The U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) said that Washington was tracking the situation in Ukraine and providing intelligence, so-called sensitive information, to Kyiv. Its purpose is to help Ukraine defend its territory, as well as provide all the resources and weapons it needs.
The announcement comes as President Joe Biden acknowledged that Ukrainians have “made tremendous progress on the ground.” However, he also expects the Ukrainian counteroffensive to be protracted. As he put it, it is still impossible to know whether the war is facing a “turning point”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also confirmed that in the past few days, the Ukrainian army has taken full control of more than 4,000 square kilometers of territory in the south and east of the country that it has recovered from Russian forces.
Zelensky said, “Our stabilization control measures for this 4,000 square kilometers of territory have been completed. We will continue to do so on other liberated territories in the same area. At present, the remaining occupiers and sabotage forces are being exposed. Cooperation are also being arrested.”
The Ukrainian army also said it had regained control of about 8,000 square kilometers of territory in Kharkiv province within a month. Now they are preparing to fight back in the main industrial area of eastern Luhansk. The area is close to the Russian border.
On the other hand, the pro-Russian authorities in Kharkiv claim that they have begun to restore positions from which Russian troops had withdrawn. And Russian troops still control about a fifth of southern and eastern Ukraine.
Diplomatic Solutions
On the other hand, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz discussed developments in the Ukraine conflict during a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
German government spokesman Steffen Herberstreiter said Scholz urged the Russian president to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict as soon as possible. Of course, it is a plan based on the realization of a ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Russian troops.
The spokesman also said that during the 90-minute call between the two sides, the adviser stressed the need to ensure the safety of Ukraine’s Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. In addition, he urged Putin to continue to fully implement the food agreement reached with the support of the United Nations.
In the statement, Herberstreiter mentioned that Scholz emphasized that “any other plans by Russia to annex certain regions cannot be passed without a response. At the same time, these plans are under no circumstances will not be recognized.”
Sanctions continue
On the other hand, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen emphasized on Wednesday, September 14, that it is necessary to maintain the sanctions imposed on Russia in light of the ongoing war in Ukraine. Because the time for both sides to calm down is not yet ripe.
In Strasbourg’s “State of the Union address” to the European Parliament, von der Leyen said, “I want to make one thing clear: sanctions will not be lifted. This is a moment of determination, not calm. time”. She also said, “I will go to Kyiv on the 14th to meet with President Zelensky and will discuss in detail the issue of continued assistance from Europe.”
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At the same time, on September 13, the Office of the President of Ukraine published a draft of the security guarantees required by Ukraine entitled “Kyiv Security Treaty” on the President’s website.
The text of the document states that security assurances must be established. At the same time, the document also clarifies the obligations that these sponsoring countries will undertake to Ukraine.
The document states that sponsoring countries may include the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Poland, Italy, Germany, France, Australia and Turkey, as well as the Nordic, Baltic and Central and Eastern European countries.
According to the draft, signatories to Ukraine’s security assurances should provide military assistance to Kyiv in the event of an attack.
The Kremlin sees the security assurances as evidence of Kyiv’s continued commitment to NATO. And this poses a great threat to Russia.
A Kremlin spokesman told RIA Novosti that the draft security assurances confirmed the urgent need for special operations against Ukraine.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, also said that the draft is actually “a precursor to the Third World War.”
“Friends of the curse of Western leaders who are subjected to this hysterical call should understand that this is directly linked to NATO’s hybrid war against Russia? “The Kyiv regime is being supplied unchecked with those extremely dangerous weapons,” he warned. Will sooner or later lead to military operations to another level.
Notably, on Saturday, September 10, Russia lost its main stronghold in northeastern Ukraine. Since then, Russia has been in the midst of its worst setback since the war began. The reason is that Ukrainian troops have regained control of dozens of towns in a high-profile battle.
Reuters said the news of the defeat on the battlefield had sparked unusual complaints in comments on Russia’s official channel. The Kremlin also denied that reports of internal discussions in Russia about announcing a national mobilization to support its military operations in Ukraine were not true.