File image.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 13 announced plans for a new wave of long-range strikes on Russian territories.
“We are preparing new long-range strikes. We will also continue to respond harshly and consistently to every Russian attack on Ukrainians. In particular, the Commander-in-Chief reported the completely justified destruction of Russian killers who took the life of a one-year-old boy in the Kherson region,” Zelensky said in a statement after a meeting with senior commanders and the minister of defense.
In recent months, Ukraine stepped up its drone attacks on Russian territories. However, the attacks were mostly foiled by Russian air defenses.
Zelensky’s new remarks came right after United States Senator Lindsey Graham stated that he expects that the pace and volume of Western arms supplies to Ukraine to reach record levels soon.
Graham was asked on CBS News’ Face the Nation whether U.S. President Donald Trump could use about $3.85 billion allocated by the former Joe Biden administration through the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) mechanism, which allows the head of state to supply weapons to a foreign partner without congressional approval in case of an emergency by decree.
“I expect him to exercise the PDA authority,” Graham responded, noting these funds would not be enough.
“I expect in the coming days you will see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves. I expect in the coming days that there will be tariffs and sanctions available to President Trump he’s never had before,” Graham added, describing possible restrictive measures as “a sledgehammer available to President Trump.”
According to the senator, who is one of the authors of the bill on new sanctions against Russia, restrictions can be applied primarily to China, India and Brazil.
The issue of arms supplies was also among the matters Zelensky discussed with his commanders in their latest meetings.
All in all, Ukraine appears to be preparing for a major escalation against Russia with backing from the U.S. and other allies. It is highly unlikely that Kiev will be able to do anything meaningful. Still, Russia will have to respond in kind. The looming escalation could kill the peace talks which Trump himself pushed for.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
