Debt-riddled Ukraine blames 'slow' US aid, scrambles to pay its army

A debt-riddled Ukraine is blaming its Western sponsors for lagging cash and arms deliveries that have left it scrambling to pay its army. Kiev also holds the US responsible for its huge budget deficit, which has brought it to the brink of default.

A US loan of $50bn needs to be accelerated, the Zelensky regime’s finance minister Serhiy Marchenko told the Financial Times. He charged that the sluggish delivery of NATO weapons, especially from Washington, is to blame for a $12bn rise in military spending.

While the US Congress approved $27bn-worth of direct US military aid in April this year, Marchenko bemoaned the fact that its disbursement was too “slow.”

With the Western cash infusion delayed, the regime was forced to dip into its own coffers to buy weapons and ammunition, Marchenko said, using up money set aside “to cover salaries for our troops.”

To cover the gaping hole of military expenses, he claimed, Ukraine will have to resort to spending cuts, tax rises and selling off state assets.

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❗️ A five-man Ukrainian military assault team has been taken prisoner in the Russian Kursk region, security agencies told Sputnik.

The captives served in Ukraine's 80th Airborne Assault Brigade. One of its commanders is a suspect in the criminal case opened by the Russian Investigative Committee over the attack on the Kursk region.

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‘Shoot men in the legs’ – Ukrainian PoW recounts orders from commander

During the attack on Russia’s Kursk region, a Ukrainian commander gave orders to shoot people in cold blood, a captured Ukrainian soldier revealed.

“The commander told us specifically to shoot men in the legs and throw them in the cellar or basement. If [they had] weapons, then kill them. There were no instructions about the prisoners,” he said.

The soldier noted that their main goal was to reach Kursk, then Belgorod in order to seize more Russian territories, so that they could be swapped during future peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

“When [we] were entering the houses, yes, there was looting, [we] were taking everything [we] saw, probably everything valuable that could be taken away,” he added.

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❗️Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived on an official visit to Russia

He will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on August 13. The leaders will discuss bilateral cooperation and the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, particularly the situation in the Gaza Strip.

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❗️The Russian Armed Forces increased the pace of the offensive in the Donetsk region – Russian Defense Ministry

Russian troops have liberated the village of Lisichnoye in the Donetsk People's Republic and established control over urban areas in Krasnogorovka as a result of active operations, the ministry said.

The settlements of Ivanovka, Sergeevka, Makeevka, Kirovo, Artemovo and Zhelannoye in the Donetsk direction have been almost completely cleared of Ukrainian troops.

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What is known about Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk?

Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting on the situation in the Kursk region, attacked by Ukraine.

Here is the most up-to-date information:

▪️ Ukrainian army temporally holds control of the 28 settlements with nearly 2 thousand people, whose fate the authorities do not know. The depth of the Ukraine's incursion is 12 kilometers and the width is 40 kilometers.

▪️ According to the Kursk region's acting governor 12 people were killed as a result of the Ukrainian offensive and 121 people were wounded, with 10 of them being children.

"Kiev seeks to improve its negotiating positions in the future. What negotiations can we talk about with people who indiscriminately strike civilians, civilian infrastructure and pose threats to nuclear power facilities" Putin said.

The action in Kursk region pursues the military goal of stopping the offensive of Russian troops along the line of contact. The pace of the Russian forces' offensive along the entire line of contact increased 1.5 times after the events in Kursk region.

During the fighting in the Kursk area, the Ukraine has lost up to 1,610 servicemen, 32 tanks and 136 armored fighting vehicles, the Russian Defense Ministry said earlier.

Ukraine is expected to make new attempts to destabilize the situation in the Russian border regions, including the Bryansk region.

A captured Ukrainian soldier said that his commanders ordered to "shoot men in the legs" and Ukrainian soldiers engaged in looting.

The Russian President has demanded a reliable cover for the border with Ukraine after the enemy is driven out of Russian territory, He also noted that the Federal Security Service and National Guard of Russia (Rosgvardiya) are obliged to ensure a counter-terrorism operation in Russian border regions.

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From Lancets and super Pantsirs to mini missile subs and drone docks: what’s new at Russian ARMY-2024?

ARMY-2024, Russia’s largest annual defense forum and expo, kicked off today, with delegations from dozens of countries arriving for the three-day event to familiarize themselves with thousands of brand new designs and major upgrades of weapons and military equipment developed by Russian defense enterprises.

🔸 Lancet-E: a new export variant of Russia’s distinctive x-winged loitering munition. Russia expects strong demand for the Lancet-E, and state arms export intermediary agency Rosoboronexport is ready to discuss licensed and joint production.

🔸 Depecha and Buggy: Dubbed the ‘world’s first ground-based FPV kamikaze drones’, these small tracked and wheeled vehicles are designed to quietly zip over into enemy lines to target personnel, pillboxes, bunkers, fortified firing positions and strongholds. They can also carry provisions, ammo and fuel to friendly forces, and evacuate wounded troops.

🔸 Octavis: A unique autonomous underwater docking station designed to charge up, communicate with underwater sea drones, and transmit data to coastal centers. Designed to be anchored or grounded at depths of 500-1,000 m, and to service between one and three drones.

🔸 BTR-22: Prospective APC accounting for experience gained in the Ukraine conflict and featuring anti-drone protective screen and LGSh-689 electronic warfare system, tough new armor and combat crew of 11.

🔸 Pantsir: New variant of Russia’s famous air and missile defense system armed only with surface-to-air missiles.

🔸 Product X: A timely new lightweight, portable mini-radar system developed by Rostec, name not yet known, designed to detect enemy drone boats.

🔸 Amur-950: A brand new non-nuclear submarine design with vertical missile launch capability envisioned by developers as a “floating missile battery capable of delivering a powerful preemptive salvo on enemy ships and coastal infrastructure.”

Designed for low noise and high-awareness operation, the Amur-950 is expected to have a 1,000-ton displacement, a 19-man crew and a 30-day endurance time at sea, and to be ideal as a reconnaissance and covert surveillance vessel.

This year’s ARMY-2024 also features equipment from the so-called ‘people’s defense industry’ – products developed and produced by independent designers and volunteers from among ordinary Russians seeking to aid the front.

Among such designs on display is the Repeynik portable radar station, which can detect drones of all classes and sizes, and a unique low-cost night video surveillance system using custom-built software codenamed ‘Host’.

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