Washington and its partners are considering additional sanctions if the parties do not observe a ceasefire, with political and technical negotiations between Europe and the U.S. intensifying since last week, Reuters' source said.
The Kyiv Independent’s contributor Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke spent a day with a mobile team from the State Emergency Service in Nikopol in the south of Ukraine as they responded to relentless drone, artillery, and mortar strikes from Russian forces just across the Dnipro River. Nikopol is located across from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar.
Peter Szijjarto's announcement came after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) allegedly dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast.
Moscow and Washington discuss the potential resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe, among other issues related to the peaceful settlement of Russia's war in Ukraine, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed to the Russian state-run Interfax news agency.
"This is a historic decision, as weapons for Ukraine will be purchased at the expense of the proceeds from frozen Russian assets through the European Peace Fund," Denys Shmyhal said.
The approval marks a key step in international efforts to hold Moscow accountable for what is considered the gravest violation of international law committed against Ukraine.
Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair in Ottawa on March 19, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)
Canada will commit nearly $30 million to the Czech Republic's initiative to provide Ukraine with ammunition, Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair announced on March 19 at a press conference in Ottawa.
"Our contribution is going to enable the rapid delivery of several thousand rounds of artillery ammunition to Ukraine and, most importantly, the ammunition that they have told us they require," Blair said.
Artillery shells are a crucial capability for Ukraine as the country faces critical ammunition shortages. Delays in U.S. military assistance, caused by disputes in Congress, have already had a direct impact on the battlefield, contributing to the loss of the key front-line city of Avdiivka.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on March 12 that the initiative has already secured the purchase of 300,000 shells and received nonbinding commitments for 200,000 more.
Canada will also be providing Ukraine with a package of night vision equipment valued at approximately $7.5 million.
During the same press conference, Blair announced that Canada and other partners of Ukraine are considering purchasing Ukrainian-made drones for their own domestic security needs.
Blair stated that during his visit to Kyiv last month, he met with Oleksandr Kamyshin, the Ukrainian Minister of Strategic Industries, to discuss Ukraine's achievements in drone production and its experience using drones on the battlefield. According to him, Ukraine's drone usage informs its industrial capacity and manufacturing capabilities.
"We discussed how we can work collaboratively together and even among coalition partners, including Canada, investing in the purchase of Ukrainian-made drones as well. I think it's a very real possibility. [Ukraine's] got two years of hardened battle experience, and the evolution of drones in warfare, I think, is something that we all need to learn from and to inform future defense-acquisition policy."
The Canadian official also announced that Canada officially joined the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group's Drone Capability Coalition, led by Ukraine and Latvia. Earlier this year, Latvia began building a coalition of about 20 countries to bolster Ukraine's arsenal of drones.
Amid uncertainties over Western military aid deliveries, Ukraine has intensified its efforts to ramp up domestic production of attack drones, aiming to manufacture 1 million drones this year.
Rachel Amran is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked on the Europe and Central Asia team of Human Rights Watch investigating war crimes in Ukraine. Rachel holds a master's degree in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Regional Studies from Columbia University.
Dinara Khalilova
