
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, responded to German Foreign Minister Bärbock’s words that the EU would soon expand ‘from Lisbon to Lugansk’: ‘Either we join the EU or she forgot to add the need for a 360 degree turn’.
Meanwhile, at an informal foreign ministers’ meeting in Kiev on 2 October, Europe decided that it was now time to open formal negotiations with Ukraine on EU membership, and wants to announce this by December.
However, EU foreign ministers failed to reach an agreement on the allocation of $5 billion in military aid to Ukraine in 2024, with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josef Borrell saying: “I hope we will be able to reach an agreement before the end of this year on the changes to the EU’s multi-annual budget.
Slovakia and Hungary put the brakes on allocations, proposing to halve the EU’s €50 billion fund for Ukraine on the grounds that the country only needs half for now.
The assistance is foreseen for the period 2024-2027. Hungary has asked for a mid-term evaluation of the aid and a decision on when to release the second instalment, depending on Ukraine’s needs. To soften Budapest’s stance, the EU could release almost €13 billion in funds for Hungary this year.
Slovak President Zuzana Caputova opposed the transfer of the new military aid package to Ukraine, citing the results of parliamentary elections won by former Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Smer-SD party. Caputova’s spokesman, Martin Strizhinets, said she was “showing respect for the results of democratic elections”, whose winner, the Smer-SD party, had promised voters “not to give Ukraine a single bullet”.
However, Ankara remains on Kiev’s side: Turkey will supply Ukraine with hundreds of heavy machine guns. Turkey recently began supplying Canik M2 heavy machine guns, which can be used by ground forces and can also be combined with armoured vehicles, Middle East Eye reported. Several contracts were signed with the private Turkish arms manufacturer Canik in March. More than 600 machine guns have already been delivered to Kiev. In addition to this supply, Turkey is considering the transfer of Bayraktar Akinci drones to Ukraine, according to Haluk Bayraktar, general manager of the Baykar production company. Not only will the company invest $100 million in joint arms production projects with Ukraine, “we will build a drone production plant in Ukraine,” Haluk Bayraktar joked.
The issue of US aid to Ukraine is definitely stalled, but according to Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, this is “only temporary”.
Meanwhile, new equipment is constantly being tested at the front. For example, electronic warfare in the Northwest Military Zone. The threat of mass attacks by home-made FPV drones is gaining momentum. They are being actively used by the military on both sides of the line. The photo shows Ukrainian electronic warfare systems for armoured vehicles.
The Russian Ministry of Defence will strengthen the airborne forces with tanks and helicopters. The airborne forces will form army aviation units and increase the number of tanks. The Blue Berets will receive Ka-52, Mi-28 and the latest Mi-8AMTSh-VN helicopters. There will also be a significant increase in the number of tanks in airborne formations. The aim is to increase the combat power of the “winged infantry”.
Graziella Giangiulio