- Title: U.S. may announce new military aid package for Ukraine within days -White House
- Date: 13th September 2022
- Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 13, 2022) (REUTERS) WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY KARINE JEAN-PIERRE AND NATIONAL SECURITY SPOKESPERSON JOHN KIRBY AT LECTERN (SOUNDBITE) (English) NATIONAL SECURITY SPOKESPERSON JOHN KIRBY, SAYING: "I won't get ahead of future security assistance packages. I do think you'll see another one here in coming days. Phil, we're in lockstep with the Ukrainians talking to them every day." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) NATIONAL SECURITY SPOKESPERSON JOHN KIRBY, SAYING: "And I would also add that many of the systems that we've been providing in just the last few weeks and a couple of months have proven instrumental and effective in the Ukrainian's ability to to go on the offense and to be actually quite effective on the defense in the last several days and weeks to include, of course, those advanced rocket systems that were that we've talked about so much. They're using they're using them with great effect." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) NATIONAL SECURITY SPOKESPERSON JOHN KIRBY, SAYING: "I mean, they have met with many problems of their own making in Ukraine. There's no question about that. But it's still a very large and very powerful military. And Mr. Putin still has an awful lot of military capacity left at his disposal, not just to be used in Ukraine, but but potentially elsewhere." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) NATIONAL SECURITY SPOKESPERSON JOHN KIRBY, SAYING: "I think that's going to be up to the Russian people to decide. I mean, we have taken note of public statements by public officials. And certainly it's not not insignificant because not the kind of thing you have typically seen. Mr. Putin has tried to obscure the war in Ukraine since it started. Actually, I'd go so far as to say before it started, calls it a special military operation. It's a war. And he hasn't been honest with his own people about what he's doing there, why he's doing it and what he's doing it with. And he certainly hasn't been honest with the Russian people about the struggles that the Russian military have had in the conduct of this war to include casualties and losses of equipment and systems. So, yeah, we know that he's he's coming under more criticism, but it's going to really be up to the Russian people to decide how they handle that." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) NATIONAL SECURITY SPOKESPERSON JOHN KIRBY, SAYING:: "I would let President Zelenskiy determine and decide whether he feels militarily they've reached a turning point. But clearly, at least in the Donbass, there's a sense of momentum here by the Ukrainian armed forces. And so what we're going to do is continue to support him as best we can." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) NATIONAL SECURITY SPOKESPERSON JOHN KIRBY, SAYING: "I want to be careful not to speak for a foreign military. But I mean, certainly in the north, we have seen the Russians evacuate, withdrawal, retreat from their defensive positions, particularly there in and around the Kharkiv oblast. They have left they have left fighting positions. They've left supplies. They have they have they're calling it a repositioning. But it's certainly they have withdrawn in the face of Ukrainian armed forces that are clearly on the offense. But, Steve, it's I mean, obviously, these are some dramatic events we're watching, but it's war and war is unpredictable. And I think we're going to watch this as closely as we can. But it's really the Ukrainian armed forces that that speak to the to the progress they're making." 13 .WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) NATIONAL SECURITY SPOKESPERSON JOHN KIRBY, SAYING: "What we want to see is the hostilities stop. Now, the Russians apparently brokered a cease fire overnight that was almost immediately broken. So obviously, we want to see there be a cease fire that they can stay in effect. But but we haven't seen any indication that Russian forces are repositioning." JEAN-PIERRE AND KIRBY AT LECTERN
- Embargoed: 27th September 2022 19:56
- Keywords: Biden Kirby Russia Ukraine White House resupply war weapons
- Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- City: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics,United States
- Reuters ID: LVA001507913092022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The Biden administration is likely to announce a fresh military aid package for Ukraine in "coming days," the White House said on Tuesday.
"I do think you'll see another one here in coming days," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
Since Moscow abandoned its main bastion in northeastern Ukraine on Saturday, marking its worst defeat since the early days of the war, Ukrainian troops have recaptured dozens of towns in a stunning shift in battleground momentum.
Moscow denies its forces have committed atrocities in areas they have controlled.
Ukraine's military on Tuesday accused retreating Russian soldiers of stealing at least 300 private cars loaded with looted property as they fled the region. The Russian defense ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
During the day, Ukrainian forces repelled enemy attacks in six towns and settlements to the north of Donates, the general staff said, but made no mention of captured territory.
In a video address, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the West must speed up deliveries of weapons, calling on allies to "strengthen cooperation to defeat Russian terror".
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba singled out Germany for refusing to provide tanks and armor: "Not a single rational argument on why these weapons cannot be supplied, only abstract fears and excuses. What is Berlin afraid of that Kyiv is not?"
Russian forces still control about a fifth of Ukraine in the south and east, but Kyiv is now on the offensive in both areas.
With the recapture of nearly all of Kharkiv province, the Ukrainian advance could soon spread into neighboring Luhansk and Donetsk, where Russia has concentrated its forces for months to expand territory held by separatists since 2014.
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