- Military analysts say in five weeks Ukrainian forces have liberated nearly the same amount of territory Russia captured in six months.
- Boris Johnson has urged the West to not grow weary of Ukraine’s fight against Russia and says Kyiv “must win the war”.
- Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK was not an “Amazon” delivery service for weapons to Ukraine and Kyiv might be wise to let its supporters “see gratitude”.
- The issue of Ukrainian membership in NATO was a key point of discussion at the alliance’s two-day summit in Lithuania.
- Mr. Johnson was prime minister when Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022 and visited Kyiv a number of times to meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Military analysts say in five weeks Ukrainian forces have liberated nearly the same amount of territory Russia captured in six months. In the assessment of the conflict, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that since the beginning of the counteroffensive on 4 June, Ukrainian forces have recaptured approximately 253 square kilometres of territory.
The US thinktank compared these Russian forces who it says have captured a total of 282 square kilometres in the entire theatre since 1 January. The ISW also cited the Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukraine had liberated four square kilometres of territory in the Bakhmut direction over the past week.
As you may remember, Bakhmut was captured by Russian forces including Wagner mercenaries back in May following months of bloody fighting. Both Ukraine and Russia suffered heavy losses in the battle for Bakhmut and Kyiv’s forces have been attempting to take it back.
Boris Johnson has urged the West to not grow weary of Ukraine’s fight against Russia and says Kyiv “must win the war”. The former UK prime minister said there could be “no possible excuse” to delay Ukraine’s membership in NATO, in an interview with CNN. “There can be no possible excuse or reason to keep faffing around and delaying,” Mr Johnson said.
“The last remaining objection was that it was going to be provocative to Vladimir Putin. Well, we’ve seen what happens when you don’t have Ukraine in NATO, you provoke the worst war in Europe in 80 years.”
The issue of Ukrainian membership in NATO was a key point of discussion at the alliance’s two-day summit in Lithuania which concluded yesterday.
While Kyiv fell short of gaining full membership, Ukraine was able to secure further military aid and security guarantees.
Mr. Johnson also warned against “Ukraine fatigue”. “It’s the exhaustion of the rest of the world, and particularly the supporters of Ukraine, in making sure that they win,” he said. “But they’ve got to win, it’s absolutely crucial.”
His comments come after Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK was not an “Amazon” delivery service for weapons to Ukraine and Kyiv might be wise to let its supporters “see gratitude”.
Mr. Johnson was prime minister when Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022 and visited Kyiv a number of times to meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
(With inputs from agencies
