The war in Ukraine costs a large amount of ammunition.
(Photo: dpa)
Kyiv After attending the virtual world summit for democracy, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that democracy urgently needs a victory. Russia, meanwhile, is preparing for a long war against Ukraine and the West.
Zelenski: Democracy needs a victory
“And all of us together – Ukrainians, all Europeans, our American allies, our friends on every continent – in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Australia – will do everything to bring this victory closer,” Zelensky said in his evening video address on Wednesday . “The victory of Ukraine, the victory of freedom, the victory for the rules-based international order.”
The US co-hosted the virtual summit with Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea and Zambia. US President Joe Biden had already invited to a virtual meeting of this kind in December 2021. Zelenski underscored Biden’s leading role in consolidating the democratic world. “And this unity, as we see, is enough to fight for freedom,” he said. “But to win the battle against tyranny, we need more unity.”
Kremlin expects long conflict with West over Ukraine
According to the Kremlin, Russia is preparing for a long war with the West over Ukraine. “This is a confrontation with hostile states, with unfriendly countries, this is a hybrid war that they launched against our country. This is for a long time,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday. “Here we need toughness, self-conviction, determination and unity around the President.”
The Russian politician expects a long conflict with Ukraine.
(Photo: dpa)
Kiev Air Force Spokesman: Need modern jets
According to its spokesman Yuri Ihnat, the Air Force of Ukraine “urgently” needs modern combat aircraft. “Neither Polish nor Czech Migs help us, nor do Mirages or Tornados,” Ihnat said on Ukrainian television on Wednesday.
While the Migs received from neighbors are a welcome and necessary reinforcement, what Ukraine needs is fourth-generation multirole fighters, such as the American F-16. Since the training of pilots and ground staff on these machines is “not an easy process”, a decision “as soon as possible yesterday” would be necessary.
US Chief of Staff concerned about shrinking ammunition inventories
US Chief of Staff Mark Milley says the military is not prepared for a potential major war due to shortages in ammunition stocks. There is still “a long way to go” in restocking, Milley admitted at a hearing before the House Committee on U.S. Armed Forces Issues on Wednesday. There, Chief of Staff and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin answered questions from MPs about the impact of the Ukraine war on Pentagon holdings. The United States is supplying Ukraine with most of the ammunition it needs to defend itself against Russian invaders.
Milley said the Ukraine war illustrates how munitions are consumed in any major conflict. “If there were a war on the Korean Peninsula or a great power war between the United States and Russia or the United States and China, the consumption levels would be at extremely high levels,” he said of ammunition consumption. “So I’m concerned.” This also applies to the Secretary of Defense. “We have a long way to go to ensure our inventory is prepared for the real eventuality.”
Minister: Spain is supplying Ukraine with tanks, but no fighter jets
Spain wants to deliver ten older Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine, but has ruled out sending fighter jets. The delivery of the first six tanks will take place in two weeks, Defense Secretary Margarita Robles said on Wednesday.
Kiev announces “Mathias Rust drone swarm” to Russian military
After the repeated Russian attacks with so-called kamikaze drones on Ukrainian cities, the Ukrainian military wants to pay back in the same coin. The secretary of the National Security Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov, announced counterattacks with his own drones, which he said were combined in a “Ukrainian swarm Mathias Rust” – in memory of the German Kremlin pilot. There are already “several thousand drones with a range of up to 3000 kilometers,” Danilov claimed on Twitter.
The German private pilot Mathias Rust landed on May 28, 1987 with a single-engine Cessna on the Moskva Bridge in front of the Kremlin. He had previously taken off from Finland and flew under the entire Soviet anti-aircraft defence. Rust wanted to demonstrate with his action for world peace. His flight was followed by a wave of purges at the top echelons of the Soviet military.
Ukrainian military concedes partial Russian success in Bakhmut
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian military leadership conceded a partial Russian success in the fighting for the city of Bakhmut in the east of the country. “In the Bakhmut sector, the enemy continued their attacks on the city, partly with success,” the General Staff in Kiev said in its daily situation report. However, details of the Russian land gains were not given.
Deputy Minister: Russian losses up to ten times higher than Ukrainian ones
For the first time, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar gave more concrete insights into the losses of the armed forces. Accordingly, the number of dead on the Russian side is significantly higher than on the Ukrainian side. “There are days in the East when the ratio of casualties (fatalities) is 1 to 10,” she shared on Telegram on Wednesday. “Of course, that’s not the case every day, and the average ratio is lower, but still.”
The Ukrainian military has not yet provided any information on its own losses since the war began more than a year ago. On the other hand, a daily statistic is published with the alleged losses of the Russian military. According to this, the Russian armed forces have so far suffered over 172,000 deaths. The Russian military, for its part, does not provide any information on its own losses. British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace estimated Russian casualties in the dead and wounded at around 220,000 on Wednesday, Sky News reported.
US Chief of Staff concerned about shrinking ammunition inventories
US Chief of Staff Mark Milley says the military is not prepared for a potential major war due to shortages in ammunition stocks. There is still “a long way to go” in restocking, Milley admitted at a hearing before the House Committee on U.S. Armed Forces Issues on Wednesday. There, Chief of Staff and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin answered questions from MPs about the impact of the Ukraine war on Pentagon holdings. The United States is supplying Ukraine with most of the ammunition it needs to defend itself against Russian invaders.
Milley said the Ukraine war illustrates how munitions are consumed in any major conflict. “If there were a war on the Korean Peninsula or a great power war between the United States and Russia or the United States and China, the consumption levels would be at extremely high levels,” he said of ammunition consumption. “So I’m concerned.” This also applies to the Secretary of Defense. “We have a long way to go to ensure our inventory is prepared for the real eventuality.”
This is how the Handelsblatt reports on the Ukraine war:
That will be important on Thursday
New fighting is expected around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Selenski speaks via video link in front of the Austrian Parliament on Thursday.
More: Current news on developments in the Ukraine war can be found in our news blog