US plans to send more rocket launchers to Ukraine; Russia takes aim beyond Donbas region: Live updates
The Pentagon is sending four more rocket artillery launchers to Ukraine as its defense against Russia in the eastern part of the country continues in what has become an increasingly brutal war of attrition, the U.S. military’s top leaders said Wednesday.
The additional High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems will bring to 16 the number of long-range missile launchers provided to the Ukrainian military, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
The HIMARS systems can fire rockets with precision more than 40 miles and have been used to destroy Russian command posts and supply depots.
Russia’s war aims have been trimmed since mid-April after it abandoned its offensive against the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. President Vladimir Putin has redeployed Russian forces into eastern Ukraine and waged a war reliant on saturating towns and villages with tens of thousands of rockets per day, said Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“Russia is keeping up its relentless shelling, and that’s a cruel tactic that harkens back to the horrors of World War I,” Austin said.
Other developments:
►The U.S. House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday approved measures requiring the intelligence community to track Russian war crimes against Ukraine as part of the Intelligence Authorization Act. It will go on to both chambers of Congress for approval.
►Despite focusing its war effort on the mineral-rich Donbas region, Russia has only gained 6 to 10 miles of Ukrainian territory since April, Milley said. He cited the “incredible cost in terms of Russian casualties and destroyed equipment.”
►Syria, one of Russia’s closest allies, announced it is formally breaking diplomatic ties with Ukraine in response to a similar move by Kyiv.
►The Biden administration is expected to announce more military aid for Ukraine later this week, said John Kirby, the White House’s National Security Council coordinator.
►Ukrainian missiles struck and seriously damaged a key supply bridge for Russian troops in southern Ukraine, said the Moscow-backed administration for Russia-controlled southern Kherson. The bridge remained open for traffic.
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Russia looking beyond Donbas region, state media reports
Russia’s aims are now expanded beyond the eastern Donbas region in Ukraine, its foreign minister said Wednesday. Sergey Lavrov told Russian state media that its objectives will include areas of the south, including the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
But Ukrainian troops destroyed a bridge on Wednesday that is key for Russia to funnel troops into the south.
The U.S. warned earlier this week that the Kremlin was looking to annex sovereign Ukrainian territory, including Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, by installing proxy officials and holding “sham referenda.”
EU looks to impose more sanctions on Russia
The European Union’s 27 ambassadors saw a breakthrough Wednesday in their efforts to tighten extensive sanctions on Russia by backing new measures including bans on gold imports.
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said this week that “the most important thing is a ban on Russian gold,” Moscow’s second-largest export industry after energy.
The EU also decided to grant 500 million euros to boost military aid to Ukraine.
‘While Russia kills, America saves’: Ukraine first lady thanks Congress
Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska addressed Congress on Wednesday, urging the U.S. to provide more weapons for her country’s fight “for our shared values of human life.”
Zelenska thanked the U.S. for the billions of dollars already committed since Russian troops rolled into Ukraine on Feb. 24.
“You help us and your help is very strong,” Zelenska said. “While Russia kills, America saves, and you should know about it. We thank you for that.”
Zelenska showed photos of children and families destroyed by Russia’s unrelenting missile attacks on Ukraine’s cities. She pleaded for more U.S. air defense weaponry to fend off the Russian military – “not to kill children in their strollers.”
Zelenska met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday and President Joe Biden on Tuesday, who tweeted after their meeting, “First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska embodies the same tenacity and resilience as the country she hails from.”
Ukrainians evacuated to Russia face hardships
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees have been forced from Russian-controlled cities to Russia, stripped of their passports, subjected to interrogations and strip searches, and barred from returning to their homeland, U.S. and Ukrainian authorities say.
Both countries estimate that up to 2 million Ukrainians have been relocated to Russia. Russia says the refugees willingly accept humanitarian evacuations but Ukraine says it’s a forced exodus and a war crime.
Europe to cut gas usage 15% amid Russian cutbacks
European nations should immediately cut natural gas use by 15% or face cold homes and struggling economies this winter, the European Commission recommended Wednesday.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that Russia is using gas as a weapon in its war with Ukraine and said the cutback was an “aspirational,” voluntary goal that could become mandatory if gas supplies become too tight.
Russia, which has supplied about 40% of Europe’s natural gas in recent years, already has been cutting back and Von der Leyen said thus far European nations have been making up for the shortfall with gas from other countries.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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