UNITED24 Media Telegram Highlights
βοΈPutin prepares for years more of war with Ukraine β Bloomberg
The Kremlin has abandoned last yearβs plan to gradually cut military spending and replenish reserves depleted by the war, Bloomberg reports.
Next year, Russia plans to increase military spending by 40% compared with this yearβs planned outlays. That is nearly 380% higher than the pre-war budget.
A significant portion of the funds is earmarked for weapons production.
However, Janis Kluge, an analyst at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, notes that the increase in military spending does not in itself mean Moscow is preparing for a war with NATO.
One reason, he says, is the need to replenish arms stockpiles and strengthen Russiaβs own defenses in response to Ukrainian strikes on its territory.
π«π· France has begun training Ukrainian pilots to fly Rafale fighter jets, Le Parisien reports.
Deliveries of 16 French fighter jets are expected in 2028β2029. However, the first four aircraft could be handed over immediately after the pilot training is completed.
The Russian Federation will continue to launch massive retaliatory strikes and warns foreign citizens and diplomats against traveling to Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Russian billionaires facing asset confiscation have voluntarily transferred more than 470 billion rubles to Putinβs military budget, The Moscow Times reports.
Frightened by a wave of nationalizations that has swept up hundreds of companies worth more than 7 trillion rubles, along with criminal cases against businessmen stripped of their property, Russiaβs wealthiest individuals have βvoluntarilyβ handed over hundreds of billions of rubles to a budget strained by a deficit and record war spending.
This year, the federal treasury is expected to receive 471.7 billion rubles ($5.67 billion) in βvoluntary contributionsβ from the business sector, according to the explanatory note accompanying Russiaβs three-year budget law.
The Finance Ministry documents do not disclose who made the payments or the specific amounts contributed to government accounts.
The influx of donations began after Putinβs annual meeting with big business, where he suggested that billionaires on the Forbes list βchip inβ for the war effort. At the time, the federal budget deficit had reached nearly 6 trillion rubles ($72.07 billion), far exceeding the planned annual figure of 3.7 trillion rubles.
By the end of the year, according to the latest Finance Ministry estimate, the deficit is projected to widen to 7.3 trillion rubles ($85.8 billion).
Before the meeting between business leaders and Putin, contributions from non-state entities totaled 15.6 billion rubles ($187.39 million). In the following month alone, the figure rose to 159.7 billion rubles ($1.918 billion). By mid-August, total contributions had reached 383.7 billion rubles ($4.60 billion).
According to sources cited by The Moscow Times, billionaires Suleiman Kerimov, Vladimir Potanin, and Oleg Deripaska expressed a willingness to support the budget with personal funds during their March meeting with Putin. They proposed transferring 460 billion rubles on the condition that the Kremlin abandon plans to impose a βwindfall taxβ on their companies.
Despite this, the tax will still be introduced in 2027. It will apply to companies including Potaninβs Nornickel, Deripaskaβs Rusal, and Kerimovβs gold-mining company Polyus. The Finance Ministry expects to receive 200 billion rubles annually from these companies over the next three years.
π’ G7 nations will release up to 100 million barrels of crude oil and diesel from emergency reserves under pressure from the Trump administration to curb rising fuel prices, according to a statement by G7 leaders.
They also pledged to maintain sanctions against Russia while cooperating with the International Energy Agency and partners to prevent the negative impact from spreading further to fuel, gas, and other commodity markets.
More than 11,000 migrants have attempted to enter Latvia from Belarus this year. Latvian authorities accuse Russian and Belarusian intelligence services of orchestrating the migration pressure, The New York Times reports.
Latvian officials say migrants from Africa and the Middle East are lured to Russia and Belarus, flown to Moscow and Minsk, and then transported in an organized manner to the EUβs borders. Sections of the border fence have been found cut, and tunnels up to 40 meters long have also been discovered.
Riga views the situation as part of a Russian campaign to destabilize Europe and an attempt to exacerbate internal divisions ahead of parliamentary elections. Amid the rising number of crossing attempts, Latvia has deployed the army and National Guard and has already spent more than $1 billion reinforcing its borders with Russia and Belarus.
According to Latvian authorities, Germany and other Western European countries are the ultimate destinations for many migrants. Riga says the smuggling operations are run by criminal networks that collaborate with the Belarusian KGB.
π±πΉ Lithuania is deploying SkyFortress, an acoustic system developed in Ukraine, to detect low-altitude drones, LRT reports.
[..]"SkyFortress bolsters the first linkβsurveillanceβby using artificial intelligence to detect and track low-altitude drones or cruise missiles,β said Minister of National Defence Laurynas KasΔiΕ«nas.
According to him, the system can classify objects that leave acoustic or electromagnetic signatures in real time.
In addition to the system itself, the agreement signed this summer provides access to libraries of digital acoustic and radio-frequency signatures, personnel training, and assistance with processing data collected by the sensors.
π―π΅ Japan has imposed sanctions on 33 Russian companies and nine individuals, as well as 35 vessels belonging to Russiaβs βshadow fleet.β
The restrictions target, among others, Voentorg, a key supplier to the Russian Ministry of Defense; VNIIR-Progress, a manufacturer of electronics for Iskander missiles; Alabuga Development and Alabuga Machinery, involved in the production and modernization of Geran UAVs; and Uralvagonzavod, an armored vehicle manufacturer.
Sanctions also apply to four companies from TΓΌrkiye and the UAE that supply Russia with restricted components for weapons production.
Additionally, sanctions have been imposed on Vladislav Kostin, CEO of VNIIR-Progress, and Dmitry Lelikov, Deputy Head of Rostec.
π©πͺ Germany plans to establish its first drone regiment by 2027, with up to 600 troops, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced.
The dedicated unmanned systems regiment will include aerial and ground drones, loitering munitions, and an electronic warfare company. The new unit will be part of the 10th Panzer Division.
The regimentβs drones will be capable of operating at ranges of up to 500 km. Strike drones will be able to remain airborne for up to 70 minutes before attacking a target.
π― Two people have been killed and 32 injured in Kharkiv after Russian forces struck residential areas in the Slobidskyi and Nemyshlianskyi districts with guided aerial bombs in broad daylight, police said.
Among the injured are a 15-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy. All the wounded are receiving medical attention.