approved the aid package that included hemars, we knew there would be a lag before they could get to the front lines. they would have a three-week training period on those weapons so the question is, could they get to the front quickly enough to make a difference? that is still to be determined but they are physically here in ukraine. that s something ukrainian officials have been wanting to see more of, high-tech, medium-range rocket launch systems, more heavy weaponry so they can match what they are seeing from russian forces. the situation in severodonetsk, in luhansk, in that into region has been described as extremely difficult. russian authorities have hoped to capture all of the donbas by june 26th. the president here in ukraine, he has warned they expected to see fighting to intensify in eastern ukraine as they get closer to the eu, likely approving ukraine s bid for candidate status. jose?
to be able to regain them. as it was also near kyiv, for example, russians have come very close. or what they have done in kharkiv region as well. but they are being kicked out from our land. and they have the necessity to retreat and to withdraw there. so we just need additional, additional backing from our partners and are very grateful that congress has finally adopted this $40 billion package of aid, which will allow to get for ukraine to get more weaponry. and that s why i am in berlin today and yesterday we had this immense number of meetings, specifically to get more heavy weaponry. right. for ukraine. and that s the major humanitarian aid that one can give to ukraine at this point. we have to leave it there for now. but the message has been consistent now, he will note for three months that that is what you want, $40 billion, as you
The recent moves by the U.S. to send weaponry to Ukraine to support its defense against Russia may seem positive on the surface, but experts fear that the country won’t be able to use these [.]
russian natural gas. but so far, officials in those two countries say the action taken by russia won t have much impact. poland s climate minister stressed yesterday that the country was already prepared for such a situation after working for years to diversify its energy supply. and bulgaria s energy minister says the country has enough natural gas for at least the next month. meanwhile, in germany, a country what is heavily reliant on russian gas a top official says the country would be able to live off of existing reserves until at least the winter if russia decides to halt exports there, too. more heavy weaponry continues to reach ukraine as the biden administration rushes artillery to the battlefield. according to the pentagon, ukrainian troops now have more than half of the 90 howitzers that the u.s. pledged to send. the munitions continue to flow into ukraine, the united states is helping coordinate.
and the euro plunged to its lowest level against the dollar in five years. many see that move as a response to what s happening in germany right now. the first meeting of the ukraine contact group has wrapped up in germany, but defense secretary lloyd austin says similar high level meetings will keep happening once a month. 40 countries at this meeting. secretary austin said the group consists of defense and military leaders from those nations to coordinate military aid for ukraine. the ukrainian government praised the group. during that meeting germany announced a shift when it comes to providing heavy weaponry for the war effort. after previously refusing to do so, its defense minister said germany will send up to 50 armored anti-aircraft vehicles to ukraine and said more weapons shipments are under discussion. this is video of those vehicles