WASHINGTON D.C.: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that while Ukraine has recaptured half the territory that Russia initially seized in its invasion, Kyiv faced “a very hard fight” to win back more.
“It’s already taken back about 50 percent of what was initially seized,” Blinken said in an interview with CNN on Sunday.
“These are still relatively early days of the counteroffensive. It is tough,” he said, adding: “It will not play out over the next week or two. We’re still looking I think at several months.”
Late last month, President Volodymyr Zelensky was quoted as saying that the counteroffensive’s progress against Russian forces was “slower than desired.”
Ukraine has recaptured some villages in the south and territory around the ruined city of Bakhmut in the east, but has not had a major breakthrough against heavily defended Russian lines.
When asked if Ukraine will get US-made F-16 fighter jets, Blinken said he believed it would. “And the important focus is on making sure that when they do, they’re properly trained, they’re able to maintain the planes, and use them in a smart way.”
A coalition of 11 nations will start training Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16 fighter jets in August in Denmark, and a training center will be set up in Romania.
Ukraine has long appealed for the Lockheed Martin-made F-16s, but US National Security adviser Jake Sullivan, said last month there was no final decision on Washington sending the aircraft. US officials have estimated it would take at least 18 months for training and delivery of the planes.
The United States has given Ukraine more than $41 billion in military aid since Russia invaded in February 2022.
Secretary Blinken says Ukraine has taken back 50 percent of territory that Russia seized
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Secretary Blinken says Ukraine has taken back 50 percent of territory that Russia seized
- Ukraine has recaptured some villages in the south and territory around the ruined city of Bakhmut in the east
Woman, boy drown off Greece after migrant boat sinks
- According to the UN refugee agency 107 people died or went missing in 2025 off the Greek coast
ATHENS: A boat carrying over 50 migrants sank off the Greek coast, killing a woman and a boy and leaving three others missing, the coast guard said Sunday.
“Fifty migrants have been rescued and are being cared for by the authorities,” after the accident off the island of Ikria in the northern Aegean Sea, a spokeswoman said.
“A rescue operation with a coast guard vessel is underway, and a team of rescuers and divers is expected later today,” she said.
Strong winds were hampering rescue efforts, according to public broadcaster ERT.
Ikaria lies close to Turkiye’s western coast, a frequent setoff point for migrants trying to enter the European Union.
Many migrants also take the much longer route from Libya to Crete in southern Greece.
The perilous crossings are often fatal. In early December, 17 people were found dead after their boat sank off Crete and 15 others were reported missing. Only two people survived.
According to the UN refugee agency 107 people died or went missing in 2025 off the Greek coast. The International Organization for Migration says about 33,000 migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014.
