US increases aid to Ukraine as international pressure grows on Russia

The United States will announce on Wednesday an increase in its assistance to Ukraine, at a time when international pressure is mounting on Russia, to end its bombing of civilian targets, and peace talks are moving forward, hesitant.

A White House source announced that President Joe Biden will announce an additional $800 million in aid for Ukraine in the next few hours.

“In total, the president authorized about $2 billion of aid” to Ukraine since the start of his term, according to White House sources.

Biden's announcement will follow the intervention of Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenksi before the US congressmen, in which he will undoubtedly ask for more help for his country and the creation of an exclusion air zone over Ukraine, something Washington is ruling out for now.

The Russian offensive in Ukraine enters its third week and the siege over Kiev is narrowing. On Wednesday morning, strong explosions were heard in the capital and plumes of smoke were visible from several places, AFP journalists found.

The inhabitants of the capital must respect a curfew until Thursday morning and the press is not allowed to circulate either. According to the municipal authorities, Kiev is experiencing a “dangerous moment”.

- “All wars end with an agreement” -

Hours earlier, in a video message, Zelenski once again urged his compatriots not to lose heart in their struggle against Russian troops, but hinted that the conflict would end with a negotiated agreement.

“All wars end with an agreement,” he said, referring to the “difficult” but “important” negotiations that continue between Kiev and Moscow.

“The meetings are going ahead,” he said. “I have been informed that the positions in the talks now seem more realistic, but we need time and all decisions will be taken for the good of Ukraine,” he said.

In recent days, Russian attacks on civilian targets in Kiev have intensified, as has the siege of the port city of Mariupol, which is experiencing a dramatic lack of food, water and medicine.

Some 20,000 inhabitants of the city were able to be evacuated in recent days. Exhausted and trembling, they narrated terrifying journeys, amid decomposed corpses lying in the streets.

Mikola, one of them, asked that his last name not appear in the interview and explained that he drove his vehicle through a minefield to escape and avoid Russian checkpoints.

“It's the first time in weeks that I've been able to breathe,” he said.

On Wednesday, the Ukrainian city of Zaporiyia (south) was also attacked, a refuge for people fleeing Mariupol and for now quite protected from the fighting.

“Civilian targets in Zaporiyia were bombed for the first time,” regional governor Olexandr Staruj said on Telegram.

The conflict in Ukraine has already forced more than three million people to leave the country, half of them children.

“The Russians have already killed 97 children” by shelling “schools, hospitals and homes,” Zelenski reported to Canadian deputies on Tuesday.

- Forces of peace? -

Military analysts believe that Russia intensified aerial bombardments after the ground invasion stalled and as a way to pressure negotiations with Ukraine.

“They saw that their ground operations have not been successful and that wherever they do achieve victories they achieve them at a high price that is not sustainable,” Mick Ryan, a retired Australian general, told AFP.

“They have had to move to 'Plan C', which is to bomb cities and terrorize civilians in the hope that Ukrainians will gain some kind of political understanding,” he added.

On Tuesday, Zelenski admitted that Ukraine had to accept that it would not join NATO, one of the main arguments used by Russia to justify its offensive.

Russian President Vladimir Putin further accuses the Ukrainian authorities of “not showing serious commitment to the search for mutually acceptable solutions,” according to the Kremlin's version of the leader's conversation with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.

On Tuesday, the prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, supporters of a harder line from Western countries to Moscow, met with Zelensky in Kiev.

During the visit, Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslav Kaczynski called for the dispatch of a NATO peace mission or another entity “that is capable of defending itself and can operate on Ukrainian territory.”

But such calls have gained little support in Western countries, where fears persist that it could unleash a catastrophic war with Russia, which possesses nuclear weapons.

For now, Western countries have chosen to isolate Russia diplomatically and economically. That is, they have applied harsh sanctions that could lead Russia to a possible default of its debt.

This Wednesday, Russia is due to repay $117 million in interest on two debt bonds, the first payment in a series scheduled for March and April.

In retaliation for the military operation in Ukraine, some $300 billion of Russia's reserves are frozen in Western banks.

The sanctions also forced the departure of Moscow from various international political and sports forums.

On Tuesday, and with its possible expulsion from the Council of Europe, Russia announced its departure from the European human rights body.

Moscow has responded to these sanctions and on Tuesday announced punitive measures against Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and several members of their governments.

Russia also wants to push forward a “humanitarian” draft resolution on Ukraine before the UN Security Council, which could be voted on Thursday but has little chance of prospering.

This Wednesday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will rule on an injunction filed by Ukraine, which asked the most important UN court to order Russia to immediately cease its invasion.

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