Russian attack on Kharkiv, Ukrainian television tower destroyed. Today’s achievements

Sweden is ready to contribute «financially to the German initiative» on the immediate delivery of air defense systems for Ukraine. The Foreign and Defense ministers said this when they arrived at the ‘jumbo’ council of Luxembourg. Stockholm stressed that parliament approved an aid package worth almost 700 million euros last month and that the aid – including anti-aircraft – is being delivered “in these days”. “We are also ready to consider sending more Rbs 70 (portable anti-aircraft guns, ed.),” added Pål Jonson, defense minister.

«We have already provided tangible assistance to Ukraine and its people. However, it must be emphasized that no action will be taken that would even remotely endanger our nation’s deterrent or air defense capabilities.” This was stated by Greek government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis during today’s press briefing, responding to an article published in the Financial Times, according to which the Greek government is suffering “strong pressure” from its EU and NATO allies. to supply air defense systems to Ukraine. “We have always denied such claims in the past and today I strongly reiterate our position,” Marinakis added. According to the Financial Times, European leaders urged Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez to supply air defense systems to Ukraine during a summit in Brussels last week. «The two leaders, whose armed forces collectively possess more than a dozen Patriot systems along with other assets such as S-300s, would have been told that their needs were not as pressing as Ukraine’s and that they were not currently facing imminent threats,” reports the Financial Times.

Norway has announced a new support package for Ukraine to boost their air defense, in response to the recent escalation of attacks by Russia. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr St›re spoke about it in an interview with the TV2 broadcaster, underlining the urgent need for assistance: «Every day the media reports Russian attacks with missiles and drones that hit civilian targets, power plants and cause innocent victims,” he declared. St›re also highlighted that Ukraine has so far defended its territory successfully, but ammunition supplies are starting to run out. The new funding will be added to the record package of 75 billion Norwegian crowns (around 6 billion euros) already approved by the Oslo parliament to provide military and humanitarian support to Ukraine over the next five years. The specific details of the new financing will be presented together with the budget: «We will return to the topic when we present the updated budget. It is expensive, but preserving peace and freedom comes at a cost. Unfortunately, it is the Ukrainians who pay the highest price,” concluded Prime Minister St›re.

The television tower in Kharkiv, Ukraine, collapsed after a Russian raid. «The occupiers hit the television infrastructure in Kharkiv. During the alarm, employees were sheltered. There were no victims,” ​​said the governor of the region, Oleg Synegubov, as reported by UNIAN.

The Russian army will adopt the necessary measures to guarantee national security if Poland hosts nuclear weapons: the Kremlin announced it, as reported by Tass.

«The military exercises will have an impact on everyday life in Germany. The German army, in this era, must practice, practice, practice.” The chief of staff of the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, General Carsten Breuer, said this at a press conference underway in Berino. “We must exercise as in times of emergency, as in war”, he added, underlining that these are exercises called “Quadriga”, which will be carried out in the context of NATO.

Poland is ready to welcome nuclear weapons on its territory if NATO, of which it is a member, decides to strengthen its eastern flank in the face of Russia’s deployment of new weapons in neighboring Kaliningrad and Belarus. The Polish president said this in an interview published today. “If our allies decide to deploy nuclear weapons within the framework of nuclear sharing on our territory to strengthen the security of NATO’s eastern flank, we are ready to do so,” Andrzej Duda explained to the popular Fakt newspaper.

The Polish head of state, who is currently in Canada after a visit to the United States where he met former President Donald Trump and visited the UN, added that the issue of the potential deployment of nuclear weapons in Poland is the subject of discussions between Poland and the United States “for some time”.

Russia has lost 460,260 soldiers in Ukraine since the war began on February 24, 2022, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported. This number includes 730 casualties suffered by Russian forces over the past day. According to the report, Russia also lost 7,236 tanks, 13,904 armored combat vehicles, 15,812 fuel vehicles and tanks, 11,736 artillery systems, 1,046 multiple launch rocket systems, 768 air defense systems, 348 aircraft, 325 helicopters , 9,385 drones, 26 boats and a submarine.

Sweden is ready to contribute «financially to the German initiative» on the immediate delivery of air defense systems for Ukraine. The Foreign and Defense ministers said this when they arrived at the “jumbo” council of Luxembourg. Stockholm stressed that parliament approved an aid package worth almost 700 million euros last month and that the aid – including anti-aircraft – is being delivered “in these days”. “We are also ready to consider sending more Rbs 70 (portable anti-aircraft guns, ed.),” added Pål Jonson, defense minister.

The Ukrainian defense forces will be able to weaken the Russian offensive provided that US military aid arrives quickly: the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) writes on its website. The US research center continues to believe that Ukrainian forces could suffer further setbacks in the coming weeks as they await US armaments that will allow Kiev to stabilize the front. However, the report points out, “it (the new aid) will likely be able to weaken the current Russian offensive if US assistance resumes in a timely manner.” In this regard, ISW experts quote Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to whom a rapid delivery of American military aid to Ukraine could allow Kiev’s forces to stabilize the front line and regain the initiative.

Ukrainian defense units destroyed five Shahed drones and an Orlan-10 reconnaissance drone that Russia launched over the country last night, the Kiev Air Force reported this morning, cited by local media. The drones departed from Crimea and were intercepted over the Odessa region, it was specified.