Victorious news of 457th day of war: almost fifty missiles and a million rounds of ammunition from Canada, border guards repel Russian attack in Avdiivka sector

43 air-to-air missiles and 1 million rounds of ammunition for Ukraine

Canada will provide Ukraine with 43 short-range air-to-air missiles. The allied government hopes this will help protect Ukrainian skies, Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said at the 12th Ramstein meeting.

According to the official, the supply of small arms and ammunition announced in April is going according to plan. Machine guns, assault rifles, cleaning kits and magazines have already been delivered to Ukraine, and in the coming weeks it is planned to deliver 1 million rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition and 4,800 assault rifles. By the summer, all 21,000 small arms and 2.4 million rounds of ammunition are expected to be in Ukraine, the Canadian department summarised.

Military assistance to Ukraine will increase as US elections approach

As the US elections approach, military assistance to Ukraine will increase, said Mykola Sunhurovskyi, military expert and director of military programs at the Razumkov Center.

"As the US elections approach, military aid will increase. We will be able to get more weapons. Because President Biden will need to report on how many weapons his administration has provided to Ukraine and what results he has achieved. If there are no results, it will be a losing position," explained Sunhurovskyi.

The expert noted that Ukraine has not yet received some types of weapons that it needs for a successful counteroffensive.

"The Biden administration will have to increase military assistance to Ukraine. Another problem is the extent to which it will be supported by our side. That is, what results we will achieve. We are not getting all the weapons we need. For example, helicopters and engineering equipment, which we really need," he added.

Ukraine can join NATO even with occupied territories

Ukraine may join the North Atlantic Alliance despite the fact that part of its territory remains occupied. The New York Times writes about this with reference to experts. 

Angela E. Stent, an expert on Russia and Germany, author of Putin's World, draws parallels between Ukraine and West Germany in the period after World War II. She believes that the situations are very similar.

"When West Germany joined NATO, there was what you might call a monumental frozen conflict. And yet it was considered very important to anchor West Germany in the Western alliance, and so West Germany joined. The Russians complained about it and said it was very dangerous, but they were powerless to prevent it," the expert emphasised.

Ukrainian Armed Forces advance near Bakhmut

The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to move forward on the outskirts of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, and the Ukrainian military has an initiative. This was stated by the deputy commander of the 3rd separate assault brigade, Major Rodion Kudriashov.

"It is in this area (Klishchiivka - ed.) that the Armed Forces are improving the situation, we have the initiative and are moving forward with the help of our forces and means. These are very important steps not only to defeat the enemy, but also to actually change the tactical setup in this area," he said.

Border guards repel Russian attack in Avdiivka sector

The Russian occupation army launched a chemical attack on Ukrainian border guards in the Avdiivka sector, but the assault was repelled after a long battle.

"The assault on Ukrainian positions was preceded by artillery fire. Russian enemy forces dropped ammunition with irritant aerosols from drones. Then Russian soldiers, supported by tanks and armoured vehicles, launched an attack," the State Border Guard Service said.

"The battle lasted about ten hours. During this time, Ukrainian defenders neutralised 30 invaders, 2 tanks, an infantry fighting vehicle and an armoured personnel carrier."