Germany says it will hand over Patriot air defense systems and missiles, while Russia claims to capture another village.
Germany will provide U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems and air defense missiles to Ukraine at a “critical moment” when Kiev is struggling to protect its energy systems from Russian artillery fire, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. He plans to do so.
More than two years after the full-scale invasion, Russia has carried out three major air raids on power plants and substations in recent weeks, and Kiev is desperate for supplies of sophisticated air defense equipment. I'm appealing.
Zelenskiy spoke by phone with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday and said: “I am grateful to the Prime Minister for the decision to supply Ukraine with additional Patriot systems and missiles for existing air defense systems.” .
He described the meeting as “important and productive” and said: “I call on all other leaders of partner countries to follow this example.”
The German Ministry of Defense said in a post to
The April 10 summary of the transfer of arms and military equipment to Ukraine by the German government includes two Patriot systems in the list of air defense supplies already handed over, and this is the third from Germany. becomes.
President Zelensky said last week that Ukraine needs 25 U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems to protect it from Russian attack.
When the Ukraine war broke out in 2022, Germany abandoned its traditional pacifist stance and became Ukraine's second-largest military donor after the United States.
As well as the Patriots, Berlin has supplied a wide range of other weapons, from artillery to armored fighting vehicles.
Pressure on the Eastern Front
“The situation on the Eastern Front has significantly deteriorated in recent days,” Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Shirskyi said in a statement on Saturday.
This comes after Russia claimed to have captured a village near the industrial city of Avdiivka in mid-February.
Russia's Ministry of Defense announced that troops had “liberated” the largely destroyed village of Pervomayske in the Donetsk region, about 11 kilometers west of Avdiivka.
Ukraine has not confirmed any losses. The army announced Friday that it had repelled the attack on the village.
Schilski wrote on his Telegram channel last month about the “significant escalation of enemy attacks after the Russian presidential election.”
The commander-in-chief, who took office in February after President Zelensky fired his popular predecessor General Valery Zarzhiny, said the decision was being made to “strengthen the most problematic areas of defense in electronic warfare and air defense.” added.
Russia announces 10 dead in Ukrainian attack
Meanwhile, in the southern Zaporizhzhya region, local Kremlin officials on Saturday blamed Ukraine for shelling that killed 10 people, including children.
Tokmok city authorities reported on Telegram that shelling hit three apartment buildings on Friday night.
Five people were pulled alive from the rubble and 13 were hospitalized, regional director Evhen Balitsky said. The town fell to the Russians at the beginning of the invasion.
Ukrainian authorities in Zaporizhzhia said Russia had attacked the area more than 400 times in the past day, including from aircraft.
Ukraine also described the situation around the eastern frontline city of Chasiv Yar as “difficult and tense” and said the area was under “constant fire.”
Chasif Yar is located 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of the town of Bakhmut, which was destroyed by months of shelling before being captured by Moscow last May.
Russia has recently secured new territorial gains and sought to make advances against Ukrainian forces, which have been hampered by delays in the delivery of Western military aid.