The White House looks to max out on support for Ukraine as Defense Secretary lands in Kyivpublished at 09:05 British Summer Time
James Waterhouse
Ukraine correspondent in the Zaporizhzhia region
In this part of
south-eastern Ukraine, it was once hoped defending forces would mount a
sizeable counter-offensive to force Russia backwards.
Instead, it is Russia
widening its own assaults on the front line, and increasing missile strikes on
the bruised city of Zaporizhzhia.
One impacted in a
residential area a few kilometres away as we loaded the van this morning. It
set off car alarms and I suddenly no longer needed a coffee to feel awake.
Last week, the outgoing
Biden administration announced a further $425 million military package for
Ukraine.
It includes a wide range of
missiles, hundreds of air defence systems and thousands of armoured vehicles.
This was America’s 67th
offering since the full-scale invasion, and will be delivered over the coming
months, during which there will be a new US President.
It’s also been a week where
President Zelensky revealed his “victory plan” which calls for an immediate
invitation to the NATO military alliance, and for western allies to force
Russia to negotiate and completely withdraw, instead of Kyiv ceding territory
to Moscow.
While this is a show of
unity with substance from [Defense Secretary] Lloyd Austin, it will be the next Presidential administration
which decides whether President Zelensky can realise his vision or not.