- Zelensky in Belgium, Brussels pledges F-16s
- European group prepares support for mine clearance in Ukraine
- 115 million euros in aid to Kiev
- Ollongren: NATO continues to support Ukraine
- NATO weapons stockpile is running out: ‘Raising production will take years’
US: new aid package for Ukraine of 200 million dollars
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the US will provide a new $200 million military aid package to Ukraine, AFP reports.
“I am proud that the United States will announce its latest $200 million security assistance package for Ukraine,” Austin said alongside Volodymyr Zelensky at the opening of a meeting of Kiev’s international allies in Brussels. The package includes air defense munitions, artillery and rocket munitions and anti-tank weapons, the US defense chief said (see earlier report at 10:46).
Denmark expects to deliver F-16s before April
The first delivery of F-16s to Ukraine from Denmark is expected before April 2024. This is what Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said to the Danish medium TV2. This summer, Denmark announced that it will supply up to 61 F-16s to Ukraine together with the Netherlands
US: ‘Continue to support Ukraine for as long as necessary’
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said today that the United States will continue to support Ukraine for as long as necessary, even amid political chaos in Congress and despite escalating violence in the Middle East. “The United States will stand by Ukraine for as long as necessary,” Austin said at the start of a meeting of Ukrainian allies in Brussels.
“We are here to dig deep to meet Ukraine’s most pressing needs – especially in the areas of air defense and munitions,” Austin said, speaking alongside President Zelenskiy, according to Reuters.
NATO weapons stockpile is running out: ‘Raising production will take years’
NATO’s stock of weapons and ammunition is gradually running out, NATO’s highest military officer Rob Bauer said earlier. The European Union has already decided to further increase production in Europe because of the war in Ukraine, ‘but that will take years’, expects Europe correspondent Stefan de Vries.
Yellen: G7 oil price ceiling has ‘significantly reduced Russian revenues’
Janet Yellen, the US Treasury Secretary, said today that a G7-led price ceiling on Russian oil has sharply reduced Russian revenues over the past ten months and that it is crucial to continue imposing heavy and rising costs on Russia because of the war in Ukraine.
Reuters reports she added that global energy prices have remained largely unchanged while Russia has had to sell oil at a significant discount or spend huge sums on its alternative ecosystem.
Ollongren: NATO continues to support Ukraine
Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said outside NATO headquarters in Brussels that there is “no doubt” that the alliance “will continue to support Ukraine for as long as necessary.”
Zelensky in Belgium, Brussels pledges F-16s
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Belgium. He will meet members of the Belgian cabinet there. According to Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder, Belgium will supply F-16s. Zelensky is said to have arrived in Belgium on Tuesday evening. He has appointments with Prime Minister Alexander De Croo this Wednesday. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defense and Development Cooperation are also present.
The Belgian Minister of Defense said in an interview with the Bel RTL radio station that the country will supply fighter jets. The country will send F-16s from 2025. How much is still unclear.
115 million euros in aid to Kiev
AFP reports that the United Kingdom and other northern European allies on Wednesday announced a new 115 million euro military aid package for Ukraine, aimed at helping the armed forces clear minefields, maintain vehicles and protect key infrastructure.
The package, provided with money from the UK-run International Fund for Ukraine (IFU), will provide equipment to help soldiers cross minefields and bridge rivers and trenches, the UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) said .
Vladimir Putin visits Kyrgyzstan tomorrow
Vladimir Putin will visit Kyrgyzstan tomorrow, the Central Asian country’s presidential office said, in what would be the Russian leader’s first known foreign trip since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him.
Reuters reports that Putin has rarely traveled abroad since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine began in early 2022 and is not known to have left Russia since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him in March on suspicion of illegally deporting of hundreds of children from Ukraine. The Kremlin denies these allegations.
European group prepares support for mine clearance in Ukraine
A group of European countries will provide Ukraine with equipment worth 100 million pounds (about 116 million euros) to help its armed forces clear minefields. This is reported by the British Ministry of Defense.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the British ministry wrote that Ukraine is “now the country with the most mines in the world.” These mines have become an obstacle in the counter-offensive that Ukraine is currently waging against Russia. Having ‘mine clearance capabilities’ is therefore ‘essential to move the country forward’, the ministry said.
This is the state of affairs on Wednesday, October 11
Extensive damage to a submarine gas pipeline and communication cable connecting Finland and Estonia “could not have arisen accidentally” and appears to be the result of a “deliberate … external act”, according to Finnish authorities.
Rafael Grossi, the head of it International Atomic Energy Agencysaid Volodymyr Zelensky had promised him that Ukraine would not attack Europe’s largest nuclear power plant as part of its counter-offensive against Russia.
Germany announced €1 billion in additional military aid for Ukraine, in a race to boost weapons deliveries before winter. The ‘winter package’ includes an additional Patriot air defense system and, this month, two more Iris-T air defense missile systems that can provide short- and medium-range protection.
Zelensky called for steps to ensure that Russia Black Sea does not turn into a ‘dead zone’ for shipping after Moscow abandoned a deal that allowed safe Ukrainian grain exports.
Zelensky also expressed his concern about the international community’s turning away from the war in Ukraine in light of the ‘tragedy’ that has befallen Israel after the Hamas attacks.
The National Police of Ukraine has almost 100,000 war crimes documented committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, the agency’s head said. Ivan Vyhovsky told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency that the collected evidence will form the basis for future attempts to prosecute the perpetrators.
It is unlikely that Russia will do so before next year’s presidential elections additional mobilization campaign will start, according to the British Ministry of Defense.
This live blog is based on reporting by BNR’s own correspondents and editors, The Guardian, ANP, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Associated Press, CNN, BBC, CNBC, Sky News and Agence France-Presse. BNR also uses online messages from the news agencies Tass, RIA Novosti and Interfax (Russia) and Belta (Belarus). Because reporting from these agencies is not verifiable and cannot be qualified as independent, in these cases it is explicitly stated where the reporting comes from.