With Agency reports
Ukraine is facing continual eastern assaults from Russian forces at a bloody cost for both sides, even as the lines of captured grounds on the map barely move.
Russian forces have been staging fierce assaults around Avdiivka for more than a month and have recently launched simultaneous offensives across eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces have mostly thwarted Russia’s attacks, using drones and cluster munitions to inflict some of the heaviest Russian losses of the war. But experts said the balance on the battlefield could easily be tipped in either direction.
Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has made a surprise visit to Kyiv where he unveiled a new military aid package for Ukraine worth $100m.
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Austin, on his first trip to Kyiv since April 2022, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well as Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and Commander-in-Chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi on Monday promising the long-term support of the United States.
In his message, Austin stated:
“The message that I bring you today, Mr President, is that the United States of America is with you. We will remain with you for the long haul,”
He stated further that Ukraine’s effort to defeat Russian forces “matters to the rest of the world” and that US support would continue “for the long haul”.
The new aid package includes anti-tank weapons, air-defence interceptors and an additional High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).
In response, Zelenskyy told Austin that his visit was “a very important signal” for Ukraine.
“We count on your support,” the Ukrainian president said.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the US has provided more than $44bn – and allies an additional $35bn – in security support that ranges from millions of bullets to air defence systems, advanced European and US battle tanks and, finally, pledges for F-16 fighter jets.
But there are concerns that allied support is flagging amid the devastating Israel-Gaza war and a perceived lack of progress in a Ukrainian counteroffensive that began in June.
