Day 98. President Joe Biden wants to embed us deeper into the war between Russia and Ukraine by sending Kyiv advanced rockets if they promise not to bomb Russia with them.
Local governor Serhiy Gaidai admitted the Ukrainians will likely have to abandon Severodonetsk, which would mean Russia basically owns the Luhansk region:
In a post on the Telegram messaging app, Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen warlord, said his troops had reached the centre of Severodonetsk and were marching towards the industrial area where soldiers and civilians were said to be sheltering.With Kyiv’s remaining resistance fighters almost encircled by Russian units, the region’s governor conceded that they may have to retreat to safety across the Siversky Donets river.Serhiy Haidai said crossing the river to Lysychansk could allow Ukrainian forces to limit losses on the battlefield as Russia intensifies its attempts to capture the city.“Our troops still remain in the city and for the time being are still resisting the Russian army,” Mr Haidai told the BBC. “But if they need to withdraw to the other side of the river, closer to Lysychansk, in order to preserve troops then they will probably do so.”Mr Haidai later added that Russian forces now controlled “most” of Severodonetsk, adding that “90 per cent” of the city was destroyed.
Biden supposedly wrote this op-ed in The New York Times. I doubt he actually wrote it, though (emphasis mine):
As President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has said, ultimately this war “will only definitively end through diplomacy.” Every negotiation reflects the facts on the ground. We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.That’s why I’ve decided that we will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine.We will continue cooperating with our allies and partners on Russian sanctions, the toughest ever imposed on a major economy. We will continue providing Ukraine with advanced weaponry, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, Stinger antiaircraft missiles, powerful artillery and precision rocket systems, radars, unmanned aerial vehicles, Mi-17 helicopters and ammunition. We will also send billions more in financial assistance, as authorized by Congress. We will work with our allies and partners to address the global food crisis that Russia’s aggression is worsening. And we will help our European allies and others reduce their dependence on Russian fossil fuels, and speed our transition to a clean energy future.
Biden insisted we do not want a war between Russia and NATO:
We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia. As much as I disagree with Mr. Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the United States will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow. So long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces. We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia.
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