forces.”
“The plan for the counteroffensive will be ready when we know that the enemy will not have time to react – he said again – Our Armed Forces are constantly preparing, on a daily basis, for the complete liberation of our territories. And this provides for a huge set of measures , not just a counteroffensive”.
FINANCIAL TIMES – According to the Financial Times, Ukraine will request urgent supplies of surface-to-air missiles at the Contact Group on Ukraine meeting in Ramstein next Friday. According to the FT, Ukrainian officials fear that a shortcoming in defense systems could lead Russia to launch a bombing campaign.
CHINA – Meanwhile, while Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev has threatened South Korea following news that Seoul may change its stance on arms shipments to Ukraine, China supports European efforts to kick off peace talks on Ukraine. Beijing’s position was underlined by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin, commenting during a press conference on the news, reported by the Bloomberg agency, according to which the French president, Emmanuel Macron, would be seeking Beijing’s side to start negotiations between Moscow and Kiev.
These negotiations should be based on Europe’s “fundamental long-term interests” and should take into account the “legitimate concerns of all parties,” Wang said, stressing that all parties must strive to establish mutual trust.
Source-www.adnkronos.com