Blinken expects Ukraine war for ‘many months’ ahead
US boosts weapons to Ukraine, says Kyiv promised not to target inside Russia
WASHINGTON (AFP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that Ukraine had promised not to use new long-range missiles to strike inside of Russia as he warned of “many months” of conflict ahead.
“The Ukrainians have given us assurances that they will not use these systems against targets on Russian territory,” Blinken told a joint news conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
“There is a strong trust bond between Ukraine and the United States, as well as with our allies and partners,” he said.
In a boost for the outgunned Ukrainian military, President Joe Biden confirmed that longer-range weapons were on the way.
The new weapon is the Himars multiple launch rocket system, or MLRS, a mobile unit that can simultaneously launch multiple precision-guided missiles up to 80 kilometers (50 miles) away.
They are the centerpiece of a $700 million package unveiled Wednesday that also includes air-surveillance radar, more Javelin short-range antitank rockets, artillery ammunition, helicopters, vehicles and spare parts.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Washington of “adding fuel to the fire,” saying that the weapons would not encourage Kyiv to resume peace talks.
Blinken said the United States was arming Ukraine in anticipation of a long conflict ahead. “As best we can assess right now, we are still looking at many months of conflict,” Blinken said.
“That could be over tomorrow if Russia chose to end the aggression. We don’t see any signs of that right now,” he said.
“As long as this goes on, we want to make sure that Ukraine has in hand what it needs to defend itself and we want to make sure that Russia is feeling strong pressure from as many countries as possible to end the aggression,” he said.
Blinken dismissed suggestions that the United States was risking escalation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who invaded Ukraine in February despite repeated Western warnings.
“It is Russia that is attacking Ukraine, not the other way around,” Blinken said.
“And simply put, the best way to avoid escalation is for Russia to stop the aggression and the war that it started. It’s fully within its power to do so.”
Ukraine losing up to 100 soldiers a day
SOLEDAR (AFP) — Russian forces edged closer Wednesday to taking the key eastern Ukraine city of Sievierodonetsk but Kyiv’s hopes of holding off their invaders were boosted by a U.S. pledge of more advanced rocket systems to help their defense.
The Russians had taken control of 70 percent of the key industrial hub, with Ukrainian forces withdrawing to prepared positions, Luhansk region governor Sergiy Gaiday said.
“If in two or three days, the Russians take control of Sievierodonetsk, they will install artillery and mortars and will bombard more intensely Lysychansk,” the Ukrainian-held city across the river, he said on Telegram.
Ukraine successfully stopped Russia from seizing Kyiv after its February 24 invasion but the campaign in the east has had a high cost, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying that 60 to 100 soldiers were dying each day. “The situation in the east is very difficult,” Zelenskyy told U.S. newsgroup Newsmax.
With only Lysychansk remaining a pocket of resistance in the eastern Luhansk region, Sievierodonetsk has become a target of massive Russian firepower.
Oleksander Motuzianyk, spokesman for Ukraine’s defense ministry, said there was fighting in the streets in Sievierodonetsk and the Russians had reached the city center.
“The Ukrainian armed forces are actively resisting them,” he said.
Elsewhere, a missile struck transportation infrastructure near the comparatively stable western city of Lviv, injuring two people, regional governor Maksym Kozytsky said.
West of Sievierodonetsk, in the city of Sloviansk, AFP journalists saw buildings destroyed by a rocket attack in which three people died and six others were hurt.
And on Wednesday, at least one person died and two others were injured in Soledar, between Sloviansk and Sievierodonetsk, AFP saw.
The European Union has also sent weapons and cash for Ukraine, while levelling unprecedented economic sanctions on Moscow.
Germany said Wednesday it would deliver an air defense system capable of shielding a major city from Russian air raids, although it will take months to get to the frontline.
EU leaders agreed this week to ban most Russian oil imports but played down the prospects of shutting off Russian gas on which many member states are hugely dependent.
Moscow said a “reorientation” was under way to find alternative destinations for its oil, as it moved to “minimize the negative consequences.”