Ukrainian soldiers prepare to fire a Grad shell from a BM-21 vehicle towards Donetsk, Ukraine, July 20, 2023.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Ukraine is using U.S.-supplied cluster munitions in defensive operations in Russian-occupied territories, a White House press secretary said Thursday, as Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian port cities continue for the fourth night in a row.
National Security Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters The United States received feedback last week that ammunition arriving from the United States was being used “effectively.”
Ukrainian officials have announced that missile and drone attacks by Russia into southern Ukraine and the port area continued overnight.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily speech that nearly 70 missiles had been launched this week in Odessa, Donetsk, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhia, Zhytomyr and Kharkov.
Since Monday, concerns over the world’s food supply have grown after Russia suspended the Black Sea Grains Initiative, which has provided a major export route since July 2022.
Wheat prices surged as the European Union’s foreign policy chief warned that the move could threaten global food security.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday that it was carrying out a “massive retaliatory strike” for Ukraine’s attack on the Crimea bridge early Monday morning.
Tensions have also risen in the Black Sea after Russia announced that it would consider all ships sailing to Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea as military freighters. Ukraine’s defense ministry said it “may take” similar measures from midnight Friday. No update provided yet.
