Citizens collected almost 2 million euros for Ukraine in days – 2024-04-19 20:59:02

NATO promised to increase its support to Ukraine

The NATO countries have agreed that they will provide more support to Ukraine’s air defense, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said according to the news agency Reuters.

– NATO has mapped the defense alliance’s existing assets, and there are systems that can be put to Ukraine’s use. So I expect new announcements about the air defense systems to be given to Ukraine soon, Stoltenberg said after the virtual meeting between NATO defense ministers and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

According to Stoltenberg, Ukraine is about to receive, among other things, Patriot systems and the French-made SAMP/T system.

Many countries that cannot hand over defense systems have promised to offer Ukraine financial support to acquire them, Stoltenberg said.

The NATO Secretary General did not provide detailed information on the number of systems to be handed over.

Germany announced last week that it will send a new Patriot air defense system to Ukraine.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that announcements about the air defense systems to be given to Ukraine will be heard soon. EPA/AOP

Ukraine destroyed the pride of the Russian Air Force

Ukraine said it destroyed a Russian Tupolev Tu22M3 bomber for the first time during the entire war.

– For the first time, our anti-aircraft missile units together with Ukrainian military intelligence destroyed a Russian Tu-22M3 bomber, the Ukrainian Air Force said on its Telegram channel.

The Tu22M3 is a supersonic missile bomber designed to destroy sea and land targets with missiles and aerial bombs. Its NATO code name is Backfire.

Russia admits it lost a Tupolev Tu22M3 bomber, but says the crash was caused by a technical fault.

According to Russian media reports, the plane’s crew was rescued from the plane with the help of catapults.

The loss of the machine seems to have been such a hard place that a hero story was quickly built around it.

The captain allegedly threw the crew of three out of the plane by force. At the same time, he himself stayed in the cockpit until the end and directed the plane to fall far from the inhabited area.

Slovakia got angry: Citizens collected almost 2 million euros for Ukraine in days

The Slovaks, who were loyal to their government, had collected almost two million euros to fill Ukraine’s munitions warehouses in just a few days. The matter was reported by, among others, the BBC and the news agency Reuters.

According to the fundraisers, the purpose of the campaign is to show that the majority of citizens do not support the change that took place in the country’s foreign policy last fall. Slovakia ended military aid to Ukraine after the Smer party led by pro-Russian Robert Fico won the country’s parliamentary elections.

Slovakia has refused to participate in a billion-dollar procurement of artillery ammunition led by the Czech Republic.

– Many people in Slovakia are ashamed of the government’s leaning towards Russia. Therefore, people participate, Zuzana Izsakova of the Peace for Ukraine (Mier Ukraine) organization told Reuters.

A 99-year-old journalist who survived the Holocaust Otto Simko has become the face of the fundraising campaign. According to Simko, Russia must be driven from Ukraine.

According to Reuters, the campaign that opened four days earlier had collected around 1.94 million euros by noon on Friday. Donations had come from more than 30,000 people.

CIA boss: Ukraine may lose the war by the end of the year

CIA Director William Burns told members of the US Congress on Thursday that if they do not approve an aid package for Ukraine now, Ukraine could lose the war by the end of the year.

– Thanks to military aid, the Ukrainians will be able to last until the end of 2024 and crush Vladimir Putin’s arrogant view that time is on his side, he estimated, according to Politico.

– But if help doesn’t come, the situation is much worse. There is a very real risk that the Ukrainians could lose by the end of 2024, or at least put Putin in a position where he can effectively dictate the terms of a political settlement, he added.

On Saturday, the United States will vote on an aid package worth more than 60 billion for Ukraine.

IAEA: Drone attack on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant

On April 18, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced that it had received a report that the training center of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant had been hit by a drone attack, but it did not cause casualties or damage.

The IAEA said its team heard an explosion at 10:35 a.m. local time on April 18, when Russian occupation forces at the plant claimed a drone strike had been carried out.

– So far, the drone attacks have not endangered the nuclear safety of the nuclear facility. But as I told the UN Security Council a few days ago, these reckless attacks must stop immediately, IAEA Director Rafael Grossi said.

It was the third reported attack in recent weeks on the training center, which is located just outside the site of the plant, the IAEA said.

The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has been under Russian occupation since March 2022.

Kyiv Independent reported on the matter.

A US citizen died in Donetsk

American Russell Bentley died in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in Ukraine, Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the Russian state news channel RT, said on Telegram. The news agency Reuters reported on the matter.

According to Simonjan, Bentley had worked under the Russian news service Sputnik. He did not say Bentley’s cause of death.

Born in 1960, Bentley supported Russian forces in Ukraine. He was reported missing on April 8. Russian state media have characterized Bentley as a war correspondent.