Heading towards World War III?

Taking up positions in cities is the Ukrainian military’s calculated tactic to minimize their own losses and maximize those of Russian forces, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed.

In an interview with the New York Times published on Tuesday, Mikhail Podolyak argued that the “Russians fight poorly in the cities.” The Ukrainian official went on to explain that “in the cities, it is possible to maneuver, and find cover, and you minimize losses; you can resist a longer time and inflict significant casualties on the Russians.”

Podolyak added that combat in an urban environment is where the infantry stands a chance. And since Russian forces have far more artillery, Ukrainian troops have to resort to this strategy, according to the presidential adviser. As an example, he referenced the city of Severodonetsk in the Lugansk region, where heavy street fighting has been taking place for several days now.

The official noted that the Ukrainian military did not have very many alternate options due to a dearth of heavy weapons. Zelensky’s aide said that the apparent reluctance of Western leaders to provide Kiev with an adequate number of big guns was partly to blame.

“If you think we should lose, just tell us directly: ‘We want you to lose’. Then we will understand why you give us weapons at this level,” Podolyak said.

The official complained that some of Ukraine’s Western allies lacked a sense of urgency despite the Ukrainian army being seriously outgunned in Donbass.

Podolyak also became the first Ukrainian official to outline the total number of each type of heavy weaponry Kiev thinks it would need to achieve parity with Russian forces on the eastern front: 1,000 howitzers, 300 multiple-launch rocket systems, 500 tanks, 2,000 armored vehicles and 1,000 drones.

While the US has supplied around 100 howitzers and several dozen self-propelled artillery guns to Ukraine, and pledged this month, along with the UK, to ship several multiple-launch rocket systems, this still falls far short of the Ukrainian military’s needs, Podolyak warned.

According to the official’s estimates, Russian forces are firing about 70,000 projectiles daily in Donbass, while Ukrainian troops can return 10 times fewer shells.

Podolyak went on to stress that any cease-fire calling for territorial concessions on the part of Ukraine would lead to a “permanent war” as Moscow would encroach further on Ukrainian territory down the road.

Zelensky’s adviser suggested that elites in some Western countries were unwilling to acknowledge that their previous attempts at establishing friendly relations with Russia were misguided. On top of that, a lot of the leaders in Europe would still love to restore pre-war business ties with Moscow and were susceptible to a pro-Russia lobby, Podolyak claimed.

“A problem is a problem,” the Ukrainian official said, adding that “there is reluctance of the elite, for example, the French, to make this a top topic for themselves. They are hiding from the war.”

Talking about an outcome of the conflict that Ukraine would see as a victory, Zelensky’s aide said that Kiev was aiming to “inflict several military defeats on” Russian forces, which, in turn, would result in a “transformation of the political system of the Russian Federation,” according to Podolyak.

He explained that a period of political turmoil in Russia would give Ukraine the opportunity to regain full control over its borders and seal defensive alliances to prevent the conflict from resuming going forward.

To make this all come true, however, Kiev needs substantially more heavy weapons than it is currently receiving from its Western allies, Podolyak stressed.

www.rt.com/russia/557154-ukraine-presidential-adviser-military-positions-cities

Ukraine must get more NATO heavy weapons, the military bloc’s head said on Tuesday, ahead of a meeting of a US-led ‘contact group’ set up to discuss the plan's logistics. NATO is trying to adapt to the “constantly changing” demands from Kiev, according to the American envoy to the bloc.

“Ukraine should have more heavy weapons and NATO allies and partners have provided heavy weapons ... and they are also stepping up,” its Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday in The Hague, where he met with leaders of seven member states ahead of the NATO summit scheduled for the end of June.

“In terms of weaponry, we stand united here that it is crucial for Russia to lose the war,” said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who hosted the meeting. “And as we cannot have a direct confrontation between NATO troops and Russia, what we need to do is make sure that Ukraine can fight that war, that it has access to all the necessary weaponry.”

www.rt.com/news/557173-ukraine-heavy-weapons-nato

The US is sending Ukraine heavy guided missiles with a range of 70km for use with the HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl revealed on Tuesday. The White House previously said that HIMARS launchers would be provided with “battlefield munitions,” widely understood to be unguided rockets with a shorter range.

The high-mobility artillery rocket system will come with GMLRS guided rockets, Kahl said on Tuesday, speaking at a conference hosted by the Center for New American Security (CNAS), a Democrat-linked think tank for which he used to work.

“Sometimes when you see images of MLRS firing off, it’s like salvos of multiple rockets going off at the same time. That’s really not how this system is meant to operate,” Kahl said.

“The GMLRS is a precision guided munition, and a big one – a 500 pound munition,” he added. “Think of GMLRS more like the effect of an airstrike rather than launching off whole salvos. So, in other words, you can do a lot with a little, or you don’t need a lot to have a significant effect.”

When the White House first announced it was sending HIMARS launchers to Ukraine on June 1, it said they would be armed with “battlefield munitions,” which was widely taken to mean barrage rockets with a range of between 32km and 60km, considering that HIMARS is also capable of launching ballistic projectiles with a range of up to 300km.

“The range does not depend on the system itself, but on the missiles that are used,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a TV interview earlier this month, adding that if the US sends long-range rockets Russia will “draw the appropriate conclusions and use our weapons, which we have enough of, in order to strike at those objects that we have not yet struck.”

Even though the US initially promised four launchers and said they had been “pre-positioned” in Europe, they have yet to reach Ukraine, according to the Pentagon. The first group of Ukrainian artillerists are currently finishing their training on the launchers, Kahl said.

The HIMARS launcher is equipped with one pod that can carry six GMLRS rockets, according to their maker, Lockheed Martin. The M270 launcher, which the UK has promised to Ukraine, carries two pods for double the payload. Kahl did not say how many rockets the US was sending.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, since the start of the conflict Ukraine has lost over 500 multiple rocket launch systems and more than 1,900 pieces of artillery. Kiev has beseeched its allies in the West to provide more weapons and ammunition.

“We’re going to provide the Ukrainians what they need to prosecute the targets inside Ukrainian territory that they’re looking to go after,” Kahl said at the end of his remarks about the HIMARS.

On Monday, the authorities in the Donetsk People’s Republic reported the heaviest Ukrainian shelling since 2015, with “indiscriminate” strikes on the city of Donetsk resulting in five fatalities and almost 40 civilian injuries. Among the incoming shells were 155mm munitions used by howitzers provided to Ukraine by the US and other NATO allies, authorities in the Donbass republic said, requesting additional military assistance from Russia.

Moscow has condemned the shelling of Donbass civilians as “absolutely barbaric.” A spokesman for the UN secretary-general called the shelling of a maternity hospital in Donetsk “an obvious breach of international humanitarian law.”

www.rt.com/news/557167-pentagon-kahl-himars-ukraine

Washington will give Kiev another $1 billion in “security assistance,” including artillery, ammunition and advanced missiles, US President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday after a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

Biden informed Zelensky that the aid would include “additional artillery and coastal defense weapons, as well as ammunition for the artillery and advanced rocket systems that the Ukrainians need to support their defensive operations in [Donbass],” according to a readout of the call released by the White House.

www.rt.com/russia/557229-another-billion-from-us-to-ukraine

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has slammed Western countries for their approach to the conflict in Ukraine, suggesting that waves of foreign arms shipments will only result in more bloodshed.

Speaking to reporters at his daily press briefing on Monday, Obrador took a brief aside to address the Ukraine-Russia conflict. While he stopped short of singling out any countries, he said those sending weapons to Kiev – a policy strongly favored by the United States and most of its NATO allies – are helping to rack up casualties on all sides.

“How easy it is to say: ‘There I send so much money for weapons, I provide the weapons and you provide the dead.’ It is immoral,” he said, adding “Couldn’t the war in Ukraine have been avoided? Of course. The policy failed and look at the damage it causes, the loss of human lives.”

www.rt.com/news/557177-mexico-ukraine-policies-immoral

Pope Francis has chided Russia for the "brutality" shown by its troops in the war it launched against Ukraine, which has been "brave" in its fight to defend itself.

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Nonetheless, the 85-year-old pontiff said some diplomats understood there were signs that a conflict was looming on the horizon.

He recalled one head of state told him months before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24 that the NATO military alliance was "barking at the gates of Russia," which could be interpreted as a provocation, especially by Moscow, which "will allow no foreign power to approach."

"But the danger is that we only see this, which is monstrous, and we do not see the whole drama unfolding behind this war, which was perhaps somehow either provoked or not prevented. And note the interest in testing and selling weapons. It is very sad, but at the end of the day that is what is at stake," he added.

www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-war-pope-francis/31897558.html

The leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Romania have backed Ukraine's bid to join the EU, saying it should be given "immediate" candidate status.

"Ukraine belongs to the European family," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at a joint briefing in Kyiv.

But he added that Ukraine still had to meet the accession criteria in full.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the 27-member EU would stand by Ukraine until its victory against Russia.

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61828229

The sanctions imposed by the West on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine are "mad and thoughtless", President Vladimir Putin has said.

Speaking at a forum in St Petersburg, he said "the economic blitzkrieg against Russia had no chance of succeeding from the very beginning".

He said the restrictions were "more harmful" to those who imposed them.

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61847300