The U.S. and dozens of allies pledged more weapons, ammunition and tanks for Ukraine as a new Russian offensive gained momentum, but stopped short of promising the fighter jets Kyiv has avidly sought as the invasion nears the one-year mark.
The U.S. and dozens of allies pledged more weapons, ammunition and tanks for Ukraine as a Russian offensive gained momentum, but they stopped short of promising the fighter jets that Kyiv has avidly sought as the invasion nears the one-year mark.
Mr. Austin and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said there were clear signs that Russia was mobilizing for a major offensive in the disputed areas of southern and eastern Ukraine. Fierce fighting continued around Bakhmut, a city of limited strategic value that has become a symbol of the state of the war for both sides.
“Ukraine has been at this for a year. They have used a lot of artillery ammunition,” Mr. Austin said. “We’re going to do everything we can to ensure we get them as much ammunition as quickly as possible.” During visits to Britain, France and NATO headquarters in Belgium last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pressed hard for Western combat planes to supplement his small air force. Although Ukrainian forces have performed far beyond expectations, Russia has been mobilizing more forces and threatens to overwhelm its adversary by the sheer weight of numbers.
Russia has repeatedly warned the U.S. and its allies about the huge aid flows to Kyiv. “NATO is an organization which is hostile to us and which proves this hostility every day,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said at a briefing Tuesday. “It is trying its best to make its involvement in the conflict around Ukraine as clear as possible.”
“Russian forces are making continuous offensive efforts, though each local attack remains on too small a scale to achieve a significant breakthrough,” British military intelligence officials posted on Twitter. “The current operational picture suggests that Russian forces are being given orders to advance in most sectors, but that they have not massed sufficient offensive combat power on any one axis to achieve a decisive effect.
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