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Zelenskiy Discusses Ukraine's Readiness To Receive Promised Weapons Deliveries
By RFE/RL and RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service May 02, 2024
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he discussed a schedule for receiving weapons shipments from Kyiv's allies at a meeting of Ukraine's military commanders on May 2 after a Russian missile strike on the Black Sea port of Odesa wounded 14 people and damaged critical civilian infrastructure in the third missile attack on the city in as many days.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov's report on the schedule of the delivery of weapons was discussed at the meeting at the headquarters of the General Staff, Zelenskiy said, adding that he also heard a report on the degree of readiness of fortifications in border regions and in the areas of active hostilities.
Zelenskiy said that he instructed commanders to take all possible measures to shorten the time it takes to receive the weapons. This applies especially to the supply of air defense equipment.
The United States said last week it would provide Ukraine with Patriot missiles for its air defense systems as part of a massive additional aid package.
Despite U.S. efforts to deliver weapons, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has admitted that Ukraine's allies are behind schedule.
Earlier on May 2, Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa region's military administration, said the strike on Odesa ignited a fire, and the storage depots of the local branch of Ukraine's postal service were damaged.
A Russian attack on Odesa the previous day seriously wounded a man who later died in a hospital.
Russia has been targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure for months and repeatedly attacked Odesa in recent days, including on April 29 using an Iskander missile. Five civilians died in that attack and 23 were injured, officials said.
Kuleba said on May 1 in an interview with Foreign Policy that as much as half of Ukraine's energy system had been damaged by Russia's attacks.
Zelenskiy told NATO members last week that his country needs a minimum of seven additional Patriot air-defense systems to counter Russian air strikes amid a shortage of weaponry sparked by delays from the United States, where lawmakers were unable to agree on an aid package for months, while European allies have been unable to deliver ammunition at the scale promised.
An influx of weapons is expected to flow after U.S. President Joe Biden signed the long-delayed $61 billion military aid package last week. Biden said the package would include air-defense munitions to help Ukraine protect its cities and infrastructure, artillery shells, and long-range missile systems.
Faced with the quasi-daily Russian onslaught on its infrastructure, Ukraine has resorted to striking Russia's energy facilities -- especially oil refineries -- with its own drones, whenever possible.
On May 2, Smolensk Governor Vasily Anokhin said on Telegram that Ukrainian drones targeted energy infrastructure in his region.
"Today, the Smolensk region was again attacked by Ukrainian UAVs. In the Roslavl district, the enemy attempted to damage a civilian energy infrastructure facility. There were no casualties. Emergency and law enforcement services are working at the scene," Anokhin said, without giving details.
Separately, Russia's Defense Ministry said its air-defense systems downed 12 Ukrainian drones over several regions.
It said five drones were destroyed over the Bryansk region, three over the Krasnodar region, two over Rostov, and one each over the Kursk and Belgorod regions.
Kursk Governor Roman Starovoit said on Telegram that a Ukrainian drone damaged power lines in the village of Ponyri.
Regional officials in three more Russian regions -- Smolensk, Oryol, and Voronezh -- said they had been targeted by Ukrainian drones. In Oryol, Governor Andrei Klychkov said energy infrastructure was damaged in two districts where the electricity supply was partially disrupted.
Ukraine has not commented on the Russian claims, which could not be independently verified immediately.
Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-drone- anokhin-/32930064.html
Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
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