On the third day of the offensive launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin, at least 198 Ukrainian civilians, including three children, were killed and 1,115 people injured in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian Health Minister Viktor Lyashko. “Our army controls Kiev and the key cities around the capital,” Volodymyr Zelensky said on Facebook, claiming to have “broken the plan” of Moscow this Saturday. And to call on the population to take up arms and swore to stay in Kiev.
In this more than tense context for the Ukrainian forces and at a time of a broadening of the offensive by the Russian army, several Western countries, including the United States, announced this Saturday that they wanted to deliver weapons and equipment military to Ukraine. The capital Kiev is more than ever the main target of Moscow’s forces. “Weapons and equipment” are on the way from Ukraine’s allies, the Ukrainian president said, following a call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
- France delivers military equipment
France does not intervene on the territory but is part of the support of the Ukrainian regime targeted by the Russian offensive. During a Defense Council this Saturday evening, it was decided to deliver additional defense equipment as well as fuel support, specifies the Elysée. “There is a message of solidarity vis-à-vis the Ukrainians, with financial aid announced by the French government, several hundred million euros. There is humanitarian aid and also military aid: we deliver military equipment to Ukraine, we have done so in the recent period”, testified earlier Hervé Grandjean, the spokesperson for the ministry. armies on France Info. In the ten years that preceded this conflict, approximately 100 million euros of armaments were also transferred to Ukraine, for example patrol boats for the Black Sea coast guard, missiles short-range defensive vocation, to equip Ukrainian frigates, explained the official. “Since the start of the conflict, we have received requests from the Ukrainian authorities for military equipment, for example personal protective equipment or mine clearance equipment. We examine all this with the greatest acuity and the greatest celerity. We help Ukrainians as much as possible,” the spokesperson stressed. “War has returned to Europe” and it “will last”, warned Emmanuel Macron.
- Washington announces $350 million in military aid to Ukraine
The United States will provide new military aid to Ukraine in the amount of 350 million dollars, to help Kiev fight the Russian invasion, announced Saturday the head of the American diplomacy Antony Blinken. “This assistance will include new defensive military assets that will enable Ukraine to combat the armour, airborne and other threats it faces today,” Blinken said in a statement. “This is another clear signal that the United States stands with the people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereign, courageous, and proud nation,” the Secretary of State added. Mr. Blinken recalled that the United States had released $60 million in military assistance to Ukraine in the fall, then $200 million more in December, “as the (Russian) threat materialized”.
With the 350 million announced on Saturday, “this brings the total security assistance that the United States has provided to Ukraine over the past year to more than $1 billion,” he said.
- Prague will send more than seven million euros in armaments
The Czech Republic will donate machine guns, automatic and sniper rifles, pistols and ammunition worth 7.6 million euros to Ukraine, the Czech Defense Minister announced on Saturday. “The government on Saturday approved additional aid to Ukraine which is facing a Russian attack,” Minister Jana Cernochova said in a tweet, on the third day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “The Ministry of Defense will also take care of transport to a place determined by the Ukrainian side. Our help is not over,” she added. The minister then told reporters that these weapons would include 30,000 pistols, 7,000 assault rifles, 3,000 machine guns and several dozen sniper rifles as well as a million cartridges. This donation will be sent to Ukraine “within the next few hours”, she added. At the end of January, Prague had already approved a donation to Kiev of four thousand artillery shells worth 1.5 million euros which have yet to be delivered. The Czech Republic has been a member of NATO since 1999.
- Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium too
Germany will deliver 1,000 rocket launchers and 500 Stinger-type surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine “as soon as possible” to help it deal with the invasion by the Russian army, the government. “The Russian aggression once morest Ukraine marks a change of era, it threatens the order established since the post-war period”, justified Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a press release, “in this situation it is our duty to ‘help Ukraine as much as we can to defend itself once morest Vladimir Putin’s invading army’. For their part, the Netherlands announced to deliver “as soon as possible” 200 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine and Belgium affirmed to supply Kiev with 2,000 machine guns and 3,800 tons of fuel oil.
- Portugal, Poland and Greece
On the night of Saturday to Sunday, Portugal announced the shipment to Ukraine of “vests, helmets, night vision goggles, grenades, ammunition of different calibers” or even “G3 automatic rifles”. Poland had already planned to ship tens of thousands of munitions to its Ukrainian neighbor. Greece will send “defensive equipment” and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, its Prime Minister also announced on Sunday, while Athens accuses Russia of having killed Ukrainians of Greek origin in Ukrainian villages.
Two C-130 military transport planes will leave today for Poland, the office of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a statement. No details have been communicated on the type of equipment that will be shipped.
