Republican congressman urges US to provide Ukraine with long-range weapons after latest Russian strikes

US Republican Congressman Don Bacon has called for strengthening Ukraine's air defence and providing it with long-range weapons amid Russia's large-scale attacks.

Bacon noted on X that Ukraine has managed to halt Russia's advance on the battlefield and that over the past month, Russian occupation forces have lost some of their positions.

He also highlighted Russia's high casualty rates, saying that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is "losing a 1,000+ soldiers a day in his WAR of CHOICE".

"Thus, like Hitler, he's resorted to bombing cities and terrorising civilians. The US must provide more air defences and long-range strike weapons," Bacon stressed.

On 3 February, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia had demonstratively disregarded the US president's personal request to limit strikes on energy infrastructure. Zelenskyy then expected a reaction from Washington.

Trump said, however, that he considers Putin's promise on "energy ceasefire" to have been kept and said their agreement concerned a period "from Sunday to Sunday" – from 25 January to 1 February.

After Russian forces launched strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities overnight, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham urged Trump to start the process of providing Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles.