Russian forces advance in key eastern city, U.S. to send advanced rockets to Ukraine

Agencies | Kyiv

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Russian troops on Wednesday pressed their assault on a factory city they see as key to controlling a swathe of eastern Ukraine, while the United States said it would supply advanced rockets to Kyiv to help it force Moscow to negotiate an end to the war.

Ukraine's General Staff said Russian forces, now 98 days into their invasion, were also pounding targets including key infrastructure in other eastern and southern areas, including the city of Sievierodonetsk, an industrial centre that has been the main focus of Russia's offensive in recent days.

President Joe Biden announced the supply of advanced rocket systems and munitions that could strike with precision at long-range Russian targets as part of a $700 million weapons package expected to be unveiled on Wednesday.

"We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table," Biden wrote in an opinion piece in the New York Times.

A senior Biden administration official said the new supplies - which comes on top of billions of dollars worth of other equipment such as drones and anti-aircraft missiles - included the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), which Kyiv has said is "crucial" to counter Russian missile attacks.

Moscow assessed the new U.S. aid package "extremely negatively," Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told state news agency RIA Novosti. Addressing concerns that such weapons could draw the United States into direct conflict, senior administration officials said Ukraine gave assurances the missiles would not be used to strike inside Russia.

"These systems will be used by the Ukrainians to repel Russian advances on Ukrainian territory, but they will not be used on targets in Russian territory," one U.S. official said.