War between Ukraine and Russia: Experts say the war cannot be won on the battlefield
Some experts say the war in Ukraine cannot be won on the battlefield. Here’s what that means.
Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
A drone strike temporarily shut down three Moscow-area airports on Sunday, as Ukraine stepped up efforts to give Muscovites a grim impression of the war that has plagued Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began nearly 19 months ago.
Two of the airports suspended air traffic for several hours before reporting at 8:30 a.m. local time that all airport activity had returned to normal, Russian state media reported. Another airport suspended flights for about an hour. Dozens of flights were canceled or delayed. Similar incidents a day earlier also briefly disrupted airport traffic, Tass reported.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said earlier Sunday that air defenses had shot down drones in Moscow’s Istria district, about 25 miles west of downtown Moscow. Another drone was shot down in Ramenky district. No casualties or serious damage were reported in the incidents, Sobyanin said.
Drone strikes have damaged buildings, caused minor injuries and altered flight plans for several weeks. Ukraine has not explicitly claimed responsibility for the attacks but has defended them as fair play, citing the hits Ukrainian cities have received from Russian rockets and mortars since the war began.
Senator Warren: Ukraine policy should not depend on “one billionaire” – Elon Musk. Live updates
Developments:
◾The Ukrainian Defense Contact Group will meet on Tuesday in Germany for its monthly update meeting. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin chairs the meeting, the most important global forum for gaining military support for Ukraine.
“The West must adjust to the reality that the war will last long and that if Ukraine stops fighting, “their country will no longer exist,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.
The US is dictating Ukraine’s military actions and waging America’s own war against Russia by supplying weapons to Kiev, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Rossiya-1 television. Lavrov was asked on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum whether US officials had agreed to supply Ukraine with long-range depleted uranium shells.
“No matter what it says, it controls this war, it supplies weapons, ammunition, intelligence information, data from satellites, it is waging a war against us,” Lavrov said. “Ukraine has long been prepared to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia with its hands and bodies.”
North Korea will likely soon begin supplying Russia with artillery shells and other weapons, but the lifeline the military is throwing to Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to change the course of the war, the top U.S. general says. Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it remains unclear how quickly Moscow will receive the munitions and how much North Korea can or is willing to deliver. Aid was among the topics Putin discussed with Kim Jong Un during talks with the North Korean leader last week.
“Would it make a big difference? I’m skeptical about that,” Milley said. “I doubt it would make a difference.”
Contribution: The Associated Press