Developments in Ukraine Approval of 50 billion euro financial assistance from the European Union to Kyiv

According to the international group Tasnim news agency, on Thursday, February 1, at the meeting of union leaders In Brussels, Europe approved a long-term budget assistance program for Ukraine in the amount of 50 billion euros, designed for four years. In addition, the leaders of the member states also approved the proposal to use frozen Russian assets to help Kiev. The aid program for Ukraine until 2027 is worth 50 billion euros and it was noted that this decision was supported by all 27 leaders of the EU member states. According to the final announcement of the summit, Kyiv will receive 33 billion euros in loans and the remaining 17 billion euros in grants. And the payment of Ukrainian teachers’ salaries will be used.

At the same time, in the final statement, it is stated that the condition of providing aid to Ukraine is compliance with the principles of democracy, including a multi-party parliamentary system and the rule of law, as well as respect for human rights. It is among the rights of minorities in this country.

The European Union also plans to annually review the implementation plan of the aid program for Ukraine. If necessary, the European Commission can make changes to it in accordance with the new multi-annual budget of the alliance. One of the sources of financial aid to Ukraine may be the income from frozen Russian assets.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said yesterday that Moscow is following the Brussels meeting. According to him, there is a trend of the US trying to transfer the financial burden – supporting Kiev – to European taxpayers.

Next, you can follow the developments related to the 799th day of the Ukrainian war:

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After the European Union agreed on 50 billion euros for Kyiv, Zelensky again asked for more money

On Thursday, Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, in a video message addressed to the participants of the EU summit. Europe in Brussels, which approved the allocation of 50 billion Euros to Kyiv, emphasized the need to increase foreign aid to its country.

He recalled that the next step after the agreement on the allocation of 50 billion euros should be the approval of additional aid to help Kiev through the European Peace Fund. “This amount should be at least 5 billion euros per year for a four-year period, and this is a clear priority that must be adhered to,” he instructed. The European Union failed to fulfill its promise to transfer one million cannonballs to Ukraine. He added: “Unfortunately, the European plan to provide Ukraine with one million artillery shells has been postponed. This is another sign of global competition in which Europe should not be the loser.”

Orban’s explanation of his agreement to allocate 50 billion euros to Ukraine

Victor Hungarian Prime Minister Orban announced yesterday after the Brussels summit that the European Union has guaranteed that the frozen funds of Hungary will not be allocated to Ukraine. Orban said: “Last night and today we received a proposal and In the end, we created a verification mechanism that ensures the reasonable use of funds and received guarantees that Hungarian money will not leave Ukraine. And we accepted this offer after long negotiations.” According to him, the European Union summit made a decision based on which financial assistance to Ukraine will be strictly controlled. Orban pointed out that this was one of Hungary’s conditions. The prime minister also assured that Hungary will not transfer any weapons to Ukraine and supports peace in the region. European Council President Charles Michel announced on Thursday that all 27 leaders of EU member states At the meeting in Brussels, they agreed to allocate an additional 50 billion euros as part of the support package for Ukraine from the EU budget. The European Union approved the use of income from frozen Russian assets for Kyiv. /strong>

The proposal of the European Commission to use the income from frozen assets of Russia in order to provide financial aid to Ukraine was approved at the European Union summit. This issue is specified in the final statement of the meeting of the leaders of the member countries of the association. Thus, the Council of Europe welcomes the agreement reached on the basis of the Council Decision and its provisions on emergency revenues from immovable assets of Russia for the support of Ukraine. The European Union will respect the democratic norms, human rights and the rule of law for Ukraine. In addition, the leaders of the European Union countries demanded to accelerate the sending of bullets and missiles to Kiev. This document states: The European Council also emphasizes the urgent need to accelerate the delivery of ammunition and missiles to Ukraine, especially in view of the commitment to provide one million artillery shells to Kiev.

European leaders also Foreign ministers have until March 2024 to approve an increase in the budget for military support to Kiev through the European Peace Fund.

Europe’s promise to transfer military equipment and one million bullets to Kiev by the end of the year

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, announced at the February 1st meeting that the European Union has promised that by the end of 2024, tanks, helicopters, new air defense systems, as well as one million artillery shells. send to Ukraine.

He said: We will even supply tanks, helicopters, air defense, missiles and of course more bullets <...> The European Union will supply 500,000 bullets by March and This figure will double by the end of the year. According to von der Leyen, the EU’s military support for Ukraine has reached 28 billion euros, at the same time, the EU’s military industry has increased its production by 40%.

The head of the European Commission added: New contracts will be signed in the near future.

A day before, Bloomberg reported that the European Union may have only 600,000 bullets by March. to transfer to Ukraine one million bullets previously promised to Kiev. The news agency noted that the armed forces of Ukraine need a stable supply of artillery shells, which they currently lack, to maintain “active defense”. The West is not tired

Dmitrii Koleba, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, believes that the European Union’s decision to allocate 50 billion euros to Kyiv refutes the rumors that the Western countries are tired of the conflict in Ukraine. .

He wrote on X social network (former Twitter): “This decision is an important step with historical dimensions. This shows that all the talk about “fatigue” or “declining support” for Kiev is simply false.”

Koleba added that Europe succeeded “in its power and ability to make important decisions regardless of what others think.” “.

Robert Fico: Slovak money in the EU fund should not be used for arms of Kiev

Robert Fico, the Prime Minister of Slovakia, on Thursday after the meeting of the EU leaders about Allocating a new aid package to Ukraine, he told reporters in Brussels that the country will send funds to the European Peace Fund to support Ukraine, provided they are not used to arm Kiev.

As Fico pointed out that Bratislava is not interested in continuing to supply arms to Kyiv, saying: “We [Slovakia] can clear the mines, help in other ways, but it will be non-lethal equipment (aid to Ukraine).”

Michel called the European Union’s decision to allocate 50 billion euros to Kiev a signal for America

Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, on Thursday in a press conference after The EU summit in Brussels, where the Kyiv financing plan was approved, emphasized that the decision of European leaders to give Ukraine 50 billion euros from 2024 to 2027 is a “clear message to the United States”.

According to the head of the European Council, this decision to allocate funds shows “unity” between Ukrainians and the European people, and also that “we will not be intimidated by Russia”. In addition, it also demonstrates to American taxpayers that Brussels is trustworthy and responsible.

This decision also sends a message to the US government and our partners around the world that we stand by our support for Ukraine and its territorial integrity. We will continue it.

The US Senate will vote on the border and Ukraine bill next week

Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democratic majority in the upper house of the US Congress last night During a speech to the senators, he announced that the US Senate will vote next week on a bill that combines financial support for Ukraine and tightening border control in the southern regions of the country.

He emphasized: The final stages of negotiations in this regard are scheduled to be held on Monday [February 5], and after that the first vote on the internal security supplementary budget bill will be held by Wednesday [February 7] at the latest. According to him, the full text of this bill will be made public in the next few days. Probably the earliest is February 2nd and the latest is February 4th. He emphasized that American lawmakers will have enough time to familiarize themselves with the text of the document and prepare for voting. The White House asked the US Congress to approve the aid budget for Ukraine. /p>

John Kirby, the coordinator of strategic communications, announced at a press conference that the 50 billion euro budget package for Ukraine allocated by the European Union cannot replace US aid, and therefore the White House from the US Congress. He wants to approve the allocation of funds for this purpose.

Kirby said about the aid allocated by Europe to Kiev that this package is not intended for military support and is intended to meet the needs of the Ukrainian people. He added: “Thus, this is not a substitute for the American leadership in providing military aid to Kiev. That is why it is still important to urge Congress to approve additional funding requests for national security needs.”

Andriy Youssef, the spokesman of the main intelligence department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, announced yesterday that Kiev requested Moscow to hand over the bodies of the prisoners killed as a result of the crash of the Il-76 military transport plane of the Russian Aerospace Forces in the Belgorod region. According to him, Ukraine has requested and will continue to request the transfer of bodies from Russia. According to him, apparently Russia has not yet provided an answer. The Russian side has not yet officially confirmed this request.

Zalogeny: Ukrainian Armed Forces will focus on developing new combat capabilities in 2024

Commander The head of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zalogeny, on Thursday listed the main areas of focus of the army’s actions in 2024.

In an interview with CNN, the military official said: “In 2024, we should Let’s focus our main efforts in three areas. Creating a system to supply our armed forces with advanced equipment; Introducing a new philosophy of training and warfare that takes into account limitations in equipment and methods of using them and developing new combat capabilities in the shortest possible time. These will be our main focuses.

Zalogeny noted that Ukraine’s goal should be to maximize the advanced combat capabilities of the military. This, he said, would allow Kiev to devote fewer resources to inflicting “maximum damage.”

In this interview, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also expressed his opinion that Kiev cannot increase the power of its army without “undesirable and unpopular actions”.

Valery Zalogeny explained: We must consider the significant superiority of the enemy in the mobilization of manpower and compare it with the inability of the Ukrainian state institutions to increase the manpower of its armed forces without resorting to unpopular measures.

He did not specify exactly what actions Kiev is taking in this regard.

According to Zalogeny, “the lack of regulatory framework in the country as well as the monopoly of the defense industry sector” put Ukraine in the field. Battle is not given an advantage. This will lead to production bottlenecks, for example, ammunition, and will intensify Ukraine’s dependence on the resources of its allies.”

He called the complete revision of the way of combat operations and rejection of stereotypical thinking the main point in creating an advantage. read on the battlefield.

Zelensky’s office admitting to tactical mistakes during the army’s counterattack

Mikhail Podoliak, adviser to the chief of staff of the President of Ukraine, in an interview yesterday admitted that the “negative taste” of the defeat in the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian armed forces still remains.

He said: “Regarding the counterattack, we have to accept that considering what happened in 2023, its negative flavor still exists. Yes, there were certain tactical mistakes in the operation, which military and political officials have talked about.

Podolyak emphasized that the operational tactics of the Ukrainian Armed Forces must be changed. He once again mentioned the lack of weapons and also pointed out that operational and tactical decisions should be changed depending on the amount of weapons of the army.

Macron: Moscow should not hope for the exhaustion of Europe

Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, referring to the approval The 50 billion euro support package for Ukraine at the Brussels summit, he emphasized: This matter showed Russia that Europe is not tired and Moscow should not count on Europe’s tiredness in supporting Kiev.

The French president with Pointing out that he will pay attention to the issue of security assistance in his upcoming trip to Ukraine, he said: In terms of security and weapons, European countries will provide the military equipment needed by this country based on the bilateral commitments they will make with Ukraine. they do. For example, as part of one of these bilateral commitments, France will send weapons with vital capabilities, including Scallop air defense missiles and Caesar artillery systems, to Ukraine, which can be decisive on the battlefield.

Macron Also, pointing out that the issue of Russia’s frozen assets was scheduled to be discussed again at the next meeting of the European Council, he added: “In Thursday’s meeting, we took an important step by deciding to allocate profits from Russia’s frozen assets to Ukraine.” we took The next step is to decide how and where to use the financial resources from the profits of Russian assets, which we will discuss at the next meeting of the European Council. Macron: If imports from Ukraine create unfair competition, the European Union Returns the tariffs

The President of France mentioned in this press conference that if the import of goods from Ukraine has a negative impact on the markets of EU member states, the European Union will return the customs duties on the import of goods from Ukraine.

Manuel Macron said: If imports from Ukraine destabilize the market and create unfair competition for European farmers, the European Union may return customs duties for these products.

Ryabkov: Russia respects the ideas of the BRICS countries on the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine

They respect the settlement of the situation in Ukraine. He said: We pay great attention and respect to the initiatives and opinions raised by a number of BRICS members regarding the situation in Ukraine and its surroundings. These include Brazil’s initiative, China’s proposal and South Africa’s prominent role in discussing and promoting approaches to a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian situation. Agreement will not be possible and no change will occur. At the same time, he said that Moscow is ready to talk with all those who are committed to providing a constructive solution.

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