Ukraine yesterday looked close to losing the key eastern city of Severodonetsk to Russian forces, but was boosted by the US decision to send more advanced rocket systems to help with its defense.
“The Russians control 70 percent of Severodonetsk,” Lugansk Governor Sergiy Gaiday said on Telegram, adding that Ukrainian forces were withdrawing to prepared positions.
“If in two or three days, the Russians take control of Severodonetsk, they will install artillery and mortars, and will bombard more intensely Lysychansk,” the city across the river, which Gaiday said remained held by Kyiv.
Photo: AFP
One of the industrial hubs on Russia’s path to taking the eastern Lugansk region, Severodonetsk has become a target of massive Russian firepower since the failed attempt to capture Kyiv.
However, in a boost for the outgunned Ukrainian military, US President Joe Biden confirmed that more US weaponry was on the way to allow it to “more precisely strike key targets” in Ukraine. The new weapon is the HIMARS, a multiple launch rocket system, or MLRS, a mobile unit that can simultaneously launch multiple precision-guided missiles.
They are the centrepiece of a US$700 million package unveiled yesterday that includes air-surveillance radar, more Javelin short-range anti-tank rockets, artillery ammunition, helicopters, vehicles and spare parts, a US official said.
With a range of about 80km, they would allow Ukrainian forces to strike further behind Russian lines.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Washington of “adding fuel to the fire,” saying “such supplies” do not encourage Kyiv to resume peace talks.
In an article in the New York Times, Biden wrote: “We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders.”
“We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia,” he wrote. “As much as I disagree with Mr [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the United States will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow.”
“So long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces,” he added.
While some analysts have suggested the HIMARS could be a “game-changer,” others caution they should not be expected to suddenly turn the tables, not least because Ukrainian troops need time to learn how to use them effectively.
What they might do is improve morale, said one Ukrainian soldier getting pummelled on the front line.
“If you know you have a heavy weapon behind you, everyone’s spirits rise,” one fighter who uses the nom de guerre Luzhniy said before the announcement.
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