Joe Biden has informed Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the United States will supply Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missiles, according to senior NBC News sources. Kiev has long called for ATACMS to attack Russia’s logistics, bases and rail transport network in the Occupied Territories. The news of the ATACMS delivery came on the same day that the Ukrainians managed to hit the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol with at least one missile.
Ukrainian soldiers in a position on the front in BahmutPhoto: AA/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia
Ukraine War Highlights Day 577 LIVETEXT:
07:43Analysis: How ATACMS got from US stockpiles to Zelenskiy’s hands. Sources in Washington revealed on Friday that the US will soon supply Ukraine with a small number of long-range cruise missiles (ATACMS), crossing yet another of Moscow’s red lines.
01:10 Russia plans to massively increase defense spending in 2024, reaching 6% of GDP, up from 3.9% of GDP in 2023
00:48 VIDEO Zelenski addressed the Canadian parliament: “Moscow must lose once and for all. And he will lose”
00:26 Why the strikes on Crimea are important for the success of the counteroffensive – Ukrainian general
Brief recap of recent information:
- Winter will not slow the Ukrainian counteroffensive, and Kiev’s biggest breakthrough is yet to come, the general leading the country’s fight along the southern front told CNN.
- The Ukrainian Air Force says it is satisfied with the attack in Sevastopol, but hoped for more damage: “Russian air defense cannot cope.”
- The US will send a “small number” of long-range missiles (ATACMS) to Ukraine. Joe Biden told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the US would provide a small number of long-range missiles to help Ukraine.
- Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy “to never insult Poles again”.
- The Kremlin jubilated on Friday after the latest diplomatic standoff between Poland and Ukraine, saying it was seeing a rise in tensions between the two countries and also expected a growing rift between Kiev and its Western allies.
- The President of Poland does not believe that the grain dispute will significantly affect his country’s relations with Ukraine: I have no doubt that the dispute over the import of grain from Ukraine to the Polish market is only a fragment of Polish-Ukrainian relations”
- A large number of foreign investors are still doing business in Russia, despite the war it started in Ukraine and the Western sanctions imposed on it, the European Commission confirmed on Friday.
- Ukraine and the US have reached an agreement to launch a joint production of weapons, which could allow Kiev to start producing air defense systems.
- The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has approved the front-line use of the ShaBlia (“Saber”) weapon system, a remote-controlled combat module that was developed by Ukrainian engineers.
- The war in Ukraine has hit European economies, but the worst is yet to come, says a study by the Swiss National Bank. Germany is the most affected country
- Russian soldiers mobilized to fight in Ukraine have been killed on average just months after joining Moscow’s armed forces, an independent investigation has found.
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