Hundreds attend the funeral of a Ukrainian soldier who fought in the Battle of Andriivka
Ukrainian soldiers, family members and mourners gathered in Shostka, a small town in northeastern Ukraine, for the funeral of Andrii Grinchenko, a soldier who fought in the Battle of Andriivka near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. (AP Video/Vasilisa Stepanenko)
AP
Russia is sending the message that it is ready to fight in Ukraine – to use a phrase often used by Moscow’s Western rivals: “as long as it takes.”
Defense spending will account for nearly 30% of Russian government spending in 2024, more than doubling from 2021, the year before the Kremlin invaded Ukraine.
According to its Finance Ministry, Russia allocates 109 billion rubles in rubles for defense, which is 29.4% of the total budget. Two years ago, this share was 14.4% of total spending, and even in 2022, defense’s share was only 17.7%.
This year the share is up to 21.2% as signs suggest President Vladimir Putin is preparing for a multi-year war – or at least creating that impression by revealing the numbers. According to Portal, Russia plans to finance increased military spending by taking on more debt and expects higher oil and gas revenues.
Britain’s Defense Ministry said Russia could afford such large military spending next year “but only at the expense of the overall economy.” This could lead to a backlash from a public still largely spared from the impact of a “special military operation” that was due to end in a few weeks.
“Full details of Russian defense spending are always kept secret,” he said The British ministry said this in a war update“But these numbers suggest that Russia is preparing for several more years of fighting in Ukraine. This follows public statements by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on (Thursday) suggesting that he was prepared for the conflict to continue until 2025.”
Biden promises to support Ukraine: President gives pledge after bill scraps aid closure bill
Developments:
∎ German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in Kiev that she envisioned the EU soon expanding from “Lisbon to Luhansk,” the Kyiv Independent reported. Luhansk is a regional capital in Ukraine’s war-torn Donbas region.
∎ Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said his country will implement the seven recommendations the EU needs to start accession negotiations and that joining the bloc is “only a matter of time.”
∎ More than 500 children have been killed and more than 1,100 injured in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine said.
∎ The Ukrainian men’s gymnastics team qualified for the Paris Olympics on Sunday, securing the final spot in the 12-team field championships after Russia, the reigning Olympic champions, was excluded from the world championships.
It only suits Ukraine It’s only fitting that Ukraine gets something that would have belonged to Russia
European Union foreign ministers met unexpectedly in Kiev on Monday to address concerns about cracks in the West’s wall of support for Ukraine. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said it was the first time such a meeting had taken place outside the EU – in a war zone.
Borrell called the EU’s support for Ukraine “unwavering” because Russian aggression represents “an existential threat to Europe.” He also said efforts to admit Ukraine into the bloc were on the right track. “When we are together, we are stronger,” Borrell tweeted: “The EU is and will remain the first supporter of Ukraine.”
Ministers gathered amid signs that support for Ukraine’s efforts to expel invading Russian troops from the country may be waning. A stopgap U.S. measure to keep the government open was passed Saturday without any money for Ukraine, the same day a pro-Russian party won the most seats in Slovakia’s parliamentary election.
Moscow took notice. Western support for Ukraine will “fragment” as leaders and their voters grow increasingly weary of the conflict while Kiev pushes for more weapons and ammunition, a Kremlin spokesman predicted on Monday. But Dmitry Peskov described the American stopgap law as a temporary setback for Ukraine and said Moscow fully expects the U.S. to remain “directly involved in the war.”
President Joe Biden plans to call allies, possibly by Tuesday, to confirm that the U.S. remains behind Ukraine, Bloomberg reported. Biden has hinted at an agreement with congressional leaders on funding for Ukraine, saying during a Cabinet meeting on Monday, according to CNN, “We cannot, under any circumstances, allow America’s support for Ukraine to be interrupted.” There are too many lives at stake, too many children, too many people.”
The U.S. military is short of the final 6% of money intended to replace weapons sent to Ukraine, the Pentagon said in a letter to Congress, noting that it had to delay resupply of some troops.
Pentagon Comptroller Michael McCord said in the letter, obtained by The Associated Press, that $1.6 billion remains of the $25.9 billion Congress has allocated to replenish military stockpiles .
“We have already been forced to slow the replenishment of our own forces to protect ourselves against an uncertain funding future,” McCord said. “If we fail to replenish our military services in a timely manner, it could impact the readiness of our military.”
McCord also called on lawmakers to continue funding Ukraine’s war effort and warned that otherwise the Pentagon would no longer be able to supply Ukraine with weapons and equipment it will need to counter a Russian offensive in the coming months.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with EU foreign ministers in Kiev and said the meeting gave “strength, leadership and initiative” to Europe’s concerted support for his country and government. Zelensky expressed his appreciation as he pushed for the EU to allocate more than $52 billion to Ukraine for the 2024-27 period, Ukraine Interfax reported.
“Active European leadership is essential,” Zelensky tweeted. “The more common and principled steps we take on defense, diplomacy, economics and sanctions, the sooner the war will end in just peace.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukrainian officials have been in talks with Democrats and Republicans in Congress as they push for more aid. Kuleba said he believes the lack of funding for the U.S. stopgap bill is an isolated incident and not a harbinger of a lack of U.S. support. And he warned Russia: Moscow is making a mistake if it thinks it can “wait” for military aid to Ukraine.
“Ukraine will only get stronger and Russian aggression will fail,” Kuleba said on Twitter. “We don’t just bring weapons to Ukraine. We are increasing domestic production and co-production with partners in NATO and beyond.”
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said a U.S. government shutdown could have impacted Ukraine’s aid programs. The preliminary budget will not affect the billions of dollars in financial aid that lawmakers in Washington have already promised, he said.
“Support for Ukraine remains unwaveringly strong, both in the U.S. government, in both parties, in the houses of the U.S. Congress and, above all, among the American people,” Nikolenko said.
Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko said Ukraine must “speak the language of money with the US.” The Kiev government must clearly explain to U.S. taxpayers what they would get from a Ukrainian victory, he said.
“We have to change the strategy. “We have to act differently,” he said. “Let’s fix this situation. We can’t lose.”
Russia may have recently tested or is preparing to test an experimental nuclear-powered cruise missile that could travel thousands of miles, according to a New York Times report. Activities at a base in Russia’s remote Arctic region are “consistent with preparations” made for tests of other missiles in 2017 and 2018, satellite images and aviation data show. U.S. reconnaissance planes have been in the area in recent weeks and flight warnings have been issued directing pilots away from nearby airspace, the Times said.
Russia conducted at least 13 tests from 2017 to 2019 without success, and one test caused a crash that resulted in seven deaths, The Times reported.
Contribution: The Associated Press