There are new concerns about how quickly Ukraine could run out of ammunition as heavier fighting intensifies in the Donbas, where Russia is trying to encircle and cut off Ukrainian forces in an effort to control the region.
As he tries to keep up the pressure on allies to gain more support in this next phase, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the West should see the battle as a critical fulcrum to curb Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unbridled ambitions and demonstrate the West. commitment to defending democracy against insatiable autocratic rule.
Zelensky warned that the upcoming battle in Donbass “could affect the course of the whole war” and said his country has no intention of giving up territory in eastern Ukraine to end the war during an exclusive interview with Jake CNN’s Tapper, which aired on CNN Sunday, The State of the Union.
If Russia succeeds in capturing the Donbass region, he warned, it is possible that Putin will resume his attempt to take control of Kyiv. Asked by Tapper whether he was pleased with last week’s US announcement of another $ 800 million in military aid to strengthen Ukrainian forces in Donbass, Zelensky said: “Of course we need more.”
“It simply came to our notice then. Enough is not possible, “Zelenski said, explaining the challenges ahead in his country’s eastern region. “Today is a full-scale war, so we still need much more than we have today … We have no technical advantage over our enemy. We’re just not on the same level there. “
“For the $ 800 million in support of Biden, the most important thing is speed,” he added.
But even as the latest aid began to arrive in the region, CNN’s Barbara Starr said this weekend that there were growing concerns about how quickly Ukraine could run out of ammunition in this next battle.
Although the United States said it was sending 18,155-millimeter howitzer guns and 40,000 artillery shells as part of its latest package, Starr said a U.S. official had warned that the aid could be spent within days as heavy fighting in the Donbass is intensifying.
Given this pressure, U.S. officials need to be clearer in defining their goals and whether America is determined to do what is necessary to help Ukraine win, said retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, a former U.S. military commander in Europe. said Sunday in a CBS interview with “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” Although the last round of US aid was “significant”, he said it was not enough.
“What Ukrainians desperately need are long-range fires, missiles, artillery, drones that can destroy or destroy systems that cause so much damage in Ukrainian cities and that will also play a critical role in this next phase,” if and when it starts, “Hodges said.” I would really like to hear the administration talk about victory and have a sense of urgency to get to these things. Russia’s attempt to build will be a pass. “
“Red Line” in Mariupol
A critical element of Russia’s current campaign is the capture of the port city of Mariupol in an attempt to build Putin’s desired land bridge from eastern Ukraine to the Crimean peninsula. Russia’s Defense Ministry has called for Ukrainian troops in Mariupol to surrender by 1pm local time on Sunday, but said in a statement that the ultimatum had been ignored.
In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had surrounded the remaining Ukrainian soldiers and others who had remained at the Azovstal steel plant. “In the event of further resistance, they will all be eliminated,” the statement said.
An adviser to the mayor of Mariupol said on Sunday that Russian forces had announced that the city would be closed for entry and exit on Monday and that they had begun issuing passes that would be needed to move within the city itself.
Both Zelensky and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba presented the fate of Mariupol as another critical turning point in the war – in part because the human victims of Russia’s relentless shelling of the city are not yet known.
Zelensky warned earlier that the abolition of military forces in Mariupol could lead to the suspension of any further peace talks with Russia. On Sunday, Kuleba noted that it is difficult for his country to continue talks with Russia after the atrocities in Bucha. Russia’s determination to level Mariupol with the land “at any cost” could turn into a “red line”, he said in an interview with CBS “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan”.
In a chilling confession, Zelenski told Tapper that no one still knew how many people had died in Mariupol. “If someone gives you a number, it would be a complete lie,” Zelenski said. He added that “several thousand, tens of thousands” have been forced to evacuate the city in the direction of Russia without leaving traces of documents and that the Ukrainian government does not know where they are.
“About 5,000 children were deported from this region of Russia because they were not allowed to go to Ukraine,” Zelensky said in an interview. “(These) children. Where are they? Nobody knows.”
Although he said he was still ready to engage in diplomatic discussions with Russia if the opportunity arose, it became more difficult to do so as he watched the stunning effects of Putin’s aggression on his country. “What is the price of all this? These are people. Many people have been killed,” Zelenski said. “And who ultimately pays for all this? This is Ukraine. Only us.”
Putin’s hardened thinking
One of the biggest challenges for the Biden administration and its allies so far has been to determine where Putin’s “red line” is and how much they can continue to help Ukraine without provoking the Russian president to expand the war, potentially deploying NATO troops. in danger .
As the United States prepared to send a $ 800 million aid package last week, Russia warned in a diplomatic note to the State Department that there would be “unpredictable consequences” if the United States and its allies continued to send heavier weapons, which Ukraine sought.
Military experts interpreted the démarche as a sign that Russia could consider targeting not only the weapons themselves when they arrive on Ukrainian soil, but also NATO supply convoys that carry weapons to Ukraine’s borders.
As world leaders try to figure out what Putin thinks – and how far he can go in trying to punish nations that help Ukraine – Austrian Chancellor Karl Nechamer, who met with Putin face to face last week, said it was clear that Putin believes he is winning the war and acting “according to his own military logic.”
“He believes the war is necessary to guarantee the security of the Russian Federation. He does not trust the international community. He blames Ukrainians for genocide in the Donbass region, Nehamer told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, citing fabricated propaganda by Putin to justify his actions of aggression against Ukraine. “He is already in his world, but I think he knows what is happening in Ukraine now.”
Given the enormous challenges of confronting a leader with this distorted and rigid thinking, Zelensky is trying to persuade world leaders to get more involved in the next phase, warning that they need to worry about the possible consequences of Putin’s next steps. that he could use tactical nuclear weapons because he showed so little respect for human lives during his invasion of Ukraine.
Zelensky also challenged Ukraine’s allies when Tapper asked him if the promise made by world leaders each year on Holocaust Remembrance Day – with the refrain “Never Again” – now sounds empty, given that their efforts so far have not have managed to stop the atrocities that Russia has committed during its unprovoked invasion.
“I don’t believe in the world,” Zelenski said clearly when asked about the refrain. “Never again. Indeed, everyone is talking about it, and yet, as you can see, not everyone has the courage.
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