Kyiv and Moscow are forging their alliances

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Lerato Khumalo

Ukraine has been defending itself against a Russian invasion with Western military aid for almost three years. According to Zelenskyj, almost 40 percent of the weapons used currently come from the USA, and another 30 percent from European countries. Russia also massively expanded its arms production as a result of the war.

In the debate about new billions in aid for Ukraine, Green Party politician Ricarda Lang called on Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to give in. His condition of tying additional arms deliveries worth three billion euros to a suspension of the debt brake was “dishonest,” said the former Green Party leader on the ZDF talk show “Maybrit Illner.” She appealed to Scholz: “Let’s decide on the three billion now!”

The Greens do not want to finance aid to Ukraine through new debt, but rather through “unscheduled expenditure” according to Article 112 of the Basic Law. Scholz, however, insists on suspending the debt brake to finance arms deliveries.

Meanwhile, the situation on the front lines remains tense for Ukraine. According to maps from the Ukrainian military blog “Deepstate”, Russian troops were able to advance north of the settlement of Velyka Novosilka. This means that the Ukrainian defenders who remain there are threatened with being surrounded. The information has not yet been officially confirmed.

In its evening situation report, the General Staff in Kiev spoke of only ten battles in the area, five of which had already been repelled, while five battles were still ongoing. This information cannot be independently verified.

Former US general Ben Hodges expects US President-elect Donald Trump to show strength against Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. “In a way, I’m optimistic and hope that President Trump doesn’t want to be seen as a loser. He doesn’t want to be the one who loses Ukraine,” the former commander of US forces in Europe told “Spiegel” when asked. whether it comes down to negotiations. Hodges said he wouldn’t take all the things Trump said during the campaign at face value.

During the election campaign, the Republican repeatedly claimed that he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours. His approach appeared to be aimed at putting massive pressure on the conflicting parties in order to force negotiations and a quick peace. That sparked concerns that he might cut support to Ukraine. After his election victory, Trump expressed himself more cautiously and, with a view to a possible end to the war, stated that he hoped to have six months.