The White House on Saturday hailed Ukraine for what it calls an “extraordinary victory” in recapturing the city of Kherson from Russian occupiers.
“It does look as though the Ukrainians have just won an extraordinary victory where the one regional capital that Russia had seized in this war is now back under a Ukrainian flag — and that is quite a remarkable thing,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters as he accompanied President Joe Biden to the ASEAN summit in Cambodia.
Sullivan was speaking after Ukrainian troops entered the city, which was one of the lynchpins in Russia’s occupation of swathes of Ukraine.
Also read: Ukraine mocks Moscow with parade of destroyed Russian tanks
Sullivan said that the Russian retreat would have “broader strategic implications,” including relieving the longer-term threat by Russia to other southern Ukrainian cities such as Odessa.
“It’s a big moment and it’s due to the incredible tenacity and skill of the Ukrainians, backed by the relentless and united support of the United States and our allies,” Sullivan said.
Asked about reports that the Biden administration has started to press President Volodymyr Zelensky to explore negotiations with Moscow, Sullivan said that Russia, not Ukraine, was the side that has to decide whether or not to go to the table.
“This whole notion, I think, in the Western press of ‘when’s Ukraine going to negotiate?’ misses the underlying fundamentals,” Sullivan said.
Russia, he added, continues to make “outlandish claims” about its self-declared annexations of Ukrainian lands, even as it retreats from Ukrainian counter-attacks.
“Ultimately, at a 30,000-foot level, Ukraine is the party of peace in this conflict and Russia is the party of war. Russia invaded Ukraine. If Russia chose to stop fighting in Ukraine and left, it would be the end of the war. If Ukraine chose to stop fighting and give up, it would be the end of Ukraine,” he said.
“In that context, our position remains the same as it has been and fundamentally is in close consultation and support of President Zelensky.”
Heavy weapons change the war
- HIMARS: The M142 HIMARS is a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System that is truck mounted with a firing range of 160km. HIMARS is made in the US
2. IRIS-T SLM AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM: The IRIS-T SLM can shoot down targets at a range of up to 40 km and an altitude of up to 20 km, including some ballistic missiles. One such complex can cover a large city and its satellite towns. The IRIS-T SLM complex is made in Germany.
3. AVENGER: The Avenger is a mobile short-range air defense missile system. It provides mobile protection for ground units against low-flying aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles. Avenger is a US war machine.
4. NISAM: The National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, best known as NASAMS is a highly adaptable medium-range air defense solution. NASAMS consists of the Sentinel radar, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile, and KONGSBERG’s Fire Distribution Center.
NASAMS provides air defenders with a tailorable, state-of-the-art defense system that can maximize their ability to identify, engage and destroy current and evolving enemy aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicle and emerging cruise missile threats.
Meanwhile Russia is retreating now from the key regional capital Kherson in a major blow to Putin’s war in Ukraine.
In next 48 hours Ukrainian soldiers will put their boots on the ground and mount their flag. Kherson is within HIMARS artillery range to Crimea, a city seized by Russia from Ukraine in 2014.
The end of evil Putin is very close.
Meanwhile, Moscow’s announcement that Russian forces planned to withdraw across the Dnipro River followed a stepped-up Ukrainian counteroffensive in the country’s south.
In the last two months, Ukraine’s military claimed to have reclaimed dozens of towns and villages north of Kherson city, and the Ukrainian general staff said that is where the stabilisation activities were taking place.
The Russian retreat represented a significant setback for the Kremlin some six weeks after Vladimir Putin annexed the Kherson region and three other provinces in southern and eastern Ukraine in breach of international law and in the face of widespread condemnation.
Russian propagandist accuses NATO of wanting to ‘annihilate’ Russia
Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov has claimed the sole goal of NATO is the “annihilation of Russia”.
Speaking on Russia’s state television, Mr Solovyov said a “religious war was under way” in Ukraine.
“This is a war that we don’t want to call by its name. This is a war where the small demon Zelenskyy, along with his mercenaries, is acting on behalf of total evil,” he said.
“This evil is wearing the robe of acceptance and tolerance. That’s how it is, dear friends.
“What we’re confronting is not just anything. It is a most serious, most difficult religious war. It is true, there’s nothing anyone can do about it. We still can’t grasp that the goal of this war is our destruction. Does anyone have any doubt about it?”
The propagandist went on to say that NATO was trying to destroy Russia.
He added: “The sole goal of NATO is the annihilation of Russia. They have no other goals. They want to destroy Russia because despite its atheist Soviet past, Russia is a country of traditional values.
“It is a great Orthodox, Muslim, Buddhist nation.”
