US President Joe Biden announced on Thursday a new military aid for Ukraine worth 800 million dollars. It includes „heavy artillery, dozens of howitzers, 144,000 rounds of ammunition, and tactical drones”, Biden said in a White House statement. He added that Russian ships would be banned from US ports. Russian President Vladimir Putin „will never succeed” in occupying Ukraine, the American leader also said. The US military aid to Ukraine since the start of the war has so far amounted to more than 3 billion USD, Reuters reports. On the ground, Russia claims to have conquered the port city of Mariupol at the Sea of Azov, which will allow the direct connection of the pro-Russian separatist regions of Donbas with the Crimean Peninsula, annexed in 2014. The statement was made by Vladimir Putin himself, and this would be a success he needs before May 9, the day when Moscow celebrates Victory Day. He also cancelled the assault on the huge Azovstal steel plant, the last stronghold of Ukrainian defense in the area, but maintained the blockade. The Ukrainian government has called for the opening of a humanitarian corridor to evacuate about 500 wounded Ukrainian soldiers and about 1,000 civilians from inside the besieged plant.
