Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky expects his country to receive new heavy weapons from the West in the near future. Zelensky said in his video address that he hopes to get “good news” about new arms shipments next week. He is referring almost certainly to the arrival of an American advanced missile system.
It concerns the so-called Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), which is a multiple rocket launcher with a range of up to about 300 kilometers. “It’s hard to fight when you’re attacked from 70 kilometers away and you have nothing to defend yourself with. Ukraine can push Russia back behind the Iron Curtain, but then we must have effective weapons,” presidential adviser Mikhailo Podoljak wrote on Twitter. “If the West really wants Ukraine to win the war, maybe it’s not time to give us MLRS?”
According to US media, the White House is currently considering the delivery of these weapons and a decision could be made in the coming days. Until now, the Americans have been hesitant to provide the advanced system, as it gives the Ukrainians opportunities to attack targets in Russia more easily.
Destabilization
Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday warned of a further “destabilization” of the situation due to continued supplies of Western weapons to Ukraine. Ukraine will receive much more weaponry from the West, such as howitzers from the United States and Harpoon missiles from Denmark, with which it can attack enemy ships.
According to the Ukrainian authorities, civilians have been killed and injured in several places last night as a result of Russian attacks. The victims were mainly in and around the city of Severodonetsk in the Donbas. Russia says it has now completely taken over the city, but Ukraine contradicts that.
New terror
In his video speech, Zelensky accused Russia of new terror. According to him, these are “pointless, barbaric attacks” with rockets and mortars. “I will continue to remind the world that Russia must finally be officially recognized as a terrorist state, as a sponsor of terrorism.”
Despite the steady advance of the Russians in the Donbas, the Ukrainian army reports that it has repulsed several Russian attacks last night. 33 Russians were said to have been killed and six armored vehicles destroyed. The information cannot be independently verified.
According to Mayor Vadim Bojchenko of Mariupol, the southern port city that was conquered by the Russians after a heavy battle, infectious diseases are threatening to break out. The city’s sewage system and garbage disposal are down and temperatures are rising. “That is why our doctors report the danger that could arise this summer: outbreaks of infectious diseases such as dysentery,” said Bojchenko.
Tactical Nuclear Weapons
The Russian ambassador to Great Britain has BBC said he does not believe his country will use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Ambassador Andrei Kelin said that under Russian military rules, such weapons are not used in conflicts like this one.
According to Kelin, they are only used when the survival of the Russian state is threatened. “That is not the case in the current situation.” Tactical nuclear weapons are nuclear weapons that can be used at a relatively short distance on the battlefield. He also reiterated in the BBC interview that international allegations of war crimes committed by the Russians in the Ukraine city of Butya are a ‘fabrication’.
grain export
Russia is ready to cooperate with the ‘unconditional’ export of grain from Ukraine, the Kremlin reported on Saturday. That offer was made in a three-way phone call between President Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. It was the first time since March that the trio had such a meeting.
“Russia stands ready to help find options for unimpeded grain exports, including Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports,” the Kremlin statement said. It was reported from the German side that Putin would be willing to clear mines to allow ships access to ports in Ukraine. That would not lead to enemy Russian actions. The United Nations should play a central role in reaching an agreement and its implementation.
In the 80-minute conversation, Macron and Scholz, in turn, urged Putin to negotiate directly with President Zelensky. Macron and Scholz called for an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of the Russian army from eastern and southern Ukraine. They also called on Putin to release the 2,500 fighters captured during the capture of the Azovstal complex in Mariupol.
Ukraine is a major exporter of mainly maize and wheat, but is seeing production and exports seriously hampered by the fighting. Russia is also having a hard time getting rid of its grain and fertilizer due to the Western sanctions in force. The two countries produce a third of the world’s wheat, leading to problems in the global food market.
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