The “Kremlin” describes the “American document” to support Kyiv as confrontational
Putin acknowledges the "long" conflict in Ukraine
Zelensky attends the ceremony of handing over a combat banner to an army brigade in Kyiv on the Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Reuters
Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that the conflict in Ukraine was “long,” while praising the “important results” that had been achieved, in reference to his announcement of the annexation of four Ukrainian regions, while the “Kremlin” announced that a US bill to spend on military aid includes Offering $800 million to Ukraine, approved by US lawmakers on Tuesday, is “confrontational” towards Russia.
"Certainly, it is a long process," Putin said during the televised meeting, before praising "the emergence of new lands" and "an important result for Russia."
He explained that Russia has deployed nearly half of the men recruited during the partial mobilization of reservists, about 150,000 soldiers, in Ukraine.
"Of the 300,000 of our mobilized fighters, men and defenders of the Fatherland, 150,000 are in the area of operations," Putin said during a televised meeting, adding that 77,000 are directly deployed in combat zones.
On the other hand, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in an event organized by the British newspaper “Financial Times” “What we are seeing now is that Russia is trying to impose a kind of suspension of this war, at least for a short period, so that it can regroup Its ranks, recovery and recovery, and then attempt to launch a major, broader attack next spring ».
The Secretary-General of NATO added that NATO members continue their "unprecedented" supply of weapons and support to Ukraine, despite fears that Western stocks may run out.
"Adding new systems is just as important as ensuring the systems or weapons we have already delivered work," Stoltenberg noted.
"This means that they need a large amount of ammunition, spare parts and maintenance," he said.
Stoltenberg said he had no "other information" about alleged attacks by Ukrainian marches on air bases in Russia, after the Americans confirmed that they "did not allow or encourage" such attacks by Kyiv.
The Secretary-General considered that the conditions for a peaceful solution to the conflict "are not available, because Russia has not shown any indication of its commitment to negotiations that respect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity."
On the ground, the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, inspected the forces near the front lines in eastern Ukraine, on Tuesday, and expressed his thanks to all participants in the war effort on the occasion of the celebration of the Armed Forces Day in the country.
During his visit near the front, one of several he has made in the past few months, Zelensky honored and decorated a number of soldiers.
And he wrote on “Telegram”: “Thank you for this toughness and strength.
You are the vanguard of our independence.”
In Moscow, the Kremlin said yesterday that a US bill to spend on military aid, including providing $800 million to Ukraine, and approved by US lawmakers the day before yesterday, is “confrontational” towards Russia.
In contact with journalists, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, indicated that "the document that was approved is of a very confrontational nature with regard to our country."
The Fiscal National Defense Authorization Act of 2023 allows for additional spending for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, $500 million more than US President Joe Biden requested earlier this year.
The bill also suspends some restrictions on munitions deals to support Ukraine.
The Senate and House of Representatives are expected to approve the bill this month, before sending it to the White House for Biden to sign and become law.
Ukraine announced that its armed forces had killed 92,740 Russian soldiers, including 540, the day before yesterday, since the start of the war in Ukraine.
This came in a statement issued by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and reported yesterday by the Ukrainian National News Agency (Ukrinform).
"In addition, the Ukrainian forces destroyed 2,935 Russian tanks, 5,909 armored vehicles, 1,923 artillery systems, 395 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), and 211 anti-aircraft systems," the statement said.
The statement added that 281 aircraft, 264 helicopters, 1,601 tactical drones, 592 cruise missiles, 16 warships or gunboats, 4,526 trucks, fuel tanks, and 163 units of special equipment were also destroyed.
A Russian military truck collided with a minibus in the Russian-controlled part of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, yesterday, killing at least 16 people and injuring four others, according to the Russian authorities assigned to the Donetsk region.
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