Yesterday, the Russian military announced that it had destroyed a warehouse of weapons received from NATO in western Ukraine, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Westerners to speed up deliveries to his country.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that “high-precision Caliber class cruise missiles destroyed a depot of foreign weapons ammunition supplied by NATO countries to Ukraine, in particular the 155-mm M777 howitzer, near the city of Zolochiv.”
In addition, one of the advisers to the President of Ukraine said that Ukraine, whose forces are facing difficulties in repelling Russian forces in the Donbass, is “awaiting a decision” on Wednesday regarding the acceleration of the delivery of heavy weapons by Western allies.
“The ratio of artillery between Russia and Ukraine is ten to one, and I receive daily messages from fighters: “We are standing, tell us exactly when the weapons will arrive,” Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter.
Russia urged Ukrainians to end their “futile resistance” in Severodonetsk and suggested yesterday the creation of a “humanitarian corridor” to evacuate civilians, but received no response from Kyiv, which, for its part, urged its citizens to “remain steadfast.” .”
It comes at a time when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Contact Committee on Ukraine is meeting in Brussels in the presence of US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to discuss the possibility of speeding up the delivery of weapons to Kyiv, which will allow it to counter Russian forces.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that it would ensure “the safe evacuation of all civilians without exception.” “From 540 to 560 people” are hiding in the basements of the huge Azot chemical plant, which is one of the symbols of this industrial city in eastern Ukraine, said the head of the administration of Severodonetsk, Oleksandr Stryuk. This situation is reminiscent of the Azovstal metallurgical plant, which for weeks remained the last focus of Ukrainian resistance in the port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov. The Russian ministry called on Ukrainians to raise the white flag to signify their acceptance of the proposal and put an end to “futile resistance.” In economic terms, Russian giant Gazprom Group cut gas supplies to Eni by 15 percent yesterday, a spokesman for the Italian company told AFP, a day after cutting supplies to Germany by 40 percent.