Kyiv/BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) – With the Ukrainian counter-offensive, Russia’s war of aggression is entering a “critical phase” from the point of view of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Thanks to support from NATO countries, Ukrainian armed forces were recently able to stop Moscow’s offensive in the Donbass and recapture territory, the Norwegian said at a press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday. The solidarity of the West should not let up despite the energy crisis and rising living costs.
Stoltenberg aroused doubts about German arguments against the delivery of large quantities armed forces-Arms to Ukraine. When asked whether allies should meet the alliance’s capability goals rather than supplying Ukraine with more equipment, he made it clear that he believes a defeat by Ukraine is more dangerous than NATO countries’ stockpiles of weapons that are below plan.
“The price we pay is measured in money. The price Ukrainians pay is measured in lives,” Stoltenberg said. If Ukraine stops fighting, “it will no longer exist as an independent nation,” he warned. That’s why you have to stick to the current course – “for the sake of Ukraine and for our own sake”.
According to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Ukraine is making progress with its ongoing counter-offensive. “We’re seeing successes in Kherson now, we’re seeing some successes in Kharkiv – and that’s very, very encouraging,” the ex-general said on Friday on the sidelines of a visit to Prague.
The Ukrainian army had previously pushed deep into the rear of the occupying Russian forces in the east of the country. On Thursday evening, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the recapture of the district town of Balakliya in the Kharkiv region. The army has liberated more than 1,000 square kilometers of Ukraine since early September, he said in his video address. “Ukraine is and will be free,” he promised. However, according to earlier reports, Russian troops occupied around 125,000 square kilometers in Ukraine. That is one-fifth of the country’s territory, including the Crimean Peninsula. Friday is the 198th day of the war.
Blinken: Ukraine must be in the best possible position for negotiations
The US wants to put Ukraine in a strong diplomatic negotiating position in its counter-offensive against Russia. “At this moment we see no signs from Russia that it is ready to engage in such diplomacy seriously. But when that time comes, Ukraine must be in the best possible position,” said Blinken on Friday after meeting Stoltenberg. Blinken praised the Ukrainian offensive and land gains in the south and east of the country as “real progress”. It is still too early to say how the situation will develop. However, the morale of the Ukrainian soldiers is significantly higher than that of the Russian armed forces.
Russian occupiers evacuate other places in Kharkiv region
In view of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, the Russian occupiers say they are evacuating other places in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv. First, Izyum and Kupyansk are to be evacuated, as the head of the military administration deployed by Russia, Vitaly Ganchev, said on Friday, according to the state news agency TASS. The town of Welykyj Burluk is also under fire, where the civilian population is also to be taken to safe places.
IAEA: Situation in the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant increasingly precarious
According to international observers on site, the situation in the contested Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia is becoming increasingly unstable. The plant no longer has an external power supply for cooling reactor cores and nuclear waste, experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on Friday. The reason is the shelling and destruction of the substation in the nearby town of Enerhodar. “The situation is unbearable and it is becoming more and more precarious,” said IAEA chief Rafael Grossi in Vienna. He again called for a cessation of all hostilities and the establishment of a demilitarized zone to prevent a nuclear accident.
The Ukrainian power plant operator is now considering shutting down the last of the six reactor units there, said Grossi. Since there is no running water or electricity in Enerhodar, there is also a great risk that there will soon not be enough Ukrainian personnel to operate the plant safely.
Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki travels to Kyiv
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki made a surprise trip to Kyiv for consultations on the geopolitical situation, military development and energy security. Morawiecki is also taking part in a conference there, said his government spokesman Piotr Müller on Polish television on Friday. For the politician from the national-conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS), it is the third visit to the neighboring country’s capital since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine began. The trip is primarily a political signal to the Kremlin, emphasized Müller. “Defending Ukraine is also defending our security.”
Putin and Erdogan want to talk about a grain deal next week
After his criticism of the agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain, Russia’s president wants Wladimir Putin discuss this with the Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the end of next week. The export agreement was brokered by Turkey in July after millions of tons of grain were blocked in Ukrainian ports because of the war. Only a few days ago, Putin indirectly threatened to let it burst again. “A talk between Putin and Erdogan is possible and necessary and is already being prepared,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the Interfax agency, on Friday with a view to a summit in Uzbekistan in Central Asia next week.
Report: Hundreds of billions needed to rebuild Ukraine
In just over three months, the Ukraine war has already caused damage of at least 97 billion US dollars (96.4 billion euros). This emerges from a report published on Friday by the Ukrainian government, the World Bank and the European Commission. The calculation period extends from the start of the war on February 24th to June 1st. The areas of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv are considered to be the most severely damaged. The financial losses caused by the war during this period are reported at nearly US$252 billion. Ukraine had already announced that it wanted to push through war reparations from Russia of at least 300 billion US dollars at the UN General Assembly./gma/DP/zb