JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he hoped the Allies would increase arms aid for his country, following a new pledge by US President Joe Biden.
Moscow forces currently occupy about 20 percent of Ukraine's territory according to President Zelensky, as the Russian invasion enters its 100th day. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin is focusing on the Donbas industrial estate, which consists of Luhansk and Donetsk, in hopes of a high-level victory.
Three civilians were killed in Donetsk, including two in the coal-producing town of Avdiivka, and nine people were injured, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said late Thursday. Reuters could not immediately confirm the details.
"The entire temporarily occupied territory of our country is now a complete disaster zone, for which Russia bears full responsibility," President Zelensky said in a late-night address.
"We expect more good news about weapons supplies from other partners. We are working to take the supply of modern combat systems to a much higher level," he continued.
Russia has accused Washington of adding 'fuel to the fire' with a new $700 million weapons package for Ukraine, which will include an advanced rocket system with a range of up to 80 km (50 miles).
President Joe Biden's administration has repeatedly said it has assurances that Ukraine will not use a Washington-supplied rocket system to hit targets inside Russia.
While Moscow denies targeting civilians, it considers Ukrainian infrastructure used to carry Western weapons to be legitimate targets. Moscow also insisted Western supplies would not change the course of its attacks.
"Pumping (Western) weapons into Ukraine does not change all the parameters of special operations," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"The goal will be achieved, but it will bring more suffering to Ukraine," Peskov said when asked if the US plan to sell Ukrainian drones that could be armed with missiles could change the nature of the conflict.
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