The Message Is Clear ~ Ukraine Needs More Weapons
Weapons and equipment have arrived in Ukraine that have been faulty
Macron steps up and organised a summit to create a coalition to help deliver medium to long range missiles for Ukraine. He seems to have changed his tune and said that the allies are not at war with the Russian people, but Russia cannot be allowed to win the war. This has become necessary since the US funding has been halted, and it is now costing lives. Mike Johnson, who called for a 2 week recess in the House of Representatives, and refused to put the bill to a vote has blood on his hands in the view of many including those in the White House
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There was talk of deploying troops to Ukraine and many countries are opposed to this, but even Macron has said nothing is off the table. Slovakia is a country that has ‘no’ under the current government, and we can add Hungary to that list already too. However, many have recognised that Ukraine has a conscription issue and not enough soldiers and the only way to resolve that is to find troops from other countries.
Meanwhile, more Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered at Avdiivka have been shot by Russians. Some will ask why the retreat was not ordered sooner, and there are other factors to consider such as the western equipment expected from the allies not arriving, and those that did arrive were damaged and had to be repaired before use. More than 40 US Bradley vehicles arrived in Ukraine with bad batteries and poor wiring and were not battle ready, and howitzers arrived without aiming equipment.
As I said, most countries were donating stockpiled equipment that hadn’t been tested, just as you donate to a charity shop and they have to test, clean, and repair items before they can sell them. Then with the US funding having ended at the end of December 2023, they said funds for weapons would run out by March 2024, and it’s hard to plan a battle when equipment is promised but doesn’t surface, or funds that are promised and that are delayed. In short, Ukraine was trying to fight a battle on broken promises from the allies and it ended up with Avdiivka falling, and that was inevitable.
I’ve been reading the reports from other journalists, and even they are having to concede that Russia has the upper hand because not enough has been done to stop them. Iran and North Korea have supplied Russia with weapons and theoretically no one can do anything about it bar sanctions, and after 2 years, we can see that sanctions have had little effect on the Russian army.
Day 732 (25 Feb)
Yesterday, Canada and Italy signed security agreements with Ukraine. Canada is also allocating $3 billion to assist Ukraine in 2024.
Zelenskyy released figures stating 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died in the last 2 years of the war.
The German Foreign Minister, Ann Baerbock had to end her visit to Mykolaiv early as drone followed her convoy.
Stoltenberg for NATO has said that Ukraine will join NATO, and it’s not a question of if but when.
The EU will open a Defence Innovation office in Kyiv as they support Ukraine becoming a member of the EU.
Ukraine has reported that 28,000 Ukrainians are in Russian captivity (including in occupied regions), and include journalists, NGO workers, religious figures and those who were in local government.
More Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered have been shot by Russians in Ivanivske near Bakhmut.
Russian propaganda claiming that:
We’re for peace, but peace is always the result of war. War was forced on us, forced on us, so we will secure peace again through victory. (Russian State TV)
The Russian Red Cross are reported to have also been used by the Kremlin as a propaganda tool.
Day 733 (26 Feb)
The Battle for Lastochkyne near Avdiivka was lost as Ukrainian troops were forced to withdraw, and two villages (Stepove and Sieverne) also fell to the Russians.
The Howard G. Buffet Foundation has donated over $500 million to Ukraine since 2022, and has pledged $300 million for 2024.
A Bulgarian delegation arrived in Kyiv led by the PM, Nikolai Denkov to support Ukraine’s independence and the recognise its territorial sovereignty.
Germany is seeking negotiations with India to secure ammunition to be transferred to Ukraine.
UN Secretary General Guterres has said that the UN Security Council needs to be reformed as it has failed to address or resolve the invasion of Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Day 734 (27 Feb)
Macron announces a coalition to send medium to long range missiles to Ukraine. Leaders of 21 allied countries had been invited to a summit in Paris by Macron yesterday and he had strong words that marked a change in direction from his previous comments to avoid humiliating Russia, to stating that Russia cannot be allowed to win.
We are not at war with the Russian people. We just don't want to let them win.
There was no consensus today to send troops on to the ground in a manner, that's official assumed and endorsed.
But on the dynamic, nothing should be excluded. We will do everything so that Russia cannot win this war. We should not exclude that there might be a need for security that then justify some elements of deployment. (Macron)
Zelenskyy arrives in Saudi Arabia for talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Russian encircle the areas around Bakhmut and deploy reserves to the front line as Ukraine still struggles with a lack of weapons.
After the summit in Paris, Germany, Sweden, Poland and the Czech Republic have stated they do not intend to send troops to Ukraine.
The US military are using their own funds to pay for the training of Ukrainian soldiers since Congress failed to pass the latest round of funding. If the Bill is not passed, then funding will run out for operations in Europe, Africa and for NATO operations.