Volodymyr Zelenskiy is understood to have subsequently given firm commitments that the planes would be used only to target Russian forces within Ukraine. The Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar told a briefing “There is a gradual but steady advance of the armed forces. In Brussels, the US secretary of defence, Lloyd Austin, says the Ukraine Defence Contact Group remain ed “laser-focused” on meeting Ukraine’s ground-based air-defence system needs. Volodymyr Zelenskiy is understood to have subsequently given firm commitments that the planes would be used only to target Russian forces within Ukraine. While torture allegations have previously been levelled against both sides in the 15-month conflict, the team of UN independent experts said Russian forces’ methods may be “state-endorsed”.

Source: The Guardian June 15, 2023 23:17 UTC