US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, this afternoon, on an unannounced visit, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of "good news" from the battlefields in the east of the country.
In his statements from Kyiv, the US Secretary of State announced the provision of additional military aid to Ukraine and its neighboring countries, amounting to 2.8 billion dollars.
Blinken's visit to the Ukrainian capital comes at a time when Ukraine announced that it has made great progress in its efforts to regain Kharkiv, its second largest city, from the grip of Russian forces.
At the US military air base in Ramstein, Germany, the meetings of the Defense Contact Group for Ukraine began.
Defense ministers and military leaders from more than 50 countries will participate in the meetings, to discuss the file of the ongoing war in Ukraine, and to secure permanent support for Kiev.
For her part, the German Defense Minister stressed that the aim of the meeting was to increase support for Kiev and coordination with its allies.
In turn, the US Secretary of Defense announced a new military aid package to Ukraine worth $675 million.
During his speech at the meeting of the Defense Contact Group on Ukraine, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the countries of the group will work to enhance Ukraine's capabilities and meet its long-term needs to defend its sovereignty.
Since our last meeting last July, the United States has committed $6.3 billion in military assistance to Ukraine, and yesterday the president approved a new $675 million package.
Russia continues to bomb cities in Ukraine while Ukrainian forces use our aid to reclaim their territory.
We are gathered here today to reaffirm our determination to remain on the side of Ukraine and to refuse to live in a world where nations cross borders by force.
Lethal Excalibur Defender
On the other hand, the United States announced the provision of Ukraine 155-mm howitzer shells, Excaliburs.
And the "Bloomberg" website reported that this is the first time that Washington has provided Kyiv with this type of munitions, as part of the US aid package to counter the Russian invasion, as the site put it.
The "Excalibur" missile belongs to the category of smart weapons, it is laser-guided, and is characterized by accuracy in hitting the target, and its range is close to 40 kilometers.
Zaporozhye station
This comes while the situation at the Zaporozhye plant is escalating. The pro-Russian authorities in Energodar have announced the temporary suspension of work on the fifth reactor at the plant for technical reasons.
The authorities said that a leak caused contamination of the water that reaches the station, stressing that there is no threat to the work of the reactors.
She added that, according to the technical protocol, the work of the fifth reactor must be stopped until the pollution is removed, and indicated that the sixth reactor at the station is currently operating, but not at its full capacity.
Kyiv announces the restoration of areas in the east
On the ground, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of "good news" from the battlefields in the east of the country, saying that his army had recaptured some towns and villages from Russia.
Zelensky said in a speech late on Wednesday that his forces had liberated some residential communities in the Kharkiv region in a counter-attack.
Some Western analysts have estimated that Kyiv may have reclaimed about 400 square kilometers of territory after its forces advanced far behind Russian lines.
"This week we have good news from Kharkiv Oblast. You have probably all seen reports on the latest activities of Ukrainian defenders. I think every (Ukrainian) citizen feels proud of our warriors," Zelensky added.
The Kharkiv region lies on the border with Russia, and its main city of the same name was bombed for months by Russian missiles after Moscow failed to capture it in the early stages of the invasion that began on February 24.
Noting that the situation in the region remains highly volatile, Zelensky said it was too early to name the towns and villages that had been retaken, while thanking three battalions for their courage.
This Ukrainian advance, if confirmed and maintained, would be a major boost to Kiev, which is keen to show its Western backers that it can change the situation on the ground by force and that it deserves continued support.
On the other hand, a Russian official said that his country's forces resisted strongly and prevented Kyiv's forces from seizing control of at least one major town.
The Russian Defense Ministry also announced that the Ukrainian army did not carry out new offensive operations in the south, due to the heavy losses it incurred according to the Russian defense, while the Ukrainian General Staff said that its air forces launched more than 30 raids on Russian sites along the eastern and southern fronts.
Russian forces launched 10 missile strikes and 22 air raids on different regions of Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian army.
On the southern front, Russian forces bombed three towns near the front line in Zaporozhye, where the nuclear plant is located.
And in Kherson, British intelligence said that Ukrainian forces continue to launch attacks in the vicinity of Kherson, in the south of the country.
Behind the Russian lines
Separately, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank that tracks the war on a daily basis, said the Ukrainian military appeared to have made significant progress on Wednesday.
"Ukrainian forces most likely used a tactical surprise to advance at least 20 kilometers into Russian-controlled territory in the eastern Kharkiv Oblast on September 7 to recover nearly 400 square kilometers of land," the institute added.