Russian offensive: Volodimir Zelensky warned that the situation in eastern Ukraine is extremely difficult

ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenskysaid on Tuesday that the situation is “extremely difficult” in the east of the countrywhere Russian troops have advanced in recent weeks.

“The situation on the front line, and in particular in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, remains extremely difficult. It’s literally a meter-by-meter battlesaid Zelensky in his evening speech.

In this sense, Ukraine’s Western allies pledged in Brussels on Tuesday to keep the huge quantities of ammunition and weapons that Ukraine needs, as the fighting for the city of Bakhmut raged.

The President moderated the tone of his demands for Fighter, after having obtained from allies promises of tanks, air defense and missiles.

Meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Ukraine’s allies focused on securing the ammunition and armor flow they must face the Russian offensive on the ground.

Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikovsaid his country’s priorities were to improve air defence, bolster tank supplies and ensure ammunition stocks.

Leaving the meeting, the American General Mark Milley said that Russia had already lost this war. “Russia has lost, it has lost strategically, operationally and tactically, and it is paying a huge price,” he said.

But as long as hostilities continue, “the international community will continue to support Ukraine with the equipment and capabilities it needs”, he added.

Ukraine’s Western allies, led by the United States, have already provided tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons contribute to the defense of this country.

Today, days before a year has passed since the start of the war, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) says Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be behind a new, broader offensive in eastern Ukraine.

“Russia is introducing new troops to the battlefield. Many of these troops are poorly trained and poorly equipped, so their casualty rate was very high,” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said.

The US leader said Ukraine was seeking to turn the tide of the conflict to gain momentum and hoped Ukrainian forces would launch their own counteroffensive in the spring.

On the ground in eastern Ukraine, a news agency team AFP he heard heavy artillery fire towards the Russian lines around the town of Bahkmut, the target of a huge Russian offensive. The city is not considered strategic but it has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance in this conflict.

The leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, admitted that Bakhmut “will not be caught tomorrow, because there is strong resistance and shelling. It’s a working meat grinder.”

On Monday, the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, admitted that Ukraine uses an amount of ammunition far in excess of NATO’s capacity to produce themand warned of the need to strengthen contracts with arms industries.

According to the German press, these contracts would allow the delivery of 300,000 ammo in Ukraine from July.

For the European NATO allies, the flow of ammunition for the weapons supplied to the Ukrainians has become a problematic priority.

For Stoltenberg, it is a war of attrition and a logistical battle”.

In particular, the Ukrainians urgently need ammunition 155 millimetersmany of which they use daily.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistoriusannounced that German industry was preparing to strengthen a specific ammunition production line for Guepard air defense systems.

“The contracts have already been signed with the builders,” he said. According to the German press, these contracts would make it possible to deliver 300,000 munitions to Ukraine from July.

The urgency of finding mechanisms to increase the production capacity of ammunition momentarily left the discussion sensitive issue of fighter jets ordered by Ukraine.

A senior US official said sending planes “is not something we’re talking about at this table right now.”

on your side, Slovakia he said he was willing to discuss sending ex-Soviet MIG-29 aircraft to help replace losses from Ukraine’s current stockpiles.

For the Minister of Defense of The Netherlands, Kajsa Ollongren, the discussion “will take time”. Ukraine has asked the Netherlands to hand over American F-16 planes.

On Monday, Stoltenberg insisted that “the aircraft issue is not the most pressing issue right now, but it is an ongoing discussion.”

For the head of NATO“the urgency now is to fulfill what has already been promised”.

(With information from AFP)

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