Ukraine update: What happened that night

Now Ukraine is advancing with numerous troops near Kherson

According to Russian sources, Ukraine is currently conducting extensive ground operations on the eastern bank of Kherson Oblast. Ukrainian forces would also maintain their presence in some areas near the Dnipro bank and the Antonivsky railway bridge. This is reported by “Institute for the Study of War(ISW).

A Russian military blogger claimed that two Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups from a Ukrainian marine infantry brigade crossed the Dnipro River, overwhelmed Russian troops in the area and gained a foothold in the village of Krynky, 30 kilometers east of the city of Kherson. After a counterattack by the Russian infantry, the troops were pushed back to the edge of the village. But they would still control some houses in Krynky and wait for Ukrainian reinforcements.

According to another military blogger, the Ukrainians are said to have deployed more personnel in the attacks on Krynky than in previous attacks. The Ukrainian General Staff tacitly acknowledged the operations on the eastern bank. The ISW also assumes that the current Ukrainian attacks are larger than previously observed operations. Satellite images also show that Ukrainian forces are present along the coast and near the Antonivsky railway bridge, despite Russian counterattacks.

Biden: Must stop dictator Putin’s “appetite for power.”

US President Joe Biden warned that it is important for the US to support Ukraine and Israel – even if they are far away. “Hamas and Putin pose different threats, but they have one thing in common: they both want to completely destroy neighboring democracies,” said the 80-year-old. History has taught that terrorists who paid no price for their terror and dictators who paid no price for their aggression caused more chaos and death and more destruction.

Biden added: “If we don’t stop Putin’s appetite for power and control in Ukraine, it won’t be limited to just Ukraine. And if we allow Putin to wipe out Ukraine’s independence, aggressors around the world will be emboldened to try to do the same.” Referring to the currently paralyzed House of Representatives, Biden said that we must not allow “our responsibilities as a great nation to be undermined petty, partisan and angry politics.”

The USA is considered Ukraine’s most important ally in the fight against the Russian invasion. Since the start of the war, the United States has provided Ukraine with military equipment worth around $44 billion (41.6 billion euros), according to the US Department of Defense.

Russian troops launch new attack on Avdiivka

Russian forces have launched another attack on the city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine. According to a commander in chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Russian army continues to try to break through Ukrainian defenses and encircle the city. “The enemy is coming with additional attack units and large amounts of armored equipment and using aircraft and artillery,” the general said in a video posted on Telegram.

Zelensky thanks Biden for ATACMS

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky once again thanked Biden for the delivery of the highly precise ATACMS missiles. He spoke to Biden on the phone and thanked him “for the effective implementation of our recent defense agreements,” Zelensky said in his evening video address on Thursday. “The Ukrainians were very pleased to receive the ATACMS missiles, and our soldiers successfully use them on the battlefield.”

The delivery of the missiles from the USA had been announced some time ago, but was carried out quietly recently. The precision weapons were used for the first time in the Ukraine theater of war on Tuesday. Kremlin leader Putin had criticized the new weapons as an “additional threat”. The Russian army will also defend against these missiles, he claimed.

Ukraine has used these extremely precise weapons for the first time against targets in Russian-occupied parts of the country. Two military airfields in the Luhansk and Berdyansk regions were hit. Several Russian helicopters were destroyed, it was said in Kiev.

Ukraine’s foreign minister expects more missiles from the USA

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expects further deliveries of ATACMS missiles from the USA. In an interview broadcast by Ukrainian media on Thursday, he derived this “between the lines” from an agreement between US President Joe Biden and his head of state Zelensky. At the same time, Kuleba expressed the hope of receiving ATACMS missiles with a longer range of up to 300 kilometers from the USA in the future.

So far, Ukraine has only received almost two dozen of these projectiles with a limited range of 165 kilometers. This is intended to prevent attacks on targets within Russia as much as possible. Missiles with a range of 300 kilometers could reach targets on the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula.

Reports: Russian heavy weapons destroyed

According to Ukrainian reports, a number of Russian military weapons were destroyed during combat operations along the fronts in Ukraine on Thursday. In addition to a few artillery pieces, two heavy multiple rocket launchers were also destroyed, the General Staff in Kiev announced in the evening. The information could not be independently verified.

This will be important on Friday:

US President Joe Biden will receive the President of the EU Commission on Friday Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel in Washington. The meeting will, among other things, focus on the Gaza war and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.