“Ukraine has to win the war,” said the United States Secretary of State from Kyiv. Anthony Blinken. From there she pledged the Biden Administration's support for Ukraine's defense industry, as Russia intensifies its pressure to take advantage of the window of opportunity on the front lines. The situation remains difficult along hundreds of kilometers of the front line, as Russia continues to press in Kharkiv and Donetsk in the east and Zaporizhzhia in the south, but its advances in Kharkiv have slowed. The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday that Russian forces had captured the village of Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia region, but the Ukrainian military denied this.
The offensive, aimed at recapturing Ukraine's occupied territories, was largely repelled after Russia took advantage of long delays in Western military assistance to Ukraine to erect strong fortifications in the region. «They are only on the outskirts, our positions are still in the town and the Russians are repelled every day. Every day they come back and try to establish themselves,” he says. Sergiy Skibchikspokesman for the 65th Brigade.
Russia has also been trying to break the Ukrainian defense in Staromayorske in the south, where 18 attacks have occurred in the last 24 hours, the Ukrainian military revealed, while the situation near Pokrovsk and Kupiansk also remains complicated. Russia's attempts to capture Chasiv Yar (east) continue to bear little fruit, the Ukrainian military also insist, despite the fact that Russian aviation suppresses Ukrainian positions.
Russia uses its elite forces, along with Storm Z units of mobilized prisoners, he told Ukrainian television Dmytro Kozhubenko, from the Rubizh brigade. “They try to advance in small groups, but our drone operators see them very well,” he stressed. According to military analysts, Russia is increasingly relying on its infantry to carry out its attacks as equipment losses mount, despite efforts to mobilize weapons production.
Meanwhile, Russian advances have slowed in Kharkiv. Although heated fighting continues near Vovchansk, Ukrainian troops managed to partially repel the opponent from the city, the Army of the invaded country reported. Ukraine partially stabilized the situation there, according to the president Volodymyr Zelensky. «The invasion force that entered the Kharkiv region is being destroyed by all means. Artillery, drones and our infantry work quite well.
Analysts believe Russia has been trying to create a “buffer zone” on the border rather than deepening its incursion. The significant losses they suffered, according to Ukrainian sources, may also have slowed them down. However, Russia continues to destroy the city of Vovchansk with various weapons, including powerful guided aerial bombs. Russia's superiority in aviation and ammunition remains significant.
“We are determined that Ukraine must win this war and achieve success for its people and its future,” said Blinken, during the second day of his visit to the Ukrainian capital. His words could mark a shift from a pledge to support Ukraine “for as long as necessary,” which many in Ukraine have seen as evidence of the lack of clarity in the West about the desired end to the war, reflected in the military assistance slower and smaller than expected.
The United States is working to ensure that Ukraine can succeed on the battlefield and defend itself against Russian aggression, now and in the future, to ensure the right of the Ukrainian people to determine their future, Blinken said. To help achieve this, Washington will invest another $2 billion in a fund created especially to help Ukraine develop its own military production and purchase the necessary weapons.
After meeting with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, Blinken avoided a direct answer to a journalist's question about whether the United States would allow Ukraine to use American weapons to attack Russian territory. However, she reiterated that Washington is not opposed “in principle” to attacks against the Russian Federation: “We have clearly defined our policy, but this is a decision that Ukraine must make. And we will ensure that Ukraine has the weapons it needs to succeed on the battlefield,” she said. Britain has recently said Ukraine could use its weapons to attack targets inside Russia, but the US is believed not to authorize this for fear of escalation.