Russian Air Strikes on Ukraine | US Paused Ukraine's Military and Intelligence Aid

Russian Air Strikes on Ukraine

Now there's been another wave of Russian air attacks on Ukraine overnight with at least 14 people killed, most died in attacks on a town Dobropillia in the Donetsk another three died in drone attacks in the Kharkiv region these attacks came hours after the United States confirmed that it had limited Ukraine's access to commercial satellite imagery as well as pausing military and intelligence aid. 

While air strikes across Ukraine have intensified in the past week and they coincide with the United States increasing pressure on President Zelensky to sign a peace deal with Russia by denying Ukraine to access to those commercial satellite images pictures taken by the US firm max are no longer available to kyiv. They were used to track Russian troop movement sand assess damage from air strikes Washington had already cut off military aid and intelligence sharing. The United States is due to hold direct talks with Ukraine in Saudi Arabia next week on ending the war that what followed Russia's full scale Invasion. Well a Ukraine update was that a night where widespread Russian drone attacks were seen as Ukraine often does see and it's an Eastern town called Dobrapillia which you've seen there where residential buildings were struck by several drones. It seems at least 12 people have been killed.

We understand it is sits in a region gradually being swallowed by advancing Russian forces and we've also seen a targeting of a city in the north-eastern Kharkiv region but as ever it doesn't stop there, we've seen energy facilities targeted in the South as well as in  the central provinces of Ukraine and it is this Mutual pausing of targeting infrastructure in this way which Ukraine has suggested could be part of an initial ceasefire agreement but Russia has firmly rejected that so far across the border in the Western Russia in the Primorksy Kai region. Officials there say they’ve intercepted 31 Ukrainian drones going the other way as they attempted to Target an oil refinery there. So in short, yes it has been quite a night for Ukraine.

Well, if we see what impact will be of this US decision to now deny access to commercial satellite imergy is in short it makes Ukraine's ability to defend itself all the more difficult in the words of one Ukrainian officer this morning we're fighting blind in some areas maxarsatellite imagery American intelligence it's all Central to how Ukraine detects incoming drones that picks up the Gathering of invading Russian forces, how it conducts its own offensive operations, how it launches long range missile strikes and this has been an unraveling of its relationship with Washington which has directly hampered its ability to both fight and defend and there has nothing new that has been announced by the Trump Administration which is slowing down Russia's advances. Donald Trump yesterday even suggested he was understanding why Vladimir Putin was upping his attacks in this way he did threaten Moscow with large scale sanctions and tariffs after the bombardment we've seen,  but then he in the same breath suggested that Russia would be easier to deal with in a ceasefire negotiation than Ukraine despite the latter in his words not holding any of the cards.

Well, let’s see is there any sense of what Ukraine is expecting out of these talks that are going to take place in Saudi Arabia?

Well, I think in an immediate sense they would like America to restore its support in some way and I think that's far from guaranteed I think it would like America to unlock that military aid, those armored vehicles, the ammunition that is partly sitting in depose now in neighboring country Poland. It would like its intelligence to be shared once more and more longer term like America to say right now that you have come to the table, now that you maybe have signed this minerals deal, giving us access to billions of dollars of your minerals in the future we will now start to provide you with security guarantees, some kind of military promise that we would be here, we would step in; if Russia tried to invade again which is a very real fear here and in the future, that is Ukraine's dream. But at the moment President Zelensky is running out of political Road, he simply just has to engage and that's certainly what his European allies want him to do.

Well, as mentioning there the US has increased pressure on Ukraine to reach a possible peace deal with Russia by withdrawing access to American satellite imagery which of course was being used by kyiv to track Russian troop movements. President Trump also said that he's finding it more difficult to deal with Ukraine than with Russia. Some say that Donald Trump believes that from behind his Oval Office desk he alone can end war and make peace in Ukraine he was asked if he believes Vladimir Putin is serious about peace. Trump said “I know I believe him I believe him I think we're doing very well with Russia, but right now they're bombing the hell out of Ukraine and Ukraine, I'm finding it more difficult frankly to deal with Ukraine and they don't have the cards, they don't have the cards. As you know we're meeting in Saudi Arabia on sometime next week early and we're talking what I find that in terms of getting a final settlement it may be easier dealing with Russia which is surprising because they have all the cards”.

He consistently sounds more favorable to the Russia and its authoritarian leader. Trump says “he wants to end the war, it wants to end it and I think he's going to be more generous than he has to be and that's pretty good, that means a lot of good things”.

As Ukraine is pounded, it's still deprived of American Military assistance and intelligence sharing. No word on when it might be restored in his nightly address President Zelensky says he does want to end the war “Ukraine is ready for peace as soon as possible, we have proposed concrete steps and every day new Russian strikes and reality itself prove that it's Russia that must be forced into peace into stopping, the war into real diplomacy”. High level US and Russian officials have already shared talks in Saudi Arabia that was one more thing that seemed to favor the Russian side. Next week, Ukraine gets its seat at this table to meet American diplomats and discuss what they might accept in a peace deal.