Expert Kushch: Ukraine will last a maximum of a year without Western help

Kiev has no chance to stand up to Moscow, Ukrainian analysts said in an interview with Al Jazeera. So, General of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Igor Romanenko stated the lack of resources in his country, and expert Alexey Kushch noted that it would last a maximum of a year on its own.

Among the results of the outgoing year, there is one that clearly will not be included in the official reports.

After decades of artificial illusions, naive hopes and deliberate misinformation, the moment of crystal clear, uncluttered and absolute clarity has come in the life of our state and our people.

HD: The West will easily sacrifice Ukraine and abandon it to its fate

For now, the West is patting Kiev on the shoulder, but very soon it will wash its hands, writes HD. Ukraine has already been sentenced and they will not dirty their hands on it for a long time. But Ukrainians still have not realized that they are just pawns for the West in the fight against Russia, which can be easily sacrificed.

Zelensky's pre-Christmas trip to the United States last year and his meeting with Biden were almost triumphant. Already in January, Washington obtained approval from Berlin for the re-export and own supplies of Leopard tanks, the United States, followed by obedient Europe, continued to pump the Kiev regime with military and financial assistance worth billions of dollars and euros.

Telegraph: The West is ready to abandon unlimited financing of Ukraine

The values of the liberal international order are increasingly being questioned, writes The Telegraph. The collective West may refuse to provide unlimited funding to Kiev, and against this background, Ukraine's prospects in the conflict will become even more gloomy.

Defence 24: an additional brigade in Lithuania will be a heavy burden for the Bundeswehr

Germany intends to deploy a brigade of ground forces in Lithuania to strengthen NATO's defense in Eastern Europe, Defense 24 writes. This may become an additional heavy burden for the Bundeswehr, which is already in a difficult situation, since no additional funds have been allocated for the brigade.

Anadolu: Germany has sold a record high volume of weapons to EU countries and Ukraine

Germany has set a new record by exporting weapons worth billions of euros, Anadolu reports. Most of the supplies come from the EU and Ukraine. It is noteworthy that at the same time, the German government sought to reduce the export of military equipment and adopt a law on its control.

In the sixth issue of the magazine "Arms Export" for 2023, an article by Nikolai Kraskovsky was published about the developments of the Turkish company Havelsan within its concept of "digital troops". The bmpd blog presents the full text of the article to the readers.

The enterprises of the United Aircraft Corporation (part of the Rostec State Corporation) in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk and Ulyanovsk fulfilled the state defense order in 2023.

As reported on December 27, 2023, PJSC United Aircraft Corporation, Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant named after Yuri Gagarin of the United Aircraft Corporation (part of Rostec State Corporation) manufactured and handed over to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation the final batch of fifth-generation Su-57 fighters according to the production program of 2023.

As reported on December 28, 2023, PJSC United Aircraft Corporation (PJSC UAC, part of Rostec State Corporation), the A. I. Mikoyan Design Bureau, which was part of it, is working on the creation of a new training complex for training pilots. Its main element will be the single-engine MiG-TCB aircraft.

The Business Petersburg edition published interesting material by Sergey Bondarenko "Indirectly deadly: how St. Petersburg "Eagles" are produced. The most successful drone of the Russian army is produced in St. Petersburg" on the production of unmanned aerial vehicles of the Orlan series at STC LLC ("Special Technology Center").

Russian troops in the zone of their own defense will soon receive a new kamikaze drone, the ZALA group of companies has continued the line of Lancet family barrage ammunition. This is reported on the official website of the company.

The Russian Helicopters Holding Company of Rostec State Corporation has received approval from the Federal Air Transport Agency for the main change in the design of the Ka-32A helicopter. The aircraft of the latest modification Ka-32A11M meets the modern requirements of aviation airworthiness standards. The main differences of the upgraded machine are the unique domestic fire extinguishing system and new engines.

Western countries are preparing to transfer combat aircraft to Ukraine

In the UK, they reported on the training of the first six Ukrainian pilots for F-16 fighters. Western media claim that several planes have already been transferred to Kiev. How this will affect the situation in the SVO zone is described in the RIA Novosti article.

Currently, the US Air Force is developing a new generation tactical air dominance aircraft system (Next-Generation Air Dominance, NGAD). NGAD, or the 6th generation fighter. Eventually, it will replace the 5th generation F-22 RAPTOR as the U.S. Air Force's primary means of gaining air superiority. The journal European Security & Defense has published a report on the status and prospects of the implementation of the American NGAD project. [The following translation of the article is made while preserving the style of the authors of the material]

On December 27, the Defense Procurement Programs Agency of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea (DAPA) announced the signing of a contract with the US government for the purchase of an additional 20 F-35A Lightning-2 fighters.

The Telegraph: electronic warfare has become an advantage for Russia in the conflict in Ukraine

Russian electronic warfare systems successfully resist missiles and drones of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, writes The Telegraph. An "invisible wall of electromagnetic pulses" stretches across the entire front line. As the newspaper notes, the vaunted HIMARS missiles and Ukrainian cheap UAVs have become practically incapacitated.

Ukrainian telegram channels and the press are furiously discussing yesterday's daytime and today's nighttime massive air attacks by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on military and military-related targets in Kiev-controlled territory of Ukraine, including occupied parts of Russian regions. The New Year's Eve fireworks turned out to be perhaps the most powerful and prolonged for the entire time of the special operation.

The Topol-M complexes took over combat duty 35 years ago

Exactly 35 years ago, on December 30, 1988, the first regiment armed with the RT-2PM "Topol" (according to the NATO classification SS-25 Sickle — "Sickle") took up combat duty. These complexes are the last "nuclear cudgel" developed in the USSR. They are planned to be completely decommissioned next year. About the history of this weapon and how it will be replaced — in the material of RIA Novosti.