U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and at least 50 other defense leaders from Europe and around the world met Monday to coordinate military support to Ukraine as it battles a renewed onslaught in the northeastern Kharkiv region from Russia.
Ukraine has also launched a battle against Russian troops in the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula.
Austin said Monday’s meeting came at “a moment of challenge” and promised to move U.S. weapons to Ukraine “week after week.”
Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy for weeks has urged the U.S. to send more weapons as Ukraine attempts to beat back Russian forces on two fronts, but political gridlock in the U.S. has held up delivery.
Russia has taken advantage of the slow arrival of the promised weapons by intensifying its campaign in Kharkiv.
President Joe Biden recently approved a multibillion-dollar weapons package for Ukraine but is not immediately clear when the U.S.-funded hardware will appear on the front lines, where Ukraine is currently fighting a better-equipped Russian military.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military said Monday it destroyed all 29 aerial drones that Russia launched in overnight attacks
The Ukrainian air force said the intercepts took place over the Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa and Poltava regions, and regional officials reported no casualties or damage.
The Russian defense ministry on Monday said it destroyed seven Ukrainian drones, including five over the Belgorod region and two over the Kursk region.
Russian missile attacks Sunday killed at least 11 people at a crowded resort just outside the city of Kharkiv.
"There were never any soldiers here," said Yaroslav Trofimko, a police inspector at the resort. "It was a Sunday; people were supposed to be here to rest. Children were supposed to be here, pregnant women, resting, enjoying a normal way of life."
Zelenskyy again pressed Western allies to provide additional air defense systems to protect Kharkiv and other Ukrainian cities.
"The world can stop Russian terror — and to do so, the lack of political will among leaders must be overcome," Zelenskyy said on social media.
"Two Patriots for Kharkiv will make a fundamental difference," he added, referring to Patriot missile defense systems. He also said that air defense systems for other cities and support for soldiers on the front line would ensure Russia's defeat.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military on Sunday shelled two towns in Russia's southern Belgorod region, injuring at least 13 people, including three children, and damaging residential areas, Regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram. Several apartment buildings sustained damage, Gladkov said.
Ukraine's military has launched frequent attacks on towns and villages on Russian border regions.
Russia said Sunday that Ukraine launched 62 drones on Russian regions, leading the Slavyansk oil refinery in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region to halt operations, the Interfax news agency reported.
A Ukrainian intelligence source told Reuters in Kyiv that Ukraine's security and military drones struck the Slavyansk refinery and a military airfield in Krasnodar in overnight attacks.
The Ukrainian navy also said it had destroyed the Russian Black Sea Fleet's Project 266M Kovrovets minesweeper.
Russia said its forces defeated Ukraine's 24th and 42nd mechanized brigades and the 125th Air Defense Brigade at Lukiantsi, Vesele and Radhospne in the Kharkiv region and repelled attacks by Kyiv's forces at other points in the area.
Russia accused Kyiv's forces of firing U.S., French and Ukrainian missiles at Russia-held territory.
During a visit to China, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said that Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region was a response to Ukraine shelling border regions.
Putin said that he aims at building a buffer zone against Ukrainian attacks, but that Moscow has no plans on capturing Kharkiv.
“I have said publicly that if it continues, we will be forced to create a security zone, a sanitary zone,” he said. “That's what we are doing.” Russian troops were “advancing daily according to plan," he said.
To increase the number of Ukrainian troops, Zelenskyy signed two laws Friday allowing prisoners to join the army while imposing steep fines for draft dodgers. The controversial mobilization law took effect Saturday.
Ukraine recently lowered the draft age for soldiers from 27 to 25, and stiffened punishments for those who avoid being called up.
Under the new law, Ukrainian men are also obligated to update their personal data at military conscription centers across the country — a measure aimed at streamlining army recruitment.
Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
