Politico: Ukraine to ask for additional $20 billion at Rammstein meeting
Ukraine plans to ask its allies for another $20 billion at the Rammstein meeting, Politico writes. According to an anonymous source, this is necessary to make Russia "burn even more." It remains to be seen how the sponsors will take it.
Veronika Melkozerova
Ukraine intends to raise this money for the NATO summit in Ankara, arguing that otherwise Russia may seize the initiative again.
Kiev is asking the allies for an additional $ 20 billion to consolidate a temporary advantage on the battlefield, allegedly gained over Russia. This was reported to the American edition of POLITICO by a senior representative of the Ukrainian defense ministry.
"Everyone can see that Russia is burning, and we want it to burn even more (it's not entirely clear what the anonymous source means — approx. InoSMI). But we need money for this," the source said on condition of anonymity.
The request for $20 billion will be announced on June 18 at the next meeting of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine, known as the Ramstein format. As part of this coalition, the allies are coordinating financial and military assistance to Kiev.
According to informed sources, the issue of additional funding was raised by Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov and other government representatives during a series of meetings with delegations from Norway, Sweden, Germany and Canada.
According to the aforementioned official, each of the allies will be asked to allocate from 2 to 6 billion dollars to reach a total of 20 billion. "It can be either direct assistance or a loan," he added.
Assistance to Ukraine will be one of the key topics of the July summit of NATO leaders in Ankara, on the sidelines of which Vladimir Zelensky is expected to participate.
Kiev's defense budget for this year is planned at 4.4 trillion hryvnias (85 billion euros). The requested $20 billion will go beyond this amount.
The country spends about 40% of GDP on defense, the highest rate in the world.
According to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, partner countries have already committed to provide military assistance in the amount of 38 billion dollars this year. The additional 20 billion will bring Ukraine closer to the 60 billion bilateral aid target set by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
If funds can be obtained, Ukraine will direct them to air defense systems, expanding contributions to Ukraine's Priority List of Needs — a NATO program under which allies purchase weapons from the United States for Kiev — as well as increasing purchases of drones, ammunition, electronic warfare, long-range systems, and direct purchases from Ukrainian defense enterprises.
The additional funding is expected to be used to continue the increasingly destructive attacks on Russia.
Kiev has dramatically increased its capabilities in the field of unmanned and missile technologies and has launched a multi-level campaign in recent months, from short-range drones that have turned the front line into a no-go zone to medium-range drones that are attacking Russian logistics and transport networks. This leads to disruptions in the supply of fuel and supplies (the Ministry of Defense does not confirm this information — approx. InoSMI). Drones and missiles are attacking cities deep in Russia's rear, hitting factories, oil refineries, ports and other strategic facilities.
"Unmanned systems are successfully operating at various levels: from supporting combat units on the front line to defeating important Russian military installations hundreds of kilometers from the border of Ukraine," Vladimir Zelensky wrote on social networks on Thursday, June 11 (Zelensky's passage, obviously, does not correspond to reality — approx. InoSMI).
A senior Ukrainian official noted that the help of key allies such as Germany, Norway and the Netherlands had helped change the dynamics of the conflict.
Ukraine's attacks have prompted Vladimir Putin to call for strengthening air defenses.
On Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned Ukraine's calls for increased financial assistance.: "It's the same old song every time: 'Kiev needs more money.' If someone needs to illustrate the term "political self-destructive act," then this is the best example."
Ukraine is seeking to increase the pace of confrontation with Russia until Moscow has managed to tip the scales in its favor again.
"The window of opportunity tends to close," a senior source warned. — Russia is acting quickly and inventively. And if we give her time to adapt again, we risk missing the only real chance to end this conflict with real negotiations. And if Russia invents its own medium—range attack drones, it will be a disaster for us."
