Germany plans to halve its military aid to Ukraine to €4bn next year, despite concerns of dwindling support from the US. According to a draft of Germany’s 2025 budget, the military aid for Ukraine will be cut down to €4bn (£3.36bn) in 2025 from around €8bn (£6.72bn) in 2024.
The country’s finance minister assured that the bulk of the money and military aid Kyiv needs has been secured “for the foreseeable future thanks to European instruments and the G7 loans.”
Germany has faced criticism for repeatedly missing a NATO target of spending 2% of its economic output on defense.
The blow to Kyiv comes as Donald Trump named as his vice presidential pick Senator JD Vance, who opposes military aid for Ukraine, and warned Europe will have to rely less on the US to defend the continent.
Ukraine’s defense minister has said the war-hit nation will find a way to battle Russia’s invading forces even if Mr. Trump wins a second term and imperils vital US support. “At this stage, we will focus on the battlefield,” Rustem Umerov said. “Whatever the outcome” of the US elections, “we will find solutions.”
Kyiv has been pleading with its allies for more weapons and ammunition to help shore up its frontline defenses after suffering long delays and shortages that allowed Russian forces to advance in the east.
“We understand that today every shot, missile, and ammunition is vital on the battlefield,” Yuriy Dzhyhyr, the deputy defense minister, said in a statement. “Instead of disposing of the ammunition, we are disposing of the enemy,” he added.
It comes as the Kremlin denied that its major ground offensive in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region had failed, as it sealed off more than a dozen Russian border villages in order to protect its civilians from ongoing Ukrainian shelling.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its forces had taken control of the village of Urozhaine in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, which, if confirmed, would be the latest in a series of gains since capturing the strategic town of Avdiivka in February. Urozhaine was one of the few areas that Ukraine won back during its 2023 offensive. But Russia has been slowly taking territory in eastern Ukraine since that failed Ukrainian counteroffensive, as Kyiv’s troops struggle with shortages of munitions and manpower.
Russia downed 22 Ukrainian drones overnight in the west of the country and over Crimea, Moscow’s Ministry of Defense said. Fifteen drones were shot down over the Russian border region of Bryansk, six over Crimea, and one over Lipetsk. Separately, the governor of Kursk said three more Ukrainian drones had been downed there.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian drone attacks deep within Russia have forced Moscow to beef up its defenses around Vladimir Putin’s heavily-guarded palace north of Moscow.
Ukraine and Russia exchange 190 prisoners of war
Russia and Ukraine released 190 captured soldiers in the latest prisoner swap between the two sides on Wednesday.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia’s defense ministry each said 95 of their soldiers had been freed in an exchange mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
“We continue to bring our people home. Another 95 defenders have been released from Russian captivity,” Zelensky said on X, adding that the prisoners were from the army, national guard and border guards.
Vladimir Putin said in June that 1,348 Russian soldiers were being held in Ukrainian captivity, and that Russia had detained 6,465 Ukrainian POWs.
Medvedev: Ukraine joining NATO means war
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has warned the accession of Ukraine to NATO would be a declaration of war against Moscow, and said the alliance is perilously close to “shattering the planet into pieces.”
Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and a leading voice among the Kremlin’s hawks, told Russian media that Ukraine’s membership would go beyond a direct threat to Moscow’s security.
“This, in essence, would be a declaration of war – albeit with a delay,” he said in remarks published on Wednesday.
NATO leaders pledged at their summit last week to support Ukraine on an “irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership,” but left open when that membership could happen.
China and Russia begin live-fire naval drills in South China Sea
China and Russia have kicked off live-fire naval exercises in the South China Sea as the two countries continue to strengthen military ties in the face of US sanctions.
The opening ceremony of the joint naval drills ‘Maritime Cooperation – 2024’ took place in the Chinese port of Zhanjiang, which will be followed by three days of exercises, the Russian defense ministry said.
During the sea maneuvers, crews of ships of the Russian Pacific Fleet and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy are expected to conduct joint air defense exercises, anti-submarine drills and artillery firing.
Wang Guangzheng of the PLA Navy’s Southern Theater said: “The China-Russia joint patrol has promoted the deepening and practical cooperation between the two in multiple directions and fields… and effectively enhanced the ability to the two sides to jointly respond to maritime security threats.”
Compiled by Ana Dumbadze
