Kyiv [Ukraine], August 24 (ANI): Former US Vice-President Mike Pence said Ukrainian forces are gaining ground in their conflict with Russia, claiming that Kyiv’s troops have held Russian forces to a stalemate while significantly reshaping the use of drones in modern warfare.
Speaking to CNN from Ukraine after meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday, Pence said Ukraine continues to show determination despite repeated deadly Russian attacks.
“Ukraine is winning this war,” Pence said.
“Ukraine’s military on the front lines has fought Russia to a stalemate.”
Pence was in Ukraine to attend a national prayer breakfast commemorating 35 years since the Soviet Union’s dissolution and Ukraine’s independence.
The event was attended by thousands of people from Ukraine and international delegations, the former Vice-President noted.
“The sense you have of the deep resolve, not only of the leadership from President Zelenskyy on down, but rank-and-file military, everyday Ukrainians, is palpable,” Pence said.
The former Vice-President said Ukraine had transformed the conduct of drone warfare, with its forces carrying out attacks within Russian territory and striking vessels in the Black Sea.
His remarks came after a Russian “double-tap” attack killed at least 16 people and injured more than 100 others, CNN reported. The attack followed major Russian strikes on Kyiv.
Pence said Russia had recently begun using high-arc ballistic missiles against targets in Ukraine.
He said Ukraine was capable of intercepting drones but needed sophisticated interceptor systems to protect itself against ballistic missile attacks.
Pence also warned that Russia could step up attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as winter draws closer.
“One of the things President Zelenskyy made clear to me is that he fully expects that, as winter approaches sooner than later, that Putin will start to strike not just children’s schools and a hospital, as he did this week, not just a shopping mall, taking more than a dozen lives, but that he will start to strike that energy infrastructure,” Pence said.
According to CNN, military operations involving Iran have contributed to a shortage of Patriot interceptors globally.
The US has used around half of its Patriot missile stockpile while defending against Iranian attacks, the network reported.
Pence rejected the suggestion that Ukraine was suffering the consequences of President Donald Trump’s war with Iran.
“I don’t see it that way, and I don’t think the Ukrainians do either,” he added.
Pence said South Korea could help address the shortage of interceptors.
He said Seoul has advanced interceptor systems that could be made available to the United States for use in the Middle East or Ukraine, or supplied to European allies.
“This might be an opportunity for President Lee to step forward, make those interceptors available to the United States,” Pence said.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 after occupying and annexing Crimea in 2014.
The conflict has since become Europe’s largest armed conflict since the Second World War.
Ukraine remains heavily dependent on Western countries, particularly the US and European allies, for weapons, ammunition and financial assistance. (ANI)
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