This week, Russian forces continued offensive operations aimed at encircling Avdiivka, in Donetsk region. Yet they did not achieve a breakthrough. This week, Ukraine used U.S.-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles for the first time, striking military airfields in Russian-occupied Berdyansk and Luhansk. The strike reportedly took out the largest number of Russian helicopters in a single episode since the invasion. Also, Ukraine’s Army of Drones set an absolute record for destroyed Russian military equipment. Ukrainian troops likely advance on the Russian-held east bank of the Dnipro river in Kherson region, reports surfaced late this week.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament approved a four-year financing package for Ukraine worth EUR 50 billion from 2024 to 2027.
U.S. President Biden appeals to Americans for U.S. support for Israel and Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden has often cast this moment in history as an “inflection point” — a battle between the world’s democracies and autocracies. In his address to the nation on Thursday, Biden compared the events this month in Israel to nearly 20 months of war in Ukraine. Throughout the address, Biden made comparisons between Israel and Ukraine, Hamas and Putin. Acknowledging that “these conflicts can seem far away,” Biden insisted that they remain “vital for America’s national security.”
He announced he would be submitting an “urgent budget request” for supplemental funding for Israel and Ukraine, among other national security priorities, to Congress on Friday. He argued that providing the aid was in the interest of global stability and the national security of the U.S. “It’s a smart investment that’s going to pay dividends for American security for generations,” Biden said.
