Shell shock
»»Zelensky cancels trips as Russia wins territory »»500,000 Putin troops ‘mass on Ukraine border’
For anyone tempted to bet against Ukraine, don’t – it will be a big mistake
ANTONY BLINKEN THE US’s SECRETARY OF STATE ON WAR
UKRAINIAN president Volodymyr Zelensky last night dramatically cancelled planned visits to Spain and Portugal after Russia advanced in the north east of his country.
Mr Zelensky was due to make the trip in the next 48 hours to sign a security deal with Spain.
Sources in Portugal said the change was forced by the serious internal situation in Ukraine.
Mr Zelensky’s army chiefs confirmed the northern region of Kharkiv was enduring heavy fighting as Russian troops pushed on with ground and air offensives.
Some reports said up to half a million Russian troops were massing on the border.
But Ukraine was buoyed by the US’s promise of weapons support when Secretary of State Antony Blinken met President Zelensky in Kyiv on Tuesday.
Mr Blinken said: “We’re rushing ammunition, armoured vehicles, missiles, air defences to get them to the front lines.
“For anyone who is tempted to bet against Ukraine, don’t – it will be a big mistake. The people on the front lines, they need that support and they will get it.”
General Serhii Melnyk, commanding Kharkiv city defence forces, said: “Three combat engagements are still ongoing.
“In some areas, near the towns of Vovchansk and Lukiantsi, Ukrainian defenders were forced to move to more favourable positions to more effectively use their forces and defend the region.”
Vladimir Putin’s gains are his most significant since Kyiv’s forces recaptured the Kharkiv region in 2022. The Russian defence ministry also said its troops have taken full control of Robotyne, further south, one of only a handful of settlements Kyiv retook in its summer counteroffensive last year.
But Ukraine hit back in other areas. Russian aviation body Rosaviatsia announced Ukrainian drone attacks had closed Kazan and Nizhnekamsk airports, both of which are hundreds of miles from the Ukrainian border.
Moscow’s defence ministry also said yesterday that it had suppressed a large aerial attack on the Crimean peninsula.
It added it intercepted 10 American ATACMS tactical missiles over Crimea, a Ukrainian territory Russia annexed in 2014.
Mr Blinken said ATACMS were part of the newly supplied arms.
Elsewhere in Russia, there were two explosions at a fuel base in the Proletarsky district because of two drone attacks. No casualties were reported in any of the assaults.
The uptick in the war’s intensity comes as Putin is due to fly to China today on a state visit. He will meet with counterpart Xi Jinping about cementing relations.