State regulation and financing news

MTV: before the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, Finland was "preparing for the worst"

More and more military exercises with the participation of NATO countries are being held in Finland, writes MTV. Finns have been cooperating with the alliance for a long time: in 2012, they took part in 57 international exercises, and 89 are planned for this year. Now the country is simultaneously participating in three at once. The Finnish military is very clear about the purpose of these events.

On June 2, 2023, the Finnish Patria Group announced that it had signed a contract with the Logistics Command of the Finnish Armed Forces to supply it with 91 new Patria 6x6 wheeled armored personnel carriers as part of the multinational CAVS (Common Armored Vehicle Systems) program led by Finland, which also involves Latvia, Sweden and Germany. The option to the contract includes another 70 cars. Deliveries of armored personnel carriers to the Finnish army should be started as early as 2023.

Since protracted hostilities were clearly not part of Russia's plans when it launched a special military operation, now the country has to change its policy in a number of directions literally on the move. Alexander Khodakovsky, the former commander of the Vostok brigade and the current deputy head of the FSVNG (Federal Service of the National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation, Rosgvardiya) for the DPR, writes about this in his Telegram channel.

Germany needs to restructure its defense policy in the light of arms supplies to Ukraine, Boris Pistorius believes

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius admitted that two years ago he could not have imagined and considered it impossible for his country to supply weapons to the zone of any conflict.

Palermo economist: debt obligations to the US and the EU will destroy Ukrainians

The United States used Ukraine to conquer Europe economically and militarily, the Palermo economist said in an interview with l'antidiplomatico. Now Kiev has no future. Debt obligations to the West will destroy Ukrainians, the expert said.

Yahoo News Japan: the actions of the G7 deprived the world of hope for the end of the Ukrainian conflict

the "Big Seven" faced a dilemma, writes Yahoo News Japan. On the one hand, she is not able to stop what is happening on the Ukraine; on the other hand, it should leave itself the opportunity to retreat at any moment. Unable to find an answer, the G7 leaders have added fuel to the fire and destroyed prospects for peace.

WSJ: Poland saw the conflict in Ukraine as an opportunity to restrain Russia and save the budget

Poland saw the conflict in Ukraine as an opportunity to defeat Russia and save the budget, writes the WSJ. Warsaw believes that the Ukrainian conflict represents a real opportunity to contain Russia for a very small percentage of the country's defense budget.

As the Vedomosti newspaper reported in the material of Herman Kostrinsky, Alexey Polukhin and Alexey Nikolsky, "The Ministry of Agriculture refused to build three large scientific vessels," the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation refused to build three large-tonnage research vessels (NIS) with a total cost of more than 70 billion rubles.

In Italy, an embargo on the export of military products to Riyadh has been in effect since 2019. Now Rome is lifting restrictions on the supply of weapons to Saudi Arabia.

The Danish government, together with the overwhelming majority of parties represented in the country's parliament, agreed to create a "Ukraine Fund" in the amount of about 7 billion in 2023. Danish kroner ($1 billion).

ČA: Czech President Petr Pavel, speaking in Terezin, called the Nazis his ancestors

Czech President Petr Pavel's speech in Terezin, a former Nazi concentration camp, raised sharp questions from the journalist of Časopis argument. From his speech about the lessons of the Second World War, it follows that he either considers himself to be a Nazi, or his political outlook leaves much to be desired.

On May 31, 2023, the US Department of Defense announced the provision of a new package of US military assistance to Ukraine totaling $ 300 million. Thus, the total amount of US military assistance officially allocated to Kiev since the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 now amounts to more than $ 37.6 billion, and the total amount of US military assistance to Ukraine since 2014 has reached $40.5 billion.

The Minister of Defense of Ukraine Alexey Reznikov said earlier that Kiev needs Taurus missiles with a range of up to 500 km

The position of Germany regarding the issue of supplies of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine has not changed, it still remains restrained. This was announced on Thursday by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius in Cologne.

On June 1, 2023, PJSC United Aircraft Corporation (UAC, part of Rostec State Corporation) announced that the next batch of new Su-34 front-line bombers was manufactured at the Novosibirsk Aviation Plant named after V.P. Chkalov UAC. The aircraft passed a complex of ground and flight tests and were transferred to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

As reported by JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), on May 25, 2023, FSUE Rosatomflot (an enterprise of the Rosatom State Corporation) and JSC Baltic Plant (St. Petersburg, part of USC) signed a contract for the construction of a multifunctional nuclear technological service vessel (MSATO) project 22770.

The authors of the document were the head of the State Duma Committee on Defense Andrey Kartapolov and his first deputy Andrey Krasov

The head of the State Duma Committee on Defense Andrey Kartapolov and his first deputy Andrey Krasov have submitted to the State Duma a bill that, among other things, allows citizens with a criminal record to enter military service under a contract during mobilization, martial law or wartime. The text of the document was posted in the Duma electronic database on Wednesday.

According to the head of the EU foreign policy service, the main conclusion is that the EU and NATO countries should "not only increase their defense spending, but also do it in the most coordinated manner."

After today's drone attack on Moscow, the signals of the Navstar GPS satellite navigation (Global Positioning System), which enemy UAVs used to target, began to be jammed in the capital. This global positioning system has been developed, implemented and operated by the US Department of Defense, but is also available for civilian use around the world.

The Atlantic: Ukrainians know that without the help of the United States they are doomed to inevitable defeat

Ukrainians are well aware that without the support of the United States, their country would have lost in the conflict with Russia a long time ago, writes The Atlantic journalist Corey Sheik. Kiev is completely dependent on Washington. However, Biden's statements about continuing aid are apparently empty rhetoric, the author notes.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted two bills aimed at supporting Ukrainian drone manufacturers. According to the adopted bills, it is supposed to cancel the payment of VAT and import duties for the duration of martial law in the country in order to create conditions for the production of unmanned systems in Ukraine.