INTERNATIONAL NEWSUkraine has received less than half of US assistance allocated during full-scale war. Ukraine has not received even half of the $177 billion the U.S. allocated to support Kyiv throughout the full-scale war, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with U.S. podcaster Lex Fridman released on Jan 5. The Kyiv Independent reports. Zelenskyy implied that this development may have been linked to corruption or lobbying on the side of U.S. companies. Ukraine's head of state said this in response to Fridman's question about corruption concerns in Ukraine. The U.S. has become Ukraine's top supporter, providing the largest amount of military assistance to resist Russian aggression. Voices critical of Washington's support have often cited corruption risks and dangers of the illicit arms trade, though U.S. watchdogs have closely monitored the assistance.
"If we had $177 billion and if we get the half, where is the second half? If you find the second half, you will find corruption," Zelenskyy commented in the wide-ranging three-hour interview. Zelensky provided an example of him allegedly unsuccessfully appealing to Washington to bring in U.S. arms using Ukraine's own fleet of cargo planes not to pay for the transport.
The president stressed that Ukraine does not profit from the war and that such claims stem from Russian propaganda, adding that Ukrainian authorities strictly punish anybody who attempts to profit from foreign military aid. Ukraine has made strides to combat corruption since the EuroMaidan Revolution in 2014, but civil society groups and activists have raised the alarm about the anti-graft efforts slowing down during the full-scale war.
|
Russia ‘liberates largest settlement in southwest Donbass’ – MOD
Russian forces have “fully liberated” the strategically important transport hub of Kurakhovo in Russia’s People Republic of Donetsk, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.
Kurakhovo is “the largest settlement in southwest Donbass,” the ministry said in a statement on Monday. Before the escalation between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022, the town had a population of almost 19,000 people.
“Over the past decade, the Kiev regime had turned it [Kurakhovo] into a powerful fortified area with a developed network of firing positions and underground communications. From the north, it was defended by a water basin, which significantly limited the maneuverability of Russian assault units,” the statement read.
The Ukrainian military deployed some 15,000 troops, including many foreign mercenaries, to defend the town, the ministry said. The manpower was reinforced with artillery and tanks, it added.
“As a result of the professional actions of the Russian units during the liberation of Kurakhovo, the enemy lost 80% of its personnel (more than 12,000 troops), about 3,000 units of various weapons and military equipment, including 40 tanks and other armored combat vehicles,” the statement read.
During the two months of fighting for the town, between 150 and 180 Ukrainian troops were killed or wounded on a daily basis, it said.
According to the ministry, the Russian capture of Kurakhovo will “significantly complicate” logistical support for the Ukrainian military in the Donetsk People’s Republic. It will also deprive Kiev’s forces of the ability to shell the regional capital, Donetsk, which had been under fire since 2014, it added.
“Following the takeover of Kurakhovo, Russian forces have significant room to maneuver. This will allow an increase in the pace of the liberation of the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic,” the statement read.
No comments:
Post a Comment