Ukraine suffers from a fresh Russian attack

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Ukraine to show support amidst a Russian attack. He said that the military aid from the US will help Ukraine in a big way.

In the past few days, Russian troops have taken over about 100 to 125 square kilometers of land in the Kharkiv region, including seven villages, in attacks along the northeastern border. This information comes from analysts who follow open sources. Even though many villages were already empty, thousands of people in the area have run away from the fighting.

The Kremlin’s forces are trying hard to move further into the eastern part of Donetsk, which is partly controlled by them. The main target of the Russian attacks on Tuesday was a town called Pokrovsk, just inside the border of Ukraine in Donetsk. The Ukrainian general staff reported that the Kremlin’s forces launched 24 assaults in that area.

Experts say this is a very dangerous time for Ukraine, even more dangerous than when Russia invaded in February 2022. President Zelenskyy is asking for more air defense systems to protect people from Russian attacks in the northeast.

“We understand that this is a difficult time,” Blinken said in Ukraine where he met with Zelenskyy. He said that American military help will really help against Russia’s ongoing aggression in battle.

The visit comes soon after Congress approved a delayed aid package of US$60 billion for Ukraine to help replace their depleted artillery and air defense systems.

“Some of it is coming soon,” Blinken said, “and some of it has already reached Ukraine. ”

Moscow has started a big attack on the northeastern region of Kharkiv. This is the biggest move across the border since the war started. It comes after many months where the front line hardly moved.

Authorities say that more than 7,500 people have been moved out of the area. At the same time, the Russian forces are moving towards the northern border areas of Sumy and Chernihiv, according to Ukrainian officials. The soldiers in Kyiv are having a hard time stopping them because they have fewer weapons and soldiers.

Soldiers fought in the streets on the edge of Vovchansk, a big town in the Kharkiv area, said Gov Oleh Syniehubov on TV. On Tuesday, two regular people were killed in a Russian attack.

The UN human rights office said the fighting is causing a lot of damage.

“We are very worried about the situation for people in Ukraine,” Liz Throssell, who speaks for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in Geneva. “In Kharkiv region, things are really bad. ”

Zelenskyy said thank you to Blinken for the help from the US, but also said that they need more help. They urgently need two Patriot air defense systems to protect Kharkiv.

“The people are being attacked, including civilians and warriors. ” “He said they are in danger of Russian missiles. ”

The US official said that weapons like cannons, defense planes, and long-range missiles have been given, some are now at the front, and he told this to reporters while traveling with the secretary on a train from Poland. He didn’t want his name to be shared before Blinken’s meetings.

Before the trip, US officials said that President Joe Biden signed a law to give $1. 4 billion for short-term military help and $6 billion for long-term help.

Blinken visited Kyiv for the fourth time since Russian troops came in. He told the Ukrainian Prime Minister that the US plans to keep helping Ukraine even after the war is over.

“The United States is committed to helping Ukraine do well, both in winning battles and in building a strong country for peace,” Blinken said.

The government is “working to speed up” the delivery of weapons to the United States, according to national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

However, the US’s late help, especially since the conflict between Israel and Hamas started and has been the main focus of top government officials, has caused serious worries in Kyiv and Europe. Blinken has gone to the Middle East seven times since the fighting in Gaza started in October. He went to Kyiv in September for the last time.

Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had lunch at a pizza restaurant in Kyiv that was created by Ukrainian veterans. Blinken said the food was really good. Last time Blinken visited, they ate at a newly reopened McDonald’s.

The state’s secretary was supposed to talk about Ukraine’s great achievements in the war on Tuesday. It is meant to add to a speech by Blinken in Helsinki, Finland last year, where he criticized Putin for Russia’s failures in starting the war.

Since the Helsinki speech, Russia has increased its attacks, especially as the US House of Representatives did not take action on the aid package for a long time, causing a stop in most US assistance. Recently, there have been more attacks as Russia tries to take advantage of Ukraine’s lack of people and weapons while new help is on the way.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is going to visit China for two days this week, as said by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Beijing has supported Moscow in the war and has sent equipment and electronics that could help Russia in the war, but they have not sent weapons.

Blinken told Zelenskyy that a powerful, successful, and free Ukraine is the best way to show Putin he’s wrong and the best way to make sure your future is secure.

The senior US official said that even though Ukraine has had some problems lately, they could still achieve important wins. This means that Russia is working to get back half of the land it lost at the beginning of the war. They also want to make their economy stronger and improve how goods are moved and sold, especially by winning battles in the Black Sea.