Joe Biden announces new Ukraine assistance package as he makes surprise visit to Kyiv

It is the first time US President Joe Biden has visited Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.(Reuters/Ukrainian Presidential Press Service)

US President Joe Biden has made an unannounced visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, days before the first anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Air raid sirens blared across the Ukrainian capital as Mr Biden visited Kyiv but there were no reports of Russian missile or air strikes.

He delivered remarks and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Mariinskyi Palace to announce an additional half billion dollars in US assistance and to reassure Ukraine of American and allied support as the conflict continues.

"One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands," Mr Biden said.

"[Putin] is counting on us not sticking together. He was counting on the inability to keep NATO united. He was counting on us not to be able to bring in others to the side of Ukraine.

"He thought he could outlast us. I don't think he's thinking that right now. He's just been plain wrong."

Mr Biden said Washington would provide Kyiv with a new military aid package worth $US500 million ($A724 million) that would be announced on Tuesday.

He said it would include more ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).

The US would also be announcing additional sanctions this week, Mr Biden said, against the Russian elite and companies trying to evade sanctions to "back the Russian war machine".

In a speech, Mr Biden commended Ukraine's courage during the war and noted that he had visited Kyiv six times when he had earlier served as vice-president.

"I knew I would be back," he said.

The air raid sirens wailed while both presidents were inside the St Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral on a square in central Kyiv where burnt-out Russian tanks have been placed.

"Your visit is an extremely important sign of support for all Ukrainians," Mr Zelenskyy said.

"We hope this year, 2023, will become the year of victory against this unprovoked and criminal Russian war against Ukraine."

In a statement, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said both Mr Biden and Mr Zelenskyy were pleased with the outcome of their talks.

Ukraine is preparing for what it expects to be a major new Russian offensive that some military analysts say is already underway.

Mr Biden's trip fell on the day that Ukraine marks the deaths of more than 100 people — now known as the Heavenly Hundred — at anti-government protests that eventually toppled a Moscow-backed president in 2014.

It also comes just a day before Russian President Vladimir Putin was due to make a major address, expected to set out his country's aims for the second year of the invasion he launched on February 24 last year.The anniversary has taken on more than symbolic significance, becoming what the West views as motivation for the war's deadliest phase as Moscow hurls thousands of conscripts and mercenaries into a winter offensive. Source: https://www.fijivillage.com/

Read More........ → February 21, 2023

Chinese disengagement in Ladakh is a small lollipop to India!

It is quite possible that the Indian side conveyed to Beijing that with China’s rigid stance on the border standoff, Prime Minister Narendra Modi may consider it difficult to attend the summit, and more importantly, a one-to-one meeting between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping may not be possible unless Beijing shows some progress on further disengagement

By Lt Gen Prakash Katoch (retd) : The 16th round of Corps Commander-level talks over the India-China standoff in Eastern Ladakh held on July 17, 2022, led by the Leh-based 14 Corps Commander, Lieutenant General Anindya Sengupta, and China's South Xinjiang Military District Commander, Major General Yang Yin, had indicated no breakthrough.

During the 15th round of talks, held on March 11, 2022, that lasted for around 13 hours, the Indian side had pushed China for the resolution of remaining intrusion areas (dubbed "friction points") in Ladakh but there was also no breakthrough. India had hoped that a resolution on Patrolling Point (PP) 15 in Hot Springs would be arrived at but the joint statement issued after the talks said that the "two sides carried forward their discussions from the previous round", 14th round, held on January 12, "for the resolution of relevant issues along the LAC in the Western Sector". It said both sides "agreed to maintain dialogue via military and diplomatic channels to reach a mutually acceptable resolution at the earliest".

Not only was the 14th round of talks inconclusive, but the 13th Corps Commander-Level meeting that took place on October 21, 2021, also ended in a stalemate, after which the Indian Army said that the "constructive suggestions" it made were not agreeable to the Chinese side, which also could not provide any "forward-looking" proposals. The Chinese later released a press statement calling India's demands "unreasonable".

Now almost two months after the 16th round of Corps Commander-level talks, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has issued a statement on September 8, 2022, that reads: “On 08 September 2022, according to the consensus reached in the 16th round of India China Corps Commander Level Meeting, the Indian and Chinese troops in the area of Gogra-Hotsprings (PP-15) have begun to disengage in a coordinated and planned way, which is conducive to the peace and tranquillity in the border areas.”

Sudden disengagement

The next day on September 9, China’s state media Global Times tweeted: “Chinese and Indian troops in the area of Jianan Daban have begun to disengage in a coordinated and planned manner on Thursday (September 8), according to the consensus reached on 16th Round of China-India Corps Commander Level Meeting: Chinese Defense Ministry.”

It is significant to note that the 16th round of talks was held ten days after India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had an hour-long meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bali, Indonesia, on July 7, 2022, on the sidelines of a meeting of the foreign ministers of the G20 countries. After the discussion, Jaishankar stated that he had focused on specific outstanding issues in India-China bilateral relationship pertaining to the border situation. But despite this, China gave no indication of any possibility of changing the status quo in Eastern Ladakh.

How then is this sudden disengagement at PP 15? The 2022 annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of State is being held on September 15-16 at Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan has taken over the chairmanship of SCO from Tajikistan in September last year. It is quite possible that the Indian side conveyed to Beijing that with China’s rigid stance on the border standoff, Prime Minister Narendra Modi may consider it difficult to attend the summit, and more importantly, a one-to-one meeting between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping may not be possible unless Beijing shows some progress on further disengagement.

As per recent news, the Chinese side has pulled back northeast of PP 17A while the Indian troops have pulled back to PP-17. In between is the no-patrol zone which means that Indian troops can no more patrol up to PP 15 which was our forward PP in this sector.

China loses nothing:  On the other hand, China loses nothing. The extent of the buffer zone has not been specified. China has ensured the buffer zone since PP-15 in the Kungrang Nullah area provides an access route to Kongka La - a key pass leading into the Aksai Chin hinterland and beyond. In the event of any possibility of hostilities, China can reoccupy PP 15 at the earliest.

The deepest intrusion by China is at Y Junction in the Depsang area – 20 km deep. This denies our patrols to go up to PPs 10, 11, 11A, 12 and 13, even as these PPS were cited short of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Moreover, India vacated the Kailash Range without linking it with the Chinese withdrawal from Depsang and Demchok areas.

Having consolidated its defences in the intrusion areas, China is sitting pretty in Eastern Ladakh with buffer zones in Indian territory, continuing to block traditional patrolling areas in Depsang plains and Charding Nala regions, and denying traditional grazing areas to our villagers in Eastern Ladakh. Disengagement from PP 15 is just a small lollipop to India. Source:w!

Read More........ → September 23, 2022

China officially admits five military officers, soldiers killed in Galwan clash with Indian Army

FEB 19, 2021 Five Chinese military officers and soldiers were killed in last year's Galwan Valley clash in eastern Ladakh with the Indian Army, the People''s Liberation Army (PLA) officially acknowledged for the first time on Friday. Five Chinese frontier officers and soldiers stationed in the Karakoram Mountains have been recognised by the Central Military Commission of China (CMC) for their sacrifice in the border confrontation with India, which occurred in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, the PLA Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese military reported on Friday. Those killed included Qi Fabao, the regimental commander from the PLA Xinjiang Military Command, state-un Global Times quoted PLA Daily report as saying. A total of 20 Indian soldiers died in the Galwan Valley clash on June 15, regarded as the worst in over four decades at the India-China border. The CMC, the overall high command of the PLA headed by President Xi Jinping,has awarded Qi Fabao, the regimental commander from the PLA Xinjiang Military Command, the title of "Hero regimental commander for defending the border," Chen Hongjun with "Hero to defend the border," and awarded first-class merit to Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan and Wang Zhuoran. This is the first time China has acknowledged casualties and details of these officers and soldiers'' sacrifice, four of whom died when dealing with the Indian military''s "illegal trespassing" of the Galwan Valley Line of Actual Control (LAC), the report said. A total of 20 Indian soldiers died in the Galwan Valley clash regarded as the worst in over four decades at the India-China border. While India has announced the casualties immediately after the incident, China did not officially acknowledge the casualties until Friday. The Russian official news agency TASS reported on February 10 that 45 Chinese servicemen were killed in the Galwan Valley clash. Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times that China unveiled the details of the incident to refute previous "disinformation" that stated China suffered greater casualties than India or China incited the incident. The admission of the casualties by the PLA coincides with the disengagement of troops by both sides at the North and South banks of the Pangong Lake, the most contentious part of the standoff which began in May last year. Copyright © Jammu Links News, Source:  Jammu Links News

Read More........ → February 19, 2021