Ukrainian officials reported that three individuals were killed by Russian missile attacks in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson as combat raged in the Donetsk region's eastern Vuhledar.
Just days after allies agreed to give Kyiv heavy combat tanks, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine faced a difficult situation in Donetsk and required speedier military deliveries and new types of armaments.
Ukraine Weapons Demand
According to the regional government, Sunday saw three fatalities and six injuries due to Russian attacks on Kherson that destroyed a hospital and a school. Shortly after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Russian soldiers conquered Kherson and held it until Ukrainian forces recovered it in November.
Since its liberation, Russian troops across the Dnieper have routinely bombarded the city. An older woman was killed Sunday evening after a missile damaged an apartment building in the northern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, according to regional governor Oleh Synehubov.
A photograph taken by Reuters at the site depicted a residential structure in the country's second-most populated city engulfed in flames. Russia on Saturday accused the Ukrainian military of purposefully bombing a hospital in a region of eastern Ukraine occupied by Russia, resulting in the deaths of 14 people. Ukraine did not respond to the charges.
In a statement issued late Sunday night, Ukraine's General Staff said that Russian forces had bombarded Bakhmut, the epicenter of Moscow's push in the eastern Donetsk area, and Vuhledar in the southwest, where combat has increased in recent days.
Mykola Salamakha, a Ukrainian military expert and colonel, told Ukrainian Radio NV that Russian soldiers were launching waves of strikes against Vuhledar.
Sunday's civilian deaths occurred three days after at least eleven people were killed in missile attacks that Kyiv saw as the Kremlin's retaliation to commitments from Ukraine's partners to provide combat tanks.
Germany and the United States said last week that they would give Ukraine dozens of tanks to assist in pushing back Russian forces, paving the stage for other nations to follow suit. According to Kyiv's envoy to France, it might take months for 321 heavy tanks pledged to Ukraine by many countries to materialize on the battlefield.
In the following weeks, both warring parties are anticipated to undertake spring offensives; thus, Ukraine is eager to expedite the supply of heavy weaponry. On Saturday, a top assistant to Zelensky stated that Ukraine's requests for long-range weapons were also the subject of discussions between Kyiv and its allies.
Russia, which has gotten weapons and supplies from China, North Korea, and Iran, has accused the West of supplying Ukraine with more advanced weapons. According to Russian officials, arming Ukraine involves "direct involvement."
Germany and the United States announced Wednesday they would send modern battle tanks along with the Bradley and Marder vehicles to Ukraine and train Ukrainian forces to use them to help Kyiv make breakthroughs in military stalemates.
The Kremlin, which continues to accuse Western intervention, groaned and condemned the decision. Boris Pistorius, the German minister of defense, stated that Ukrainian forces would learn to operate Leopard 2 tanks manufactured in Germany by the end of the month, as per Fox News.
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US, Germany Tanks Delivery to Ukraine
The week prior, Ukraine finally persuaded Western officials to part with dozens of advanced tanks, which they hoped would deal a devastating blow to Putin's invasion. The Biden administration is sending a complete battalion of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, following a difficult diplomatic dance in which Germany announced its plan to send 14 tanks and more to Kyiv.
The United States is testing 31 tanks at $400 million. The plan also includes 500 armored vehicles provided by the government, as per Daily Mail. President Joe Biden referred to the M1 Abrams tanks as "the most capable tanks in the world" and stated that they would "improve Ukraine's capabilities to defend its territory and accomplish its strategic goals."
The Ukrainian military would deploy the armor to "liberate their area," he claimed. The United States has given Ukraine sixteen High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems at $4 million per unit or $110,000 for each missile. Lockheed Martin's truck-mounted launchers can fire six guided missiles up to 50 kilometers or longer, depending on the ammo used.
High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), which costs around $5 million per unit has also been deployed to Ukraine. The HIMARS is one of the world's most sophisticated rocket artillery systems.
Six guided missiles can be launched in rapid succession. Ukraine has previously deployed the technology to deadly effect against Russian forces, attacking soldiers and infrastructure. An attack on the first day of the year killed at least 63 Russian soldiers.
The United States has also given Patriot missiles costing $10 million per launcher and $4 million for every missile, Howitzers costing $570,000 per unit, and a fleet of Mi-17 helicopters costing $17 million per unit.
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