– It will not save Volodymyr Zelenskyj – Dagsavisen

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the US Senate on Wednesday night for approving an economic and military support package worth 61 billion dollars.

The support is highly anticipated for the Ukrainians in their fight against Russia and President Vladimir Putin, after a several-month-long tug-of-war in the US Congress. Zelenskyj himself has been out and thanked for the support from the Americans.

From the Russian side, the reactions are strong.

– The support from the USA and the West will burn. And it will not save Volodymyr Zelenskyi. New weapons will be destroyed, and our goals (in Ukraine, journ.am.) will be reached, says Anatoly Antonov in a statement from Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

– The US has chosen evil

Antonov is Russia’s ambassador to the United States. The Financial Times and the Russian state news agency Tass have also reported on the case.

– The United States has made its choice in this war. They have chosen the side of evil, adds Antonov.

– This means decisive support for the US’s partners so that they can defend themselves against threats that could shake their sovereignty, US President Joe Biden has said about the support package, according to NTB.

Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of evil in the past.

– Today it is important to note that yet another country in Europe has become more protected from Russia’s evil, said Volodymyr Zelenskyj when Sweden was incorporated into NATO, according to NTB.

Also read: The NATO summit’s hint about Ukraine: – A question of when, not if

Expert: – The new Ukraine support is not magical

Russia expert Mark Galeotti emphasizes that the new support means a lot to the Ukrainians.

– The support package from the USA is very important. But we should not think that it provides a magical answer of any kind. It is more about the fact that it will make Ukraine stop losing, says Galeotti to Dagsavisen.

Mark Galeotti is a historian, researcher and author, and heads the consulting firm Mayak Intelligence. The Briton is considered one of the world’s leading experts on international crime and security policy, with Russia as a special field.

He believes the support package and the noise surrounding it once again shows Europe’s limitations.

– Europe can help with more money to Ukraine, but when it comes to arms production, the story is different. Much of the arms support that the Ukrainians badly need, only the United States can deliver to them, says the Briton.

– Will that change from Europe’s side in the coming years, as you see it?

– Yes, partly. But when it comes to the US’s defense budget and capacity, there is no comparison, Galeotti points out.

Have you seen this one? – “European soldiers” can cut down Putin’s propaganda

Also read: German defense halt: – Then Russia can attack NATO

Also read: General: – Now we have three choices. Only one of them can stop Putin

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Facts about the war in Ukraine

• Russia and President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine with large forces on February 24, 2022.
• Russian forces and Russian-backed separatists previously controlled the Crimean peninsula and parts of the Ukrainian counties of Donetsk and Luhansk.
• Since the invasion, Russian forces have taken control of even more areas in eastern and southern Ukraine. The Russian-occupied areas now make up around 18 percent of the country.
• The fronts in the war have largely been deadlocked since autumn 2022.
• Ukraine’s and President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s stated goal is to recapture all Russian-occupied territories, including the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
• Western countries support Ukraine with large amounts of weapons and military equipment.
• Neither Ukraine nor Russia state how many soldiers they lose on the battlefield. It is estimated that up to 500,000 soldiers have been killed and wounded in the war, and the majority of these are said to be Russian.
• The UN has registered over 10,000 civilians killed in Ukraine, but the real number is probably much higher.
• 6.5 million Ukrainians have fled the country since the invasion, and another 3.7 million are internally displaced.

(Sources: UN, The New York Times, NTB)

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