- Biden and Scholz discuss the Ukraine war in Washington
- Russia continues attacks on Bakhmut Ukrainian military
CHASIV YAR, Ukraine, March 3 (Portal) – Ukrainian forces clinging to the eastern town of Bakhmut were digging new trenches to hold off Russian attackers as the United States said new military aid to Ukraine would be discussed at a meeting with German leaders on Friday.
For months, Russian forces have been attacking Bakhmut in Donetsk province, sometimes in waves, and the site has become one of the bloodiest battles of the war.
Washington is set to announce a new $400 million military aid package for the Kiev government and it is expected to be a key issue between US President Joe Biden and Chancellor Olaf Scholz when they meet at the White House meet, officials said.
The aid is expected to consist primarily of munitions, including the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) for HIMARS launchers, munitions for Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and bridges for armored vehicles, two US officials and a person familiar with the package said.
The United States has provided nearly $32 billion in arms to Ukraine to defend against Russia, which invaded its pro-Western neighbor on February 24 last year.
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The Biden administration is asking close allies about the possibility of imposing new sanctions on China if Beijing provides military support to Russia for its war in Ukraine, US officials and other sources have said. US officials have not publicly presented any evidence to support their claim that China is considering such aid to Russia, which Beijing denies.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby was asked by reporters Thursday if potential sanctions on China would be an issue for Biden and Scholz.
“I would certainly expect that in the context of talks about what’s going on in Ukraine, the issue of third-party support for Russia might come up,” Kirby said.
INTERNATIONAL COOL
The years-long conflict has killed thousands, displaced millions, pulverized Ukrainian cities, rocked the global economy and created a Cold War chill in international relations. Shortly before the Russian invasion, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin met to seal a “borderless” partnership between their countries that has sparked concern in the West.
At a G20 foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to end the war and urged Moscow to reverse the suspension of the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) on nuclear weapons official said.
It was the first face-to-face meeting between the top diplomats since the invasion. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Lavrov and Blinken spoke for less than 10 minutes “on the go.”
Russia accused the West of blackmail and threats and said it had China’s support for its position as the meeting ended without a joint statement.
BATTLE OF BAHMUT
Russia, which lost territory in the second half of 2022, says taking Bakhmut would be a step toward conquering the rest of the surrounding industrial region known as Donbass. Ukraine says the city has limited strategic value but wants to exhaust Russian forces.
Ukrainian forces repelled attacks on Bakhmut and on two western settlements – Khromove and Ivanivske, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in a statement Thursday evening.
Russian shelling hit Bakhmut and several nearby towns – including Chasiv Yar, the largest city in the west – and two towns south of Bakhmut, sources said.
In nearby towns and villages, new trenches had been dug along the roadside every 20 to 40 meters (65 to 130 ft), a sign that Ukrainian forces were strengthening their defensive positions.
In the central Zaporizhia region and in the Kherson region on the southern front, Russian forces shelled more than 40 towns and villages, the Ukrainian military said in a statement.
Russia says it is targeting infrastructure as part of its so-called “military special operation” to demote Ukraine’s military and eliminate what it says poses a threat to its own security. Ukraine and its allies accuse Moscow of an unprovoked war to gain territory.
“Our commanders clearly understand that their task is to do everything possible to suppress the terrorists’ fire,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his video message on Thursday evening. “And we’re constantly working with our partners to expand the breadth of our capabilities.”
Putin said Thursday Russia was hit by a “terrorist attack” in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine. The perpetrators are a Ukrainian sabotage group, Putin said.
Ukraine accused Russia of staging a false “provocation” but also seemed to imply that some sort of operation was actually carried out by Russian anti-government partisans.
Reporting by Portal bureaus; writing by Grant McCool; Editing by Diane Craft
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