The US on Friday responded to a Russian warning against arming Ukraine by offering a further US$400 million in security assistance, as US President Joe Biden hosted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a show of unity against Moscow.
Meanwhile, the head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group said its forces had “practically encircled” the eastern Ukraine city of Bakhmut, which has seen the fiercest fighting of Moscow’s invasion.
Western military aid for Ukraine has been key to Kyiv’s ability to hold out against Moscow’s military onslaught, and to even regain ground, but the Kremlin said that such assistance would only “prolong the conflict and have sad consequences for the Ukrainian people.”
Photo: Reuters
Arms deliveries “place a significant burden on the economies of these countries and negatively affect the well-being of citizens of these countries, including Germany,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Washington ignored that warning, announcing the new security package for Kyiv that features ammunition, including for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, known as HIMARS, that Ukrainian forces have used to devastating effect against Russian troops and supply dumps.
In a display of partnership after friction over supplying tanks to Ukraine, Biden hosted Scholz at the White House for his first trip to Washington since Russia’s invasion.
When they last met, “Russia was amassing its troops” on the border, Biden said in brief remarks to the press, adding that the West had vowed to respond and “together we made good on that promise.”
In reply, Scholz said it was important to send a message to Ukraine that “we will continue to [support it] as long as it takes and as long as it necessary.”
The absence of a joint news conference raised questions about remaining difficulties, but the two leaders tried to dispel that impression, and Scholz said the bilateral relationship was “in a very good shape.”
In another show of support for Ukraine, US Attorney General Merrick Garland made a surprise visit to the country on Friday to attend a conference on justice and war crimes.
“The attorney general held several meetings and reaffirmed our determination to hold Russia accountable for crimes committed in its unjust and unprovoked invasion against its sovereign neighbor,” a US Department of Justice official said.
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in a video released on Telegram on Friday said that the group’s units “have practically surrounded Bakhmut, only one road remains” to be captured.
The 61-year-old has regularly posted about the advances of Wagner, his once-shadowy force that has taken center stage in the fight in eastern Ukraine.
He has said in the past few weeks that his fighters have seized three villages north of Bakhmut — Yagidne, Berkhivka and Paraskoviivka.
Ukraine has said it will defend “fortress Bakhmut” for as long as possible, but this week officials said the situation was difficult.
Russia is determined to seize Bakhmut — a now-destroyed city once known for its sparkling wine — as part of its wider aim of capturing the entire Donetsk region.
Ukrainian troops have held out for months, fighting brutal trench warfare and artillery battles that have flattened large portions of the city.
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages
RSS