The day after Germany’s announcement of the delivery in the coming weeks of new anti-aircraft defense systems, tanks and other armor before winter, Ukraine’s Anglo-Saxon Allies decided to make a extra effort.
British aid to mine clearance
Kiev will benefit from new support, worth more than 100 million pounds sterling (115 million euros), including mine clearance systems, the British Minister of Defense announced on Wednesday October 11, 2023.
This additional aid in the face of the Russian invasion comes from the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU, administered by the United Kingdom) and must be officially announced during a new meeting to coordinate military support for Ukraine organized under the auspices of the United States on Wednesday in Brussels.
London wants to help Kiev “clear minefields”, “maintain its vehicles and consolidate its defensive fortifications to protect essential national infrastructure”, according to a press release from the British Ministry of Defense.
“Ukraine is now the most mined country on Earth”, which constitutes the “main obstacle” to the counter-offensive, he argues.
This new aid follows a previous one, which with new contracts recently signed reaches more than 70 million pounds (81 million euros), including MSI-DS Terrahawk Paladin to track and destroy drones.
The equipment will arrive “in the coming months” in Ukraine, specifies the Ministry of Defense.
Since its creation in 2022 by London and Oslo, the IFU has made it possible to raise 785 million pounds sterling (910 million euros) thanks to contributions from the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and Lithuania.
New American support
The United States will provide approximately $200 million in additional military aid to Ukraine, as part of a program expected to be announced this Wednesday, October 11, 2023, according to information published by American radio and online media Voice of America (VOA).
The American “package” includes air defense weapons such as the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile, artillery ammunition for high mobility artillery systems (HIMARS), TOW anti-tank missiles and 155 mm shells and 105mm.
This aid also includes small arms ammunition, demolition ammunition against Russian obstacles, anti-drone equipment and electronic warfare equipment.
This is the 48th time the United States has used presidential authority to provide the Ukrainian military with equipment from U.S. stockpiles.
The United States has provided approximately $44 billion in aid to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began.
The Pentagon still has about $5 billion in congressionally approved funding for military aid to Ukraine.
Russian losses
The Ukrainian General Staff has published its regular assessment of the losses suffered by Russian troops since the invasion of the country on February 24, 2022.
According to Kiev, the Kremlin forces lost 283,080 soldiers, an increase of 450 deaths in the space of a few days, as well as 9,129 armored vehicles, but also 9,125 tanks and supply vehicles, 6,713 artillery pieces, 4,829 assault tanks, 5,207 drones or 1,530 cruise missiles, 961 special equipment, 544 air defense systems, as well as 316 helicopters and 315 combat planes.
The regular publication of these figures, which could not be verified, is part of the Ukrainian communications strategy intended to undermine the morale of Moscow’s troops.
A Chinese company doing business with Wagner
The Russian paramilitary group Wagner, long present in Ukraine and active in Africa, signed a contract with a Chinese company to acquire two observation satellites and command images, providing it with unprecedented intelligence power, according to a document consulted by the AFP.
“Tell me who in this country has reconnaissance satellites besides Wagner?” “, boasted in April its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has since died, mocking on Telegram the limited spatial capabilities of the regular Russian army, in the midst of his men’s offensive in Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine.
At the end of a long period of investigative work, the AFP was able to shed light on the links between Wagner and the Chinese companies which provided him with satellite information. According to a European security source, some of these images were even used by Prigozhin, who died in August in the crash of his plane, to prepare his mutiny in June, the greatest threat ever experienced by President Vladimir Putin in 20 years of rule. power.
According to a commercial contract written in English and Russian and signed on November 15, 2022, Beijing Yunze Technology Co. Ltd sold for approximately $31 million (235 million rubles) to Nika-Frut, a company of Prigojine galaxy, two very high resolution observation satellites (75 cm) belonging to the Chinese space giant Chang Guang Satellite Technology (CGST).
The document also provides for the provision of on-demand images from CGST’s satellite constellation. According to the European security source, these photos allowed Wagner, in the process of being dismembered since the death of his leader, to obtain intelligence in Ukraine and Africa (Libya, Sudan, Central Africa, Mali, etc.), where his mercenaries operate.
2023-10-11 04:00:14
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