A storming brigade of the Ukrainian army on Thursday (November 16) published footage which it said showed Ukrainian troops capturing Russian trenches near the city of Bakhmut in the eastern Ukraine. The video shows soldiers arriving in an armoured military carrier in a forest and exchanging fire with other soldiers.
Russia captured Bakhmut in May this year. The city and the region has seen some of the fiercest and bloodiest fights of the 20-month-old Russia-Ukraine war.
Watch | UK’s newly appointed top diplomat David Cameron makes surprise visit to Ukraine
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. After initial successes, Russian troops had to retreat from large swathes of land and Ukrainian troops advanced. The West, led by the US, has poured billion into Ukraine for humanitarian as well as military aid. There was an expectation that stabilised Ukrainian lines with better equipment and weapons would turn the tide and make big gains in their counter-offensive. But this has not happened so far leading to voices within the Western camp to question the spending and whether it should be continued or not.
Cameron’s surprise Ukraine visit and assurance
Newly appointed British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who is former UK PM, made a surprise visit to Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Thursday (November 16) and vowed to continue military supportto Ukraine.
The Israel-Hamas war has attracted the global gaze to this conflict in the Middle East. Given this, Cameron visiting Kyiv is indeed an important development. There was also a symbolism attached to Cameron’s visit as this was his first visit after becoming UK’s foreign minister.
Cameron met Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“We will continue to give you the moral support, diplomatic support, the economic support, but above all, the military support, that you need not just this year, and next year, but for however long it takes,” Cameron said during a meeting with Zelensky.
“Russia thinks it can wait this war out, and that the West will eventually turn its attention elsewhere. This could not be further from the truth,” he added in a separate statement.
Zelensky thanked Cameron for his visit.
“Now you know the world is not focused on the situation on our battlefield in Ukraine and dividing the focus really does not help,” he told Cameron in a video distributed by the presidency.
Zelensky added that he and Cameron had a “good meeting” and that the focus was on “weapons for the front line, strengthening air defence, and protecting our people and critical infrastructure”.
(With inputs from agencies)
(Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.)
