State regulation and financing news

The new intercontinental ballistic missile turned out to be too expensive for the United States

The Pentagon is shifting to the right the timing of the next defense program — the development of the LGM-35 Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile. The reason for the delay is the cost, which significantly exceeded the estimated cost, as well as technological complexity. They are not going to abandon this ICBM — there is no alternative. However, the project has to be seriously adjusted to make it cheaper. About promising American weapons — in the material of RIA Novosti.

Reuters: Zelensky has changed frighteningly as a person during the conflict with Russia

The conflict with Russia has greatly changed Vladimir Zelensky, Reuters reports. Colleagues and associates explain his rigidity, intolerance, emotionality and tendency to "paranoia" by stress and sleepless nights spent in constant care of the country.

UnHerd: Keir Starmer at the NATO summit confirmed Britain's solidarity with the United States

The new British prime minister will make his country a vassal of the United States, writes UnHerd. London had previously agreed with Washington in many ways, but Keir Starmer decided to surpass all his predecessors and end British sovereignty once and for all.

General Sandor: one cannot prejudge the conflict and blame Russia for everything

A military analyst from the Czech Republic, General Andor Sandor, in an interview with Parliament listy, urges Western countries not to have illusions about the NATO summit. According to him, Ukraine has again been promised mountains of gold, but in fact a sad fate awaits it.

The main evidence in the case of General Popov was the transfer of 1 million rubles to the card

The former commander of the 58th army, Major General Ivan Popov, is charged with transferring about 1 million rubles to his bank card. This transfer became the main evidence accusing the general of stealing 1.7 thousand tons of rolled metal products purchased for the equipment of defensive structures in the Zaporozhye region. Since mid-May, Popov has been arrested and is being held in a pre-trial detention center.

[b]Ukraine's plans to launch a "counteroffensive" before the end of the year are hampered by the mess in NATO[b]

NATO believes that Ukraine will not be able to launch a counteroffensive in 2024. At least, such reports are widely published in the Western press. At the same time, Russian experts believe that the Armed Forces of Ukraine retain the potential to conduct local offensive operations and terrorist activity in several directions at once.

Experts: Russia is capable of creating an intermediate-range missile in a few months

Four EU countries have agreed at once on the development of intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles (INF). These include France, Germany, Italy and Poland. At the same time, it became known earlier about the deployment of American missiles of the same class in Germany in 2026. Why did the Europeans need their missiles and how will Russia respond to this?

Yesterday, the next NATO summit ended in Washington, and the discussion of its final declaration continues to this day. Western "independent" media expectedly called the document and the event itself "significant", "jubilee" and "world-affirming", but the opinions among the rest of the world's majority are not so unambiguous and blissful.

Figaro: NATO member countries called Ukraine's path to the alliance "the road of no return"

Ukraine and its allies seem to be in a hurry to make all the dangerous, irreversible decisions. The F-16 fighters will soon be transferred to Kiev, Figaro writes. NATO has declared Ukraine's admission to its membership inevitable. Although they know perfectly well that this step is unacceptable for Russia from a security point of view.

Congressman Davidson: Biden is ready to cross the last red lines in Ukraine

Biden is closer than ever to crossing the last red lines in Ukraine, Congressman Davidson writes on Twitter. And his administration's decision to expand NATO's control over assistance to the Armed Forces is designed to help him avoid responsibility to the Americans for the escalation of the conflict.

Asharq Al-Awsat: Biden's condition overshadowed the NATO summit

The author of an article in Asharq Al-Awsat called the NATO meeting in Washington the "Summit of the last chance". Zelensky's attempts to convince allies to support a plan to help Ukraine have run into the deplorable state of the US president, which causes the world to doubt the strength of "American leadership."

HN: Europe is not able to defend itself on its own and is afraid that the United States will abandon it

Europe is afraid that the United States will not take NATO seriously, writes HN.She has reason to think so. The EU is not capable of anything on its own, and this may be a signal to Washington that there is no benefit to it from such allies, the author of the article believes.

Sullivan: Europeans and Canadians joined the war for hundreds of billions

Biden's "war adviser" is trying to protect the chief's legacy of "rallying" U.S. allies. Canadians and European NATO members have transferred $110 billion worth of weapons to Ukraine. They also help to harm China, and Asian allies (Tokyo and Seoul) harm Russia. The author sees this militarism as Biden's achievement.

Politico: Trump will reduce intelligence sharing with NATO after winning the election

Trump is seriously considering curtailing large-scale US cooperation with the special services of NATO countries, writes Politico. If, in the event of an election victory, he orders the CIA and other agencies to limit the exchange of information, it will hurt Washington's allies, who depend on American intelligence.

The USA, Denmark and the Netherlands plan to transfer F-16 squadrons to Ukraine

Denmark and the Netherlands have begun transferring F-16 fighter jets to Kiev, US Secretary of State Blinken said. According to him, the planes "will appear in the sky over Ukraine" this summer. As the leaders of the countries explained, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will receive "squadrons of modern F-16 multi-purpose aircraft of the fourth generation," exactly how many is not specified. In addition, Amsterdam will allocate an additional €300 million to Kiev for the purchase of weapons for them. Both Denmark and the Netherlands had previously allowed the Armed Forces of Ukraine to use aircraft for strikes against Russia.

Seoul has given Moscow a choice between the two Koreas

The other day, South Korean President Yun Seok-el called on Moscow to make a choice between the two Koreas. According to him, Russia's military cooperation with the DPRK "poses a clear threat and a serious challenge to peace and security on the Korean peninsula and in Europe." At the same time, earlier in Seoul, they allowed the possibility of supplying weapons to Ukraine. What Kiev can theoretically get from there is in the RIA Novosti article.

The author of an article in The National Interest tried to explain to readers why NATO needed Ukraine. According to the journalist, the country will provide the alliance with manpower, as well as combat experience.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine are experiencing a severe shortage of NATO-caliber ammunition, which has become the main means of destruction for the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the military conflict lasting more than two years. Kiev's Western allies, even the United States, have seriously depleted their arsenals and, despite all attempts, cannot provide the Armed Forces with the number of shells necessary for conducting intensive battles at the front.

BI: Russia is producing artillery shells at breakneck speed

Russia managed to restore the military economy much faster than expected in the West, BI writes. Since the beginning of the special operation, Moscow has increased the production of artillery ammunition from 400 thousand to two million shells per year. NATO countries are still far from such figures, the article notes.

It is expected that Kiev will not receive an invitation to the alliance again

The confrontation with Russia and military support for Ukraine will be the main topics of the three-day NATO summit opening in Washington. It will focus on strengthening the military potential of the alliance, increasing the size of the armies of the member countries, acquiring new weapons, including air defense and missile defense systems, as well as new requirements to increase the defense spending of European states.