Day 92 Roundup: Ukraine Calls for Heavy Weapons Amidst Donbas Bombardment

    Image copyright: Ukrainian Presidential Service/Reuters [via Al Jazeera]

    The Facts

    • Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thurs. called for more heavy weapons to be sent to the country, saying: "The only position where Russia is better than us, it's the amount of heavy weapons they have. Without artillery, without multiple launch rocket systems, we won't to be able to push them back."

    • This comes as over 40 towns in the Donbas region reportedly faced bombardment on Thurs. morning as Russian forces drew nearer to encircling Severondonetsk, a key strategic goal for Moscow. Ukraine's Pres. Zelenskyy stated on Wed. night that Russian troops outnumber Ukrainians in some parts of the east, while also making pleas for more weapons from the west.


    The Spin

    Pro-establishment narrative

    As the war shifts to the strategically important Donbas regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, the US and its allies need to continue to do everything in their power to arm Ukraine with all the weapons they need. Doing so is the only way to push Putin's forces back as was done in Kyiv.

    Pro-Russia narrative

    As stated by Putin, the whole purpose of the war was never to invade Kyiv, but to liberate the ethnically Russian people of Donetsk and Luhansk, who have been subjected to systematic killing by Ukrainian forces for not recognizing the 2014 coup in Kyiv. This tragedy could also have been avoided if NATO had kept its promise not to expand eastward in return for German reunification.


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