Ukraine Strike on Russian Air-Defense Unit Shows Impact of New Weapons From West; Ukrainian defense minister claims country amassing million-man force to retake coastal areas; Ukraine reports striking Russian ammunition depot in south; Ukraine rules out ceding territory to Russia to secure peace, LIVE UPDATES and MORE

Ukraine Strike on Russian Air-Defense Unit Shows Impact of New Weapons From West:

Strike is Kyiv’s latest on high-value target after Himars began arriving from the U.S.

Ukrainian forces struck an air-defense system in Russian-occupied territory in the east of the country late Tuesday, in the latest sign of how long-range artillery sent by the West is shifting the war’s calculus.

Russian state news agencies reported that Ukrainian forces had launched a strike on an air-defense system protecting the skies over Luhansk, the capital of one of two Russian-created statelets in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas area.

The strike is the latest in a series that Ukraine has conducted against high-value targets such as ammunition depots and command posts since multiple-launch rocket systems known as Himars began arriving from the U.S. last month.

“The occupiers have already felt very well what modern artillery is, and they will not have a safe rear anywhere on our land,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address overnight.

Footage posted on social media by residents of Luhansk late Tuesday showed a large explosion. Russian military correspondents said on social media that an ammunition dump in Luhansk’s industrial area had been hit.

“The armed forces of Ukraine launched a massive attack on the military air-defense unit, which ensures the security of the city of Luhansk,” said Andriy Marochko, a spokesman for the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic people’s militia. —>READ MORE HERE

Ukrainian defense minister claims country amassing million-man force to retake coastal areas:

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov claimed that his country is amassing a million-strong fighting force to retake the southern regions of Ukraine.

The planned counteroffensive, equipped with Western weapons, was ordered by President Volodymyr Zelensky to retake Ukraine’s coastal regions due to their vitality to the country’s economy, Reznikov said in an exclusive interview with the Times of London.

“We understand that, politically, it’s very necessary for our country. The president has given the order to the supreme military chief to draw up plans. After that the general staff are doing their homework and say to achieve this goal we need XYZ,” he said. “This is my job. I’m writing letters to counterparts in partner countries.”

The claim has drawn skepticism.

“There is no indication that the Ukrainians have either the troops or the war materiel to conduct such an offensive at this time,” Tyler Weaver, an author, military analyst, and former Army officer, told the Washington Examiner. “They are currently struggling to adequately supply, equip, and man the forces defending their front line, which amount to something less than half the size of this ‘counteroffensive force.’ The Western aid and new recruits that could form such a force (albeit not on the scale advertised) have been universally sent to the front line to plug holes instead.” —>READ MORE HERE

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