The US “gained’t let President [Vladimir] Putin impose his will on different nations,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned Friday in Finland, the place he delivered an handle on Russia’s struggle in Ukraine. Blinken mentioned america is dedicated to serving to construct Ukraine’s army power and known as for long-term funding.
“Let me say on to the Russian individuals: The US just isn’t your enemy,” he mentioned from the Finnish capital, Helsinki, as he was wrapping up a Nordic tour. “We can not select your future for you, and we gained’t attempt to take action.”
In Ukraine, the military’s commander mentioned air defenses shot down greater than 30 missiles and drones in a brand new spherical of Russian air assaults in a single day. Air raid sirens blared across the nation early Friday, from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, to the Black Sea port of Odessa.
Right here is the most recent on the struggle and its ripple results throughout the globe.
As Ukraine prepares to launch a long-trumpeted counterattack, the primary impediment isn’t Russia’s defenses however Ukraine’s. Like Russia, Ukraine has laid hundreds of mines alongside the entrance line, Publish journalists report from Zaporizhzhia. To advance, Ukrainian troops should now push by way of these strains with out tipping off Russian forces — by sending sappers out to the fields to quietly clear paths by way of the mines.
With the Kremlin hellbent on preserving the land it has stolen in Zaporizhzhia, Russian forces have ripped it aside, remodeling enormous expanses of once-sleepy agricultural fields right into a veritable fortress with webs of trenches and different obstacles that may be seen from area.
To retake territory and oust the Russians, the Ukrainians should punch by way of these fortifications.
Missy Ryan and Christian Shepherd contributed to this report.