Latest developments:
- President Joe Biden said Monday that the United States had “nothing to do” with Wagner’s revolt against the Russian military leadership. “This was part of a struggle within the Russian system,” Biden said, adding that he was briefed “hour by hour” on the developments by his national security team and allies.
- Wager chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said Monday in an audio recording on the Telegram messaging app that he did not intend to overthrow the Russian government and that the revolt was triggered by a Russian military attack on his men. He called the uprising a “justice movement.”
- Moldova’s prime minister, Dorin Recean, said Monday that Wagner’s short-lived mutiny in Russia has exposed Moscow’s weakness and that what he described as the Kremlin’s interference in his own country was becoming less effective over time.
European Union countries agreed Monday to increase their military aid for Ukraine by $3.8 billion to more than $13 billion.
The European Peace Facility (EPF), which EU countries contribute to according to the size of their economies, has already allocated some $5 billion in military aid for Ukraine. This package is separate from the EU’s budget, which is not allowed to finance military operations.
“Today’s decision will again ensure that we have the funding to continue delivering concrete military support to our partners’ armed forces,” the bloc’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, who had requested the increase, said in a statement.
“The facility has proven its worth. It has completely changed the way we support our partners on defense. It makes the EU and its partners stronger,” he said.
Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, said Monday it would not lift a block on a $546 million tranche of the existing fund until Kyiv removes blacklisted Hungarian bank OTP from a list of companies Kyiv calls “international sponsors” of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Hungary has branded the bank’s inclusion “scandalous.”
The EPF, established in 2021, was designed for the EU to help developing countries buy military equipment. But the 27-member EU quickly decided to use it also to get weapons to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion in February of last year. The fund allows EU countries that supply weapons and ammunition to Ukraine to claim a portion of the cost.
Ukraine battlefield
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Monday that Ukrainian forces had made some gains in the eastern part of the country during the past week, and that there was heavy fighting in the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Maryinka areas.
Maliar also said that while “the situation in the south has not undergone significant changes over the past week,” overall, Ukrainian forces had freed 130 square kilometers since launching a counteroffensive earlier in June.
Ukraine’s military said Monday its forces downed two of three cruise missiles that Russia fired from the Black Sea as well as seven of eight Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia.
Such aerial attacks have been a common part of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Ukrainian officials hailing the work of air defenses in countering the assaults.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Sunday after a phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden that he was “especially grateful” to the United States for the reliability of Patriot air defense batteries.
Biden reaffirmed unwavering U.S. support for Ukraine, including through continued security, economic and humanitarian aid, according to a White House statement.
Zelenskyy said he also discussed the fighting on the front lines and strengthening Ukraine’s troops in his call with Biden and similar conversations Sunday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Polish President Andrzej Duda.
US military aid
A new U.S. military aid package for Ukraine, worth up to $500 million, will be announced as soon as Tuesday. The package will include ground vehicles for Ukraine’s counteroffensive, two U.S. officials said.
Expected to be included are 30 Bradley fighting vehicles and 25 Stryker armored personnel carriers, according to one of the officials.
Ukraine will also receive munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, anti-tank weapons including Javelins and munitions for Patriot and Stinger anti-aircraft systems, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The package is still being finalized and could change, they said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The package would be funded using presidential drawdown authority, which authorizes the president to transfer articles and services from U.S. stocks without congressional approval during an emergency. The material will come from excess U.S. inventory.
The security assistance package would be part of more than $40 billion in military aid by the U.S. since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Zelenskyy visits troops
Zelenskyy handed out awards to troops and posed for selfies with soldiers during a visit to the eastern region of Donetsk, footage of which was posted online on Monday.
The president’s office did not say when Zelenskyy visited the units, including soldiers who have fought Russian troops in the Bakhmut sector, where battles are raging.
Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to the soldiers fighting on the front lines.
“Everyone in the country understands, so you know, those who are not on the front line; everyone understands perfectly that you are doing the most difficult work today and everyone knows that eastern direction is very difficult,” he said.
Wagner mutiny
During a press briefing Monday, President Biden said he was being briefed “hour by hour” by his national security team on the situation in Russia and convened allies on a video conference. He said the U.S. has made it clear it was not involved in Wagner’s mutiny, adding, “This was part of a struggle within the Russian system.”
Additionally, Biden said, “We’re going to keep assessing the fallout of this weekend’s events and the implications for Russia and Ukraine. But it’s still too early to reach a definitive conclusion about where this is going.”
The unprecedented challenge to Putin by fighters from the Wagner paramilitary forces exposed fresh “cracks” in the strength of Putin’s 23-year leadership that may take weeks or months to play out, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday. Blinken spoke during a televised interview on the NBC program “Meet the Press.”
Source : VOA News
