US is sending more weapons and munitions to the Ukraine in the largest pledge of support yet….
(A LOT of pledged stuff has NOT arrived in the Ukraine yet)
In addition….
The US is also sending $4.5 Billion in finatical funds to the Ukraine…
The Europe’s largest nuclear plant in the Ukraine will get international observers to report on it’s operational status after reports of possible weapons fire damage….
Russia is moving ahead with efforts to annex parts of the Ukraine it conquered ….
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
Key developments
- The latest American aid package brings the total amount of military assistance the United States has sent to Ukraine to more than $9 billion since Russia’s invasion in February. This tranche includes ammunition for the high-mobility artillery rocket systems known as HIMARS and 75,000 howitzer rounds, as well as mortar systems, surface-to-air missiles, Javelins, Claymore mines and demolition explosives.
- In a separate move, the United States is also providing another $4.5 billion in financing to the Ukrainian government, the U.S. Agency for International Development said Monday. The money, which will be sent through the World Bank, will help the country keep up essential services like gas and electricity, along with paying for humanitarian support and the salaries of civil servants and health-care workers, USAID said.
- Between 70,000 and 80,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or injured during the full-scale war in Ukraine, Colin Kahl, the U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, said at a Monday briefing. The figure is “pretty remarkable,” Kahl said, “considering that the Russians have achieved none of Vladimir Putin’s objectives at the beginning of the war.”
- Russia indicated Monday that it would allow international observers into the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which it captured in March, but such a visit would require a pause in fighting in the area. Russian state media reported that Moscow has offered to facilitate an inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog.
- The Russian-appointed administration of the Zaporizhzhia province moved ahead with steps to hold a referendum on joining Russia. Evgeny Balitsky, head of the occupation administration in Zaporizhzhia, signed a decree Monday to kick-start the process as a crowd cheered, Russian media reported. Analysts and officials have for weeks warned that Moscow’s proxies in Ukraine would conduct sham referendums and use the falsified results as a pretext to annex Ukrainian territory.
Battlefield updates
- The mayor of Kharkiv said Russian shelling hit the “densely populated” area of Pavlovo Pole. Ihor Terekhov said the area had “no military infrastructure,” and he urged residents to take shelter.
- Russia is probably placing mines along its defensive lines in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, Britain’s Defense Ministry said, noting that the weapons can inflict “widespread casualties amongst both the military and the local civilian population.” It did not cite specific evidence for its findings…..
Note….
I could be wrong…
But it does seem like the fighting in the Ukraine HAS slowed…..
And Russia seems to be cementing its gains whilke the Ukraine waits for more weapons for a post conflict military….