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Ukraine’s foreign minister declared Sunday that his country had “won the battle” for Kyiv but warned combat will ramp up in Donbas — as chilling photos showed an 8-mile Russian convoy sneaking toward the region.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba hailed Ukrainian forces for retaking the capital city from Russian forces, which fully withdrew from the area only to turn their attention east in the country.
“It’s true to say that Ukraine won the battle for Kyiv. Now, another battle is coming, the battle for Donbas,” Kuleba told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And of course, we are preparing to it, working with our partners to get all necessary weapons, and literally basically everything that one needs to win a battle.”
Kubela said Ukraine’s military has proven itself to be one of the “strongest” globally.
“I believe it will not be an exaggeration to say that Ukraine proved to have one of the strongest army in the world, maybe the second strongest after the United States,” he said.
“Not in terms of numbers but in terms of the battle experience and capacity to fight. And, but all we need is state-of-the-art weapons of all kinds of supply to us,” he said, calling on NATO to provide more support to defeat Russian forces.
His comments came as satellite photos emerged of a Russian military convoy heading south to Ukraine’s Donbas region.
The images, taken Friday by Maxar Technologies, showed the 8-mile-long convoy consisting of hundreds of armored vehicles and trucks carrying artillery and equipment.
Russian forces fired rockets into Luhansk in the Donblas region Sunday, as well as Dnipro further west, where an airport was completely destroyed and at least five people wounded, Ukrainian officials said.
Mykola Lukashuk, head of the Dnipro regional council, identified the five victims as staffers of the state emergency service.
Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Gaidai wrote on Telegram that a school and a high-rise apartment building had been attacked in the area’s city of Sievierodonetsk.
“Fortunately, no casualties,” Gaidai said.
The attacks came after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson traveled to Kyiv on Saturday in a visit hailed as a powerful showing of support.
“I would say it’s not only about symbolism, it’s also about sending a message of confidence in Ukraine, in Ukrainian leadership and in the Ukrainian Army that is capable of defending the capital,” Kubela said of Johnson’s visit.
President Biden has no plans to take his own trip to Kyiv, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Sunday.
“The United States is at the center of the effort to deliver from other countries. And organizing and coordinating the world to take actions like the one last week, to kick Russia out of the Human Rights Council,” Sullivan said on “Meet the Press.”
“So President Biden will stay focused on that and make sure that he is showing his support and solidarity to the Ukrainian people through those kinds of decisive actions.”
With Post Wires
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