Russian president Vladimir Putin on Saturday said that his forces were already destroying American-supplied weapons by dozen, news agency Reuters quoted Russian news agency RIA.
This comes days after Washington DC unveiled a $700 million package of sophisticated weapons for Ukraine, AP had reported. The most advanced rocket systems will reach the battlefront in the next three weeks, raising questions whether they would reach on time to thwart Moscow’s slow but steady games.
Earlier in the day, the Russian defence ministry claimed it shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane which was carrying weapons and munitions near the Black Sea port of Odesa. The ministry said Russian missiles also struck an artillery training centre in Ukraine’s Sumy region where foreign instructors worked.
With the war entering the 101st day, the fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces continues with the same ferocious with no signs of peace in the offing. Here are the top five developments from warzone Ukraine.
1. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian forces hit a 17th century Ukrainian Orthodox monastry in eastern Donetsk, Reuters reported. The Russian defence ministry issued a denial, accusing the Ukrainian troops of setting fire to the All Saints Monastery before retreat.
2. The Ukrainian forces have claimed to have recaptured a swathe of Sievierodonetsk, what is being termed as a rare counter-offensive against Russia’s main assault force, Reuters reported. The Ukrainian claim could not be independently verified and Moscow said its own forces were making gains there. But it was the first time Kyiv has claimed to have launched a big counter-attack in Sieverodonetsk after days of yielding ground there.
3. A top US general said Finland and Sweden joining NATO would put Russia in a difficult military position in the Baltic Sea, Reuters reported. “So from a Russian perspective that will be very problematic for them, militarily speaking, and it would be very advantageous to NATO,” said Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
4. Ukraine has slammed French president Emmanuel Macron’s comments who said that Moscow shouldn’t be humiliated to improve chances of diplomatically resolving the war. “Calls to avoid humiliation of Russia can only humiliate France and every other country that would call for it,” AFP quoted Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
5. The Mediterranean countries on major migrant routes into Europe are expecting over 1.50 lakh arrivals this year due to food shortages arising from the Ukrainian conflict, which threaten a new migration wave from Africa and the middle East, Reuters reported. “This year the frontline member states are expected, as we have discussed between us, to receive more than 150,000 migrants,” Cyprus Interior Minister Nicos Nouris said on Saturday after a meeting with fellow ministers of the so-called MED5 group in Venice.
