Ukraine Update…558 days into the Russian move on Ukraine….Drone wars continue

The US Sec of State dropas into Kyiv to talk to Ukraine President Zelensky and to announce anothe $1 Billion more in aid being sent form the US…$200 Million is for humanitarn purposes,,,

Drone wars continue…

The US has sent/is sending more than $70 Billion to the Ukraine…..

Russia is pushing against the Ukraine on the Eastern front…..

The Warner Group is being being labeled a terrorist group ny the US and British….

The U.S. commitment includes more military assistance, but also funds to bolster Ukraine’s future defense and its own democracy and economy. The announcement came after a Russian missile strike killed at least 17 people in the city of Kostyantynivka.

Here’s what we’re covering:

The U.S. aid bolsters Ukraine’s military but also looks to a future after the war.
A fireball leaves scenes of carnage at a market in Ukraine.
Suspected Russian drone debris is found in Romania.
Ahead of a meeting at the International Criminal Court, U.S. Congress members accuse Putin of genocide in Ukraine.
The U.S. has committed more than $70 billion to Ukraine.
Ukraine’s forces are churning slowly forward after breaching Russia’s initial defensive lines.
Ukraine’s first lady speaks of the strains of being married to a wartime president…..

More…

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Key developments

The aid package announced Wednesday includes more than $200 million for anti-corruption initiatives. It comes in the wake of a cabinet-level shake-up: Zelensky replaced his defense minister amid an anti-corruption sweep. Overall, the United States has provided more than $65 billion in security, humanitarian and financial support to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February of last year.

The aid package announced by Blinken also includes up to $175 million in HIMARS rockets and other munitions and military equipment, more than $90 million for demining, $300 million for law enforcement in recaptured areas and other locations affected by the war, more than $200 million in humanitarian assistance, and more than $5 million in assets surrendered by oligarchs to support services for veterans.

Ukraine’s parliament officially approved Rustem Umerov as the country’s new defense minister following the resignation ofOleksii Reznikov, who took the role in November 2021. Reznikov resigned this week after Zelensky announced plans to replace him, with the ministry embroiled in corruption allegations.

Who is Rustem Umerov, Zelensky’s pick for Ukraine defense minister?

Kostiantynivka market strike

“The Russian troops are terrorists who will not be forgiven,”Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine’s prime minister, said in a statement confirming the Kostiantynivka attack. “There will be just retribution for everything.” Ukrainian soldiers positioned in the area frequent the market. The city is close to Bakhmut, which Russia captured in May after months of brutal fighting.

The European Union connected the strike to a pattern of indiscriminate Russian attacks on civilians. “This attack follows an escalation over the past months of missile and drone attacks all over Ukraine, especially on civilian objects, killing and wounding more than 410 civilians over the past two weeks alone,” read an E.U. statement. “Intentional attacks against civilians are war crimes. All commanders, perpetrators and accomplices of these atrocities will be held to account.”

Romania finds suspected Russian drone fragments

Fragments that “resemble drone parts” were found on Romanian territory, said Defense Ministry spokesman Constantin Spanu. An investigation is underway to determine the exact “nature of these fragments,” which were found Tuesday, he said, adding that he could not “make a direct connection” with any recent attack. Investigators have searched areas in Romania bordering Ukraine for several days after Russian bombardments, Spanu said. Romania’s Defense Ministry had dismissed claims earlier this week that Russian drones entered the country during an attack on Ukrainian ports on the Danube River.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said Wednesday that if “elements from a Russian drone” are confirmed to have been found on Romanian soil, “it would be a serious violation of Romania’s sovereignty.”

“Romania informed NATO Allies about this incident in today’s meeting of the North Atlantic Council, and Allies expressed strong solidarity with Romania,” read a statement released Wednesday by NATO. “Since last year, in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, NATO has significantly increased its presence in the Black Sea region. We continue to monitor the situation closely, and we remain in close contact with our Ally Romania.”

Romania finds suspected Russian drone fragments on its territory

Battleground updates

Ukraine had the highest casualty toll from cluster munitions of any country last year, according to the Cluster Munition Coalition watchdog. Nearly 300 people were killed and 600 wounded by cluster bombs in Ukraine in 2022, the group said in a report, which noted that most of the victims were civilians and many were children. The United States faced criticism this year for starting to supply Ukraine with the widely banned weapons, which Russia has used extensively during the war.

Kyiv was targeted by missiles overnight, but air defenses intercepted the attacks, according to Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration. A Washington Post reporter in Kyiv heard explosions overhead on the eve of Blinken’s visit, as the capital was under an air alert for about two hours.

Conditions are “difficult” along the eastern front line, said the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, Oleksandr Syrsky. Russian forces are “completing the training of assault units, shelling our positions daily with artillery and mortars,” near Kupyansk in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, he also said Wednesday.

Global impact

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also arrived in the Ukrainian capital and addressed the parliament in Kyiv on Wednesday. Her visit comes after Denmark, along with the Netherlands, pledged to deliver the F-16 fighter jets Ukraine has long sought from its Western allies…..

More….

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Ukraine Update…558 days into the Russian move on Ukraine….Drone wars continue

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