The US and its allies are planning on the first anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine comprehensive new sanctions against Russia. “You’re going to see a big new sanctions package from the US and all our G7 partners around the 24th,” Secretary of State said Victoria Nuland on Thursday before journalists in Washington.
Nuland, known for her harsh criticism of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, mocked the military Efforts by Russia in the fight for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. The war was “stuck”. “Russia has announced a new offensive. Well, if it is, it’s very pathetic,” she said.
The head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on Thursday that the conquest of Bakhmut could take months. He blamed the “monstrous military bureaucracy” in Moscow for the slow progress.