Zelenskiy welcomes new US aid – missiles at Kyiv during Guterre’s visit

Kyiv Ukraine continues to receive massive support from the US. After US President Joe Biden announced that he wanted to apply for a further 33 billion US dollars for Kyiv, the US Congress passed a new version of the Lend-Lease Act, which, in addition to Ukraine, would allow other Eastern European countries to receive military aid without any problems or bureaucracy can get. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked Washington and spoke of an “important step”.

Meanwhile, Russian troops continued their attacks in Ukraine. In addition to the port city of Odessa, the capital Kyiv was also hit by rockets during the visit of UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

In his daily video message, Zelenski thanked both US President Joe Biden and the American people for the help that Congress will “hopefully quickly” support. Biden previously announced in Washington that he would ask Congress to approve an additional $33 billion (€31.4 billion) for Ukraine. 20 billion of that should be used for military aid, about 8.5 billion for economic aid. “We have to do this,” Biden said at the White House.

Since the beginning of the war at the end of February, the United States has promised or delivered weapons and ammunition worth more than 3.7 billion US dollars (around 3.5 billion euros) to the former Soviet republic. The US Congress passed a budget in March that earmarked $13.6 billion in humanitarian, economic and military aid by the end of September.

Based on a regulation from the Second World War, the USA wants to facilitate the delivery of armaments to Ukraine and other Eastern European countries. After the Senate, the House of Representatives also passed a corresponding bill on Thursday (local time). The President is temporarily authorized until 2023 to lend or lease military equipment to Ukraine and other countries in Eastern Europe affected by the Russian war of aggression.

The US Congress passed a similar lend-lease law in 1941 during the Second World War: This allowed America to quickly and in bulk supply armaments to the Allies fighting the National Socialists. Great Britain and the Soviet Union in particular benefited from this at the time.

Missiles at Kyiv during Guterres visit

Russian troops fired several rockets at the Ukrainian capital during the visit of UN Secretary-General António Guterres to Kyiv. Ten people were killed or injured. Russia’s military leaders this week threatened to attack Ukraine’s capital, even when visiting foreign politicians were there.

Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mikhail Podoliak said not long ago Guterres was sitting in the Kremlin and “today there are explosions just a kilometer away from him. Is that a greeting from Moscow?” Guterres later told the British broadcaster BBC: “I was shocked to hear that two rockets exploded in the city where I am staying.”

Another presidential adviser criticized the rocket attacks as “the dumbest option ever”. Russia “shot Guterres in the back” with this attack, Olexy Arestovych said.

More Handelsblatt articles on the war in Ukraine

During a Russian attack on the last defenders of Mariupol, who were holed up in the Azovstal steelworks, the field hospital set up there came under heavy fire. According to a report in Ukrajinska Pravda, at least one soldier was killed and around 100 patients sustained further injuries.

According to the defenders, the hospital, in which around 500 wounded and doctors were staying, was specifically attacked. The information could not be independently verified.

The last defenders of the port city of Mariupol and numerous civilians have holed up in the Azovstal plant. Despite repeated requests from the Russian side, they refuse to surrender. Most recently, UN Secretary-General Guterres in Moscow and Kyiv advocated opening a humanitarian corridor for civilians.

Russian missiles at Ukrainian port city of Odessa

The southern Ukrainian port city of Odessa came under rocket fire on Thursday evening. The air defense shot down three Russian missiles, said the local military representative Maxim Marchenko. “We have the sky under control.” A Russian reconnaissance drone had previously been destroyed.

According to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the war started by Russian President Vladimir Putin is not only directed against Ukraine, but also against the very essence of democracy. Putin is not only pursuing the goal of destroying Ukraine, the SPD politician wrote in a guest article for “Welt” (Friday).

“His war is directed against everything that constitutes democracy: freedom, equality before the law, self-determination, human dignity.” In contrast, the democratic countries of the world are currently appearing more united than they have in a long time: “This shows what we as democracies connects: the conviction that law must set limits to power.”

That’s going to be important today

On Friday, the Bundestag will deal with the annual report by the Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Eva Högl, on the situation in the armed forces. In the document for 2021, the SPD politician lists numerous deficits in equipment and at the same time welcomes the federal government’s plan to set up a special fund of 100 billion euros for a fundamental modernization of the Bundeswehr.

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