UKRAINE: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, travelled to Poland to express gratitude to his Polish allies for their support since Russia invaded Ukraine and welcomed millions of refugees. French President Emmanuel Macron was in China to work with Beijing to end Russia’s assault on Ukraine, which has been going on for the past year.
Beijing has demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities, and the United States has promised to provide Zelenskyy’s government with $2.6 billion in military equipment, bringing the total amount of promised military help to $35 billion. Russian news agency TASS accused the US of trying to prolong the battle.
The West has increased assistance to Ukraine as they prepare for a counteroffensive against Russian soldiers in the east. Six Leopard 2A4 tanks have been delivered, and Spain has trained 40 tank crew members and 15 mechanics. 48 Leopard 2 tanks have been pledged by NATO members.
The Bakhmut area of the battlefield is a major area of conflict, with both sides sustaining significant fatalities and most of the city in ruins. Ukrainian soldiers in muddy dugouts recalled fending off Russian assaults near the town of Niu-York, 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Bakhmut.
Ukrainian military leaders have emphasized the importance of holding Bakhmut and other towns and inflicting losses. In a report, the Ukrainian general staff stated that 20 hostile strikes had been repelled in the previous 24 hours.
The Wagner group, leading the attack on Bakhmut, claimed to have taken control of the city centre, but Kyiv rejected the assertion. The Institute for the Study of War, based in the US, said the Wagner fighters had made progress and were likely to consolidate control and march through populated districts to the west.
Better support
Zelenskyy crossed into Poland on Wednesday morning to meet with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and President Andrzej Duda and interact with Ukrainian refugees. Poland has been instrumental in convincing other Western nations to give Ukraine battle tanks and other types of equipment, and the Ukrainian side may request additional assistance. Poland has already made significant contributions.
Oleksii Reznikov, the minister of defence for Ukraine, praised the arrival of MiGs from Poland, while Henryk Kowalczyk, the Polish Minister of Agriculture, resigned due to growing resentment among farmers about the effect of Ukrainian grain imports on domestic grain prices. The European Commission opted to extend duty-free imports for Ukrainian grain until June 2024, leading to the resignation.
Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, and Vladimir Putin will meet in Moscow for two days beginning on Wednesday. Belarus served as the starting point for the Russian invasion in February of last year, and Putin declared that Belarus would get Russian nuclear tactical weapons.
French President Macron suggested that China might help put an end to the conflict in Ukraine due to its close ties to Moscow. He and the EU’s Ursula von der Leyen are attempting to repair relations with a significant economic partner while addressing contentious topics like the Ukraine and trade dangers.
Also Read: Wimbledon Drops Ban on Russian and Belarusian Athletes
