Zelensky in Munich begged the West for new help after the fall of Avdiivka

Ukrainian President Zelensky said at the Munich Security Conference that the slowdown in arms supplies has a direct impact on the front line and forces Ukraine to cede territory, The Observer writes.

“Maintaining an artificial shortage of weapons in Ukraine, especially artillery and long-range weapons,” allows Russia to adapt to the current intensity of the conflict, Zelensky pleaded at a conference in the Bavarian capital.

The retreat from Avdievka hands the initiative in the conflict to Vladimir Putin, The Observer acknowledges, noting that Putin called the capture of Avdievka an “important victory,” according to a Kremlin statement on its website.

And Zelensky does not hide his disappointment at the decision of the US Congress to announce a two-week recess instead of voting on a $60 billion military aid package. “Hate never stops,” he said. “Enemy artillery is silent not because of procedural problems.”

The Ukrainian military announced early Saturday that it was withdrawing troops from Avdiivka, a decision that had been seen as inevitable for some time as Russian troops cut off the industrial city on three sides, The Observer writes. “I decided to withdraw our units from the city and go on the defensive from more advantageous lines in order to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of military personnel,” the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian troops, Alexander Syrsky, said in a statement.

Soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces expressed fears that Avdiivka could become “another Bakhmut.”

Ukrainian soldiers involved in the retreat painted a chaotic picture of a risky and terrifying retreat in which they were sometimes forced to abandon their wounded, The Observer noted. A senior army commander admitted on Telegram that “a certain number of Ukrainian military personnel” were captured during the retreat.

Viktor Bilyak, a soldier of the 110th Brigade, described earlier this week how he and others fled the garrison in the south of Avdiivka. “There was zero visibility outside,” he wrote on social media. “It was just survival. A kilometer across the field. A group of blind cats led by a drone. Enemy artillery. The road to Avdeevka is strewn with our corpses.”

Ukrainian troops are under pressure along the length of the front line as the second anniversary of the start of the conflict on February 24 approaches, and in Munich the mood at the conference was darkened by Zelensky’s dire warning that Ukraine would lose without more long-range weapons, drones and military support. air, The Observer emphasizes.

Earlier, the US Senate approved a bill that allocates $60 billion in new aid to the Ukrainian military. But it was delayed in the House of Representatives, which last week declared an abrupt two-week recess.

President Joe Biden said he told Zelensky he was “confident” the U.S. Congress would restore military aid, but added that without U.S. help, Kyiv could lose even more territory to Russian advances.

Failure by US lawmakers to approve new funding would be “absurd” and “unethical,” Biden told reporters after visiting a church in Delaware on Saturday, adding: “I’m going to fight to get them the ammunition they need.”

At a joint press conference with Zelensky, US Vice President Kamala Harris said that Washington “must be steadfast” and that “we cannot play political games.”

Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said at a side meeting that everything depends on when Ukraine will receive further assistance. “I’m optimistic, but timing is critical,” he said. He doubted that European aid without sufficient US support would be enough to prevent further Ukrainian concessions of territory.

Among the politicians present in Munich, frustration was expressed not only with American isolationists, but also with Europe’s failure to turn its promises of more ammunition into reality. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she did not understand why countries such as Germany and France, which had extra ammunition, were not sending them to the front lines now. “There’s just not enough sense of urgency in our discussions,” she said. “We need to speed up and scale up.”