Joe Biden met with Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday to announce a new military aid package ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day on Saturday.The two countries’ offices said the package was worth $125 million. In a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart, Biden reaffirmed U.S. support for Ukraine’s war with Russia, which the White House called “unwavering” support. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on social media that the aid package is worth $125 million. The White House said the package includes air defense missiles, anti-drone equipment, anti-armor missiles and ammunition. Austin also met on Friday with Ukrainian presidential aide Rustem Umerokhum.
“Ukraine badly needs the supplies of weapons from the announced package, in particular additional air defense systems,” Zelensky said after the call. The Ukrainian presidential office said in a statement that the move is “to ensure the protection of cities, communities and critical infrastructure.” The latest U.S. announcement of assistance comes as Ukrainian forces step up attacks on Russia’s western Kursk region and as Russian forces gain ground in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region around the vital logistics hub of the city of Pokrovsk.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kiev on Friday for a high-profile visit.This will be the first time an Indian prime minister has held this post since Ukraine gained independence in 1991. He told President Zelensky: He said he was “personally” ready to play his role “as a friend” to bring peace to Ukraine. “The path to a solution can only be found through dialogue and diplomacy,” Modi said. “And we should move in that direction without wasting time. Both sides should talk together to find a way out of this crisis.” Zelensky said “history has been made” and that “India supports Ukraine’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Mykhailo Podolyakh, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, said Modi’s visit to Kiev was significant because India “really has a certain amount of influence” over Moscow.
The United States has announced comprehensive sanctions against nearly 400 individuals and companies linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine.Russia will expand existing measures to thwart aggression. The companies designated in the measures announced Friday by the U.S. Treasury, State and Commerce departments include 60 Russia-based defense and technology companies that are vital to maintaining and developing Russia’s defense industry, the Treasury said. The sanctions also target individuals and companies in and outside Russia “whose products and services enable Russia to sustain its war effort and evade sanctions,” it said.
Power supply to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant has been restored Ukrainian nuclear power company Energoatom said on Friday that a high-voltage line had shut down the nuclear plant. Russian nuclear company Rosatom said the same day that an automated system at Europe’s largest nuclear plant in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine had shut down one of its power lines.
Russians have sent flowers and offered condolences to mark one year since the death of Russia’s paramilitary chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin.His supporters streamed around the roadside in Moscow, just a few hundred metres from the Kremlin, on Friday to lay bouquets of flowers. The mercenary boss died two months after leading an armed uprising against Russia’s military leadership, but is still revered by many who see him as a patriot, according to AFP.
