According to the report of rahnam International News Agency, John Kirby, the coordinator of strategic communications in the National Security Council of the White House, announced last night once again that there is currently no progress in negotiations with the US Congress regarding the allocation of new aid to Ukraine. Stating that there is still no news on this issue, he said: “There is no progress that I can talk about.”
In addition, White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre, who spoke to reporters along with Kirby, said that President Joe Biden is ready to negotiate and compromise with congressmen to pass a budget in line with Ukraine’s interests.
On Thursday night, it became clear that the bill to provide a new aid package to Ukraine was not voted in the US Senate. Biden said at the time that Congress should immediately approve the funding request for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said the United States would remain committed to long-term military support for Ukraine even in the face of delays in new aid allocations to Kiev.
In addition, the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, also discussed with Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, the allocation of a new package of military aid to Kyiv. He has drawn Johnson’s attention to the connection between the situation on the battle front with Russia and the process of sending weapons to Kiev.
In the following, you can follow the developments related to the 654th day of the Ukrainian war:
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Uncertainty about continued US aid has led to chaos in the ranks of the Ukrainian armed forces
Max Bergman, a former American diplomat and an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, revealed in an interview with the “New York Times” newspaper that the uncertainty about providing more aid from the United States caused serious concern and chaos in the planning of military operations. Ukraine is armed.
“Ukraine’s army cannot plan its military plans months in advance because it does not know how much ammunition it can count on,” said the analyst.
In the same article, Michael Kaufman, a senior fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, also noted that the uncertain outlook for continued arms shipments has negatively affected the state of the battlefield. He said: “American military assistance to Ukraine has now diminished and this issue is reflected in the noticeable lack of ammunition on the war front and the military’s concern about this issue.”
Times: Ukrainian armed forces complain about the quantity and quality of ammunition
The British newspaper “The Times” also wrote in a report that the soldiers of the armed forces of Ukraine complain about the quality and quantity of ammunition they receive “from all over the world”.
This publication quoted a Ukrainian soldier and wrote: In the summer, we had ten times more and better quality ammunition. <...> Now they are sending us bullets of different quality from all over the world and we only get 15 cannonballs for three days and that is definitely not enough.
The military also noted that last week the Ukrainian army received a shipment of ammunition containing a large number of non-standard bullets that have a high risk of exploding when used.
In addition, the newspaper added that due to the lack of ammunition, the artillery forces of the Ukrainian army are unable to withstand the increasing attacks of the Russian army near the city of Avdiyka.
Podoliak: The new wave of mobilization in Ukraine will be difficult
Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, emphasized in a television interview that the future of the country now directly depends on the determination of its citizens to invest all their efforts in order to defend the country.
“But the new wave of mobilization in Ukraine is very difficult,” Podoliak admitted, noting that Ukrainian authorities are currently developing a new program to declare mobilization and are also considering approaches to recruiting more citizens to fill the ranks of the Ukrainian armed forces. will be.”
Podoliak said a few days ago that the Ukrainian army is facing many problems to advance its forces. According to him, Ukrainian military authorities are actively involved in making tactical and strategic changes.
German government: We transferred drones, bullets and armored vehicles to Ukraine
The German Ministry of Defense has transferred a new shipment of military weapons to Ukraine, which includes reconnaissance drones, various vehicles, artillery shells. The updated list of military aid was published on the official website of the German government on Friday.
The list shows that over the past week, Berlin has received a variety of drones, including 10 Vector reconnaissance drones with spare parts, six border service vehicles, eight Zetros trucks, 1,750 155 mm rounds, a 70 MW automatic grenade launcher, as well as 100,000 It has sent a military first aid box and essential medicine to Kiev.
The ministry recalled that the budget for the security capacity building plan amounts to 5.4 billion euros for 2023, and the additional authorizations for the implementation of commitments in the following years will amount to 10.5 billion euros. This budget will primarily be used to provide military aid to Ukraine.
In late November, German Chancellor Olaf Schultz said that Ukraine needed more financial and military support from Germany, and that support would continue despite problems with the German budget.
The Bulgarian parliament overruled the president’s veto on the transfer of armored personnel carriers to Kiev
On Friday, the Parliament of Bulgaria opposed and canceled the veto of President Roman Radov on the implementation of the agreement on the free transfer of armored vehicles to Kiev.
“Parliament overcame the president’s veto on the free supply of armored vehicles to Ukraine,” the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency reported. <…> “The deputies approved the law approving the agreement between the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on the free supply of armored personnel carriers, which was signed in Sofia in August 2023 and then ratified again in Kyiv on November 13.”
According to this information, 162 representatives voted for the transfer of military equipment and 55 representatives voted against.
In late November, the Bulgarian parliament announced its approval for the transfer of armored personnel carriers to the Ukrainian army, which the president vetoed.
The European Union’s proposal on the package of security guarantees to Ukraine
The European Union has offered security guarantees to Ukraine, including military cooperation and combating disinformation. A high-ranking representative of the European Union revealed this on the eve of the meeting of the foreign ministers of the EU member states, which will be held on December 11.
He said: “We have offered the Ukrainians a package called ‘security guarantees’, which includes cooperation in the military field – we will provide direct assistance to the Ukrainian army and participate in the training of Ukrainian soldiers.”
The well-informed official in Brussels also mentioned that the European Union intends to study how to further integrate the Ukrainian defense industry into the European industry. According to him, in addition, helping to fight disinformation and providing cyber security assistance are also part of the proposed package.
The Reuters news agency also mentioned that the European leaders, before the summit in December, have concluded that providing aid to Ukraine in the current situation is “a matter of nature”. At least 26 members of this community will continue to provide aid to Ukraine despite the fact that two countries, Hungary and Slovakia, have refused military support to Ukraine.
The reaction of the office of the Secretary General of the United Nations regarding the murder of a former member of the Ukrainian parliament
Farhan Haq, the Deputy Spokesman of the United Nations Secretary General, commented last night on the murder of “Ilya Kiva”, a former member of the Supreme Parliament of Ukraine, in the Moscow region. In response to the reporter of Ryanovsti, he said: “Executions without trial are a serious violation of human rights laws.” We have seen media reports about the incident and understand that an investigation has been launched. I remind you that extrajudicial executions are an arbitrary crime and a serious violation of human rights.”
The discovery of the body of this former member of the Ukrainian Parliament in the suburbs of Moscow was revealed on Thursday. He was killed by a bullet from the back of the head to the waist and then a bullet in the head, in the area of a sports club. A criminal case has been filed in connection with this incident. Officials do not consider it unlikely that Ukrainian special security forces were involved in this murder and ordered it.
Ukraine’s opposition to the Olympic Committee’s decision to admit Russians to the 2024 Olympics
The Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports of Ukraine, Matvey Bidny, emphasized that the country’s authorities will decide later on the admission of Russian athletes to participate in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
He said: We strongly condemn the irresponsible decision of the members of the executive board of the International Olympic Committee. We will decide on Ukraine’s participation in the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games after consulting with the Ukrainian sports community and the country’s senior political leadership.
Bidny said that Ukraine had repeatedly asked international sports organizations not to allow Russian athletes to compete.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Friday that athletes from Russia and Belarus will be allowed to compete in the Paris Olympics. Of course, this committee has set strict conditions for participation: athletes are prohibited from displaying any national symbols, competing in team events, and any support for the military conflict in Ukraine.
Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explaining this information, said that Russian athletes should decide for themselves whether they will participate in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris or not. For his part, Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matitsyn called the conditions set by the IOC discriminatory. According to him, this committee is thus harming the Olympic Games itself and not Russian sports.
The European Union transferred 35% of the promised one million ammunition to Ukraine
A senior official in Brussels announced that the European Union has provided Ukraine with only more than 35 percent of the promised one million ammunition due to problems in the production industry.
He said: We have to accept that we are behind in the implementation of this plan. Currently, only 30-35% of the promised ammunition has been delivered. We have problems in our military industries, but we are working hard on them.
Earlier, in early December, Reuters reported that Ukraine received only 480,000 shells from the EU in 2023, instead of the one million artillery shells promised by Brussels.
Orban: Ukraine cannot be in the European Union, because it is the most corrupt country in the world
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán expressed his opinion in an interview with French magazine Le Point on Friday that the European Union is not ready and cannot accept Ukraine in the community for several reasons, but the most important reason is that Ukraine is one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
The politician said he did not intend to contribute to the EU’s “bad decision” on Ukraine. At the same time, he emphasized that neither the Ukrainians themselves are ready to join the European Union, nor the Europeans see them as full members of this society, and such a decision is purely political.
The Prime Minister emphasized: We know exactly what is happening in Ukraine. The European Commission’s report that four of the seven preconditions have already been met is a complete lie. Ukraine is known as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. This is not a joke and we cannot decide to start the process of accession negotiations.
In addition, he added, regarding Ukraine’s membership in the community, it should also consider the economic aspect, because it is a large country with a significant old agricultural sector, and if this sector is included in the European system, “it will destroy it the next day.” “.
Differences between the EU and Russia are not a reason to refuse cooperation
In this interview, the Prime Minister of Hungary also emphasized that the civilizational differences between Russia and Europe should not lead to refusal of interaction; In the current situation, Brussels should look for a way to build relations with Moscow.
Viktor Orban said that Russia “belongs to a different form of human civilization” and cannot be compared with EU countries. Russia cannot be expected to be like Europe and think like them. It is impossible. Historically, politically, geographically and traditionally, this country is different. The important question is, do our differences cause non-cooperation? My answer is no.”
If that’s the logic, then Europe has to refuse cooperation “with two-thirds of the world,” the Hungarian politician stressed, because most of the world is not like Europe. Orban added: “I support rational discussions about how to build new relations with Russia.”
The World Bank predicted the reduction of poverty in Russia by 2025
The poverty level in Russia will decrease slightly between 2023 and 2025. This is highlighted in the World Bank’s (WB) November economic survey for the Europe and Central Asia region.
According to the latest statistical estimate of Russia, the poverty level in this country has decreased from 10.5% in the same period in 2022 to 10.2% in the third quarter of 2023. The press secretary of the World Bank noted that they do not have more information about the number of poor people in Russia.
The World Bank report also predicts that the Russian economy will grow by 1.6 percent in 2023. As monetary and fiscal policies tighten, GDP growth may slow to 1.3 percent in 2024, it added. Nevertheless, the bank predicts that the increase in private consumption will be strong at the end of the year and reach 6%.
The report emphasized: “After the initial recessionary impact of sanctions in 2022, the Russian economy returned to growth in 2023 supported by credit growth and fiscal stimulus.” The World Bank noted that Russia’s average annual inflation in 2023 will be around 5.6 percent – this is 1.9 percent lower than the Ministry of Economic Development’s forecast of 7.5 percent. This survey showed that although at the end of the year, the depreciation of the ruble will accelerate the growth of prices.
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