Ukraine remains the most mined country in the world. Nearly one-third of Ukraine's territory, approximately 174,000 square kilometers, had been mined since Russia began its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
The phone call comes as Moscow once again rejected a 30-day ceasefire, with Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova claiming that a ceasefire would give "Kyiv a break to restore its military potential and continue its confrontation with Russia."
Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport en-route to Kuala Lumpur International Airport on July 17, 2014. Three hours into the flight, the Boeing-777 was shot down by Russian proxy forces using a Buk surface-to-air missile above Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast.
"I am grateful for the support and the readiness at the highest level to promote diplomacy," President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the phone conservation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "We share the same view on the need for a ceasefire."
The convictions mark a significant development in Britain's efforts to counter Russian intelligence operations amid heightened tensions stemming from Moscow's war against Ukraine and repeated Kremlin threats toward Kyiv's allies.
According to the Verkhovna Rada's website, Ukraine completed the ratification of the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement on May 12. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the deal.
"I myself have heard relatives talking: our village is being attacked, let's roll the car out of the garage, maybe they will shell it — at least we will get money. The car is old, we can't sell it," Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
The new tranche brings total recent EU defense support for Ukraine to 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion), marking a significant expansion of European efforts to boost Kyiv's defense industry.
Ukrainian soldiers reload an artillery unit on the front line, in the direction of the Kreminna in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on Jan. 30, 2024. (Ignacio Marin/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Ukraine could face a "catastrophic shortage of ammunition and air defenses" by late March if Congress does not pass a bill that contains $61 billion in crucial funding for Kyiv, ABC News reported on Feb. 22, citing two anonymous U.S. officials.
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned on Feb. 14 that Ukrainian troops are running out of ammunition and urged Congress to pass additional funding.
According to internal U.S. estimates, the shortage "could effectively turn the tide of the war and lend Russian President Vladimir Putin a significant advantage," ABC News said.
"The juncture starts now and it just keeps getting worse progressively through the spring and into summer. So, this time period that we are entering is a critical time period," a senior U.S. defense official told ABC News.
Ukraine's withdrawal from the city of Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast on Feb. 17 demonstrated the need for more artillery shells, as well as air defense systems, long-range weapons, and fortifications, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said.
Congressional inaction was responsible for "Russia’s first notable gains in months," U.S. President Joe Biden said in a White House statement on Feb. 17.
U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby had warned on Feb. 15 that Avdiivka was at risk of falling to Russian hands because the U.S. had "not been able to provide Ukraine with the artillery shells that they desperately need to disrupt these Russian assaults."
"U.S. officials predict similar scenarios will play out elsewhere in Ukraine as the government there is forced to make tough choices," ABC News said.
Air defense capabilities, such as U.S. Patriot systems, are also critically important in defending against Russian attacks.
Some places that are currently protected will be at risk in the future if supplies of interceptors are not maintained, ABC News said. The risk that these supplies could dwindle could completely change "the nature of this fight," one official said.
Elsa Court is the audience development manager at the Kyiv Independence. She previously worked as a news editor at the Kyiv Independent and was previously an intern at the Kyiv Post. She has a Master’s in Conflict Studies and Human Rights from Utrecht University. Elsa is originally from the UK.
Francis Farrell
