Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba on Thursday, February 24, held talks with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, as a result of which he announced plans for new arms supplies to Kiev and sanctions against Russia.
“Speaked on the phone with Secretary of State Blinken about ways to stop Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine. The Secretary briefed me on new US sanctions against Russia, as well as plans to deliver new defensive weapons to help Ukraine defend itself,” the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry wrote on his Twitter.
On February 21, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov noted the unprecedented support for Kiev by Western countries. According to him, within a month Ukraine received about 2,000 tons of modern weapons, ammunition and body armor. So, on February 11, the minister announced the supply of 90 tons of ammunition to the United States, thus, the total weight of military assistance from the United States alone at the moment reaches 1300 tons.
At the same time, on February 24, US President Joe Biden announced that he did not intend to send a military contingent to Ukraine. American forces are sent to Europe not to fight in Ukraine, but to protect NATO allies, the head of the White House stressed.
The President of the United States has repeatedly stated that there are no plans to send American troops to Ukraine. He called a “world war” a situation in which the Russians and Americans would start shooting at each other.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a special televised address, announced that a special operation would be carried out in the Donbass in order to protect the civilian population and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe, which was indicated in the appeal of the DPR and LPR to the Russian leader. After that, the head of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of hitting the country’s military infrastructure and introduced martial law throughout the state.
The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said that the army did not carry out air missile or artillery strikes on the cities of Ukraine. They stressed that nothing threatens the civilian population of the country. High-precision weapons destroy military infrastructure: military airfields, aviation, air defense facilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
On February 21, the Russian leader signed decrees recognizing the independence of the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics (LNR and DNR). Also, the President of the Russian Federation and the heads of both republics Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin signed agreements on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance. The documents were ratified the next day by both the republics themselves and the Russian State Duma.
The situation in Donbass escalated on February 17. The DPR and LPR reported heavy shelling by Ukrainian security forces, including from heavy weapons. The republics announced a general mobilization and evacuation of civilians to the territory of Russia.
Since 2014, the Kiev authorities have been conducting a military operation against the inhabitants of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’état and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, Kiev blames Moscow for the current situation. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the conflict.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
