Muristek
Kyiv, April 25
Top American officials pledged on Monday to help ensure Ukraine wins its fight against Russia following face-to-face talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, while Britain said Moscow has yet to achieve a significant breakthrough in its offensive in the eastern industrial heartland of the country.
In meetings with Zelenskyy, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the United States had approved a USD 165 million sale of ammunition for Ukraine's war effort, along with more than USD 300 million in foreign military financing.
"The strategy that we've put in place — massive support for Ukraine, massive pressure against Russia, solidarity with more than 30 countries engaged in these efforts — is having real results," Blinken told reporters in Poland, the day after meeting with Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials.
"When it comes to Russia's war aims, Russia is failing. Ukraine is succeeding. Russia has sought as its principal aim to totally subjugate Ukraine, to take away its sovereignty, to take away its independence. That has failed."
For his part, Zelenskyy in the meeting said he was "very thankful" for the American aid and particularly praised President Joe Biden for his "personal support."
"The second issue is the sanctions policy against the Russian Federation because of the full-scale invasion and all the terror they have committed in Ukraine."
Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Monday that Ukrainian troops holed up in a steel plant in the strategic city were tying down Russian forces, and keeping them from being added to the offensive elsewhere in the Donbas.
"Without sufficient logistical and combat support enablers in place, Russia has yet to achieve a significant breakthrough," the ministry said.
Asked about what the US sees as success, Austin said that "we want to see Ukraine remain a sovereign country, a democratic country able to protect its sovereign territory, we want to see Russia weakened to the point where it can't do things like invade Ukraine."
Since failing to capture Kyiv, the Russians have aimed to gain full control over the Donbas, the eastern industrial heartland, where Moscow-backed separatists controlled some territory before the war.
More than 1,00,000 people — down from a prewar population of about 4,30,000 — are believed to remain in Mariupol with scant food, water or heat. Ukrainian authorities estimate more than 20,000 civilians have been killed.