US, Germany sending weapons to Ukraine as Russia advances

By JOHN LEICESTER and YURAS KARMANAU
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The governor of a key eastern Ukrainian city is acknowledging that Russian forces are advancing in heavy fighting. But he says the Ukrainian military is “holding back the enemy from three sides” in Sievierodonetsk. As fighting remains fierce in the eastern Donbas region, NATO members are pledging to send more and longer-range weapons to Ukraine, whose troops are outnumbered and outgunned. President Joe Biden says the U.S. will send an additional $1 billion in military aid, the largest single tranche of weapons and equipment since Russia invaded Ukraine. Germany says it will provide multiple launch rocket systems. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the military support “brings us closer to a common victory over the Russian aggressor.”