Ukraine’s military took a defiant stance this weekend – refusing to make concessions to Russia demanding the surrender of Kyiv’s troops in the port city of Mariupol – at the same time US President Joe Biden and his allies face the a new threshold in deciding how far to go. America can arm a country in trouble.
This came as Russia signaled that it could take more aggressive action to stem the flow of weapons from the US and NATO.
There are renewed worries about how quickly Ukraine could run out of ammunition as fierce fighting intensifies in the Donbas, where Russia is trying to encircle and cut off Ukrainian forces on a mission to control the country. control that area.
In trying to keep pressure on allies to provide more support in this next phase, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky argued that the West must see that war as a key point in curbing ambitions. unrestrained Russian President Vladimir Putin and Western expression. committed to defending democracy against a voracious autocracy.
Zelensky warned that the battle ahead in the Donbas “could affect the course of the whole war” and said his country had no intention of giving up territory in eastern Ukraine to end the war. in an exclusive interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper airs Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Zelensky warned that if Russia can capture the Donbas region, Putin can fully continue his efforts to take control of Kyiv. When pressed by Tapper about whether he was satisfied with last week’s US announcement about Another $800 million in military aid Zelensky replied: “Of course we need more to strengthen the Ukrainian forces in the Donbas.”
“There will never be enough. There can’t be enough,” Zelensky said as he explained the challenges facing the east of his country.
“There’s an all-out war going on today, so we still need more than we have today… We do no technical advantage over our adversary. We’re not on the same level there. “
But even as that latest aid has already begun to arrive in the region, CNN’s Barbara Starr this weekend reported that there are growing concerns about how quickly Ukraine can move. wiped out the army its ammunition store in this next battle.
Although the US announced that it would send 18 155mm Howitzer guns and 40,000 rounds of artillery shells as part of its latest package, Starr reported that a US official warned that the aid could be used up within a short period of time. days as fierce fighting intensified in the Donbas.
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