Russia to increase defence spending by almost 70%; EU extends rights of Ukraine refugees to 2025
Russia said Thursday that it plans to raise defence spending by almost 70% next year, funnelling massive resources into its Ukraine offensive to fight what it calls a “hybrid war” unleashed by the west. With Moscow’s “special military operation” now approaching another winter, both sides have been digging deep and procuring weapons from allies in preparation for a protracted conflict.
The announcement came as Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg and the defence ministers of Britain and France visited Kyiv, where President Volodymyr Zelenskiy lobbied for more air defence systems. Their visits came in advance of Kyiv’s first Defence Industries Forum, where Ukrainian officials were to meet representatives from more than 160 defence firms and 26 countries.
International regulators are incapable of properly monitoring safety at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, according to a critical dossier compiled by Greenpeace that has been sent to western governments. The environmental campaign group concludes the International Atomic Energy Agency has too few inspectors at Europe’s biggest nuclear plant – four – and that there are too many restrictions placed on their access.
Brussels warned European companies and governments that it could ban the sale of certain components to Turkey and other countries from where Iran and Russia are sourcing parts for drones and other weapons striking Ukrainian cities. The comments from the European Commission follows a leak to the Guardian of a document in which Kyiv detailed the use of western technology in Russian and Iranian drones.
Belarus claimed on Thursday that a Polish helicopter had twice violated its airspace as tensions escalate between the two countries amid the conflict in Ukraine. The defence ministry said it had scrambled aircraft but provided no further details. In a separate statement, the Belarusian foreign ministry said it had summoned the Polish charge d’affaires and demanded that “an objective investigation be carried out immediately.
The EU has extended the right of refugees from Ukraine to stay in the bloc by a year to March 2025, as Russia’s war against their country continues. The EU triggered its temporary protection directive days after Moscow’s February 2022 invasion to allow the millions of people fleeing Ukraine to remain.
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said an escalating grain exports dispute between Kyiv and Warsaw was detrimental to both countries. Poland has extended an embargo on Ukrainian grain, going against a European Commission decision to end the restrictions and triggering a diplomatic spat between the allies.
Ukraine’s air force claimed on Thursday its air defence systems had shot down 34 of 44 Shahed drones that Russia launched overnight, while a regional official said no casualties were caused by the attack. “Fighter aircraft, anti-aircraft missile units and mobile fire groups were engaged to repel the attack,” the military said on the Telegram messaging app.
Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper said his region was the main target, but the attack left no casualties. “Our air defence forces did an excellent job,” Kiper said on Telegram.
There were also strikes on Kirovohrad oblast and an infrastructure object was hit in Mykolaiv. One man was killed and another was injured in Kherson overnight. Three people have been hospitalised after a strike on Antonivka, near the Dnipro River.
Alexander Bogomaz, governor of Russia’s Bryansk region, claimed on Telegram that electronic warfare had been used to down a Ukrainian drone on the approach to the city of Bryansk. “There were no casualties or damage. Operational and emergency services are on site,” he wrote.
