U.S.-supplied weapons arrive to the battlefield in Ukraine in a little over a week, Pentagon says
The Pentagon said that the U.S.-supplied weapons for Ukraine take on average a little over a week before they are deployed to the battlefield.
“When the president signs the authorization to provide weapons or ammunition to Ukrainians these items began moving within days, the average is about 48 to 72 hours,” said U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to reporters at the Pentagon.
“Just a week or so later on the frontline,” he added.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said earlier on Wednesday that the U.S. would send an additional four High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems to Ukraine from the Pentagon’s own arsenal.
The upcoming military aid package, the 16th such installment, brings the U.S. commitment to about $8 billion since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.
— Amanda Macias
Donbas region is ‘not lost yet’ to the Russians as Ukraine puts up stiff resistance, Pentagon says
The Pentagon said Wednesday that Ukraine has not yet lost the Donbas to Russia after weeks of intense fighting.
“It’s very intense,” U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon. “A lot of violence, tens of thousands of artillery rounds every 24-hour period and lots of casualties on both sides, lots of destruction of villages,” he added.
Milley said that Russia has only advanced about 10 miles in the past three months.
“It’s not lost yet. Ukrainians are making the Russians pay for every inch of territory that they gain,” he added.
— Amanda Macias
Ukraine graft concerns resurface as Russia war goes on
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s dismissal of senior officials is casting an inconvenient light on an issue that the Biden administration has largely ignored since the outbreak of war with Russia: Ukraine’s history of rampant corruption and shaky governance.
As it presses ahead with providing tens of billions of dollars in military, economic and direct financial support aid to Ukraine and encourages its allies to do the same, the Biden administration is now once again grappling with longstanding worries about Ukraine’s suitability as a recipient of massive infusions of American aid.
Those issues, which date back decades and were not an insignificant part of former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, had been largely pushed to the back burner in the immediate run-up to Russia’s invasion and during the first months of the conflict as the U.S. and its partners rallied to Ukraine’s defense.
But Zelenskyy’s weekend firings of his top prosecutor, intelligence chief and other senior officials have resurfaced those concerns and may have inadvertently given fresh attention to allegations of high-level corruption in Kyiv made by one outspoken U.S. lawmaker.
It’s a delicate issue for the Biden administration. With billions in aid flowing to Ukraine, the White House continues to make the case for supporting Zelenskyy’s government to an American public increasingly focused on domestic issues like high gas prices and inflation. High-profile supporters of Ukraine in both parties also want to avoid a backlash that could make it more difficult to pass future aid packages.
— Associated Press
Ukrainian first lady pushes Congress for more weapons in fight against Russia
Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska urged bipartisan lawmakers to send more weapons to her homeland as it repels Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Zelenska addressed members of Congress from the same room that her husband, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, did in March. He appeared virtually, as Russia’s war had just begun.
“I’m asking for something now I would never want to ask,” Zelenska said at the U.S. Capitol. “I’m asking for weapons, weapons that would not be used to wage a war on somebody else’s land, but to protect one’s home and the right to wake up alive in that home.”
Zelenska began her 15-minute address with a photo presentation of Ukrainian children killed by Russian missile strikes and shelling across the country.
“I’m asking for air defense systems in order for rockets not to kill,” Zelenska said before a backdrop of graphic and disturbing images from devastated Ukrainian streets.
— Amanda Macias
A father mourns his son as Russian strike kills three people in Kharkiv
Editor’s Note — The following post depicts graphic images of death in Kharkiv after a Russian missile strike.
A father mourns his teenage son after Russian missile strikes hit Kharkiv, killing three people.
— Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
U.S. to send four more mobile missile systems to Ukraine
