The White House will announce details of a $2.3-billion arms package for Ukraine that includes equipment from Pentagon inventories and long-term contracts for air defence weapons to Lockheed Martin and RTX, according to US officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Donald Trump should come forward with his plan to quickly end the war with Russia, warning that any proposal must avoid violating the nation’s sovereignty.
President Vladimir Putin trumpeted Russia’s “fully-fledged partnership” with China as he met Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for the second time in less than two months, highlighting Moscow’s deepening embrace of Beijing.
White House to announce $2.3bn in arms for Ukraine
The White House will announce details of a $2.3-billion arms package for Ukraine that includes equipment from Pentagon inventories and long-term contracts for air defence weapons to Lockheed Martin and RTX, according to US officials.
The short-term drawdown from US stockpiles is about $150-million and represents the 60th such action since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to the officials, who asked not to be identified in advance of an announcement on Wednesday.
The bulk of the money, or about $2.1-billion, will flow to Lockheed and RTX in long-term contracts under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin previewed the package on Tuesday, saying it will “enable the United States to procure more Patriot and Nasams air defence interceptors, which will be provided on an accelerated timeline by the resequencing of deliveries for some foreign military sales.”
Nasams stands for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System and is similar to the system that guards the National Capital Region in Washington.
The White House last month disclosed that it had ordered the contractors to delay deliveries of Patriot and Nasams missiles to allies that placed previous orders, instead directing shipments to Ukraine in a bid to help bolster the country amid the continuing aerial barrage from Russia. The new funds will pay for that effort.
Zelensky challenges Trump to reveal plans for ending war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Donald Trump should come forward with his plan to quickly end the war with Russia, warning that any proposal must avoid violating the nation’s sovereignty.
“If Trump knows how to finish this war, he should tell us today,” Zelensky said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Kyiv on Wednesday. “If there are risks to Ukrainian independence, if we lose statehood — we want to be ready for this, we want to know.”
The former US president, who leads in polls over President Joe Biden ahead of the November election, has boasted that he’ll end the war by the time he’s inaugurated in January. In the televised debate last week, Trump decried the billions of dollars spent on Ukraine’s defence, saying that Kyiv was “not winning the war”.
In a nearly hour-long interview, the Ukrainian leader lamented the delays in weapons deliveries from Western allies and said he was “potentially ready” to meet Trump to hear his team’s proposals.
“They can’t plan my life and the life of our people and our children,” he said. “We want to understand whether in November we will have the powerful support of the US, or will be all alone.”
The Ukrainian leader has had a fraught relationship with Trump, who during his presidency consistently accused Zelensky of corruption and soon after the former comedian’s 2019 election leaned on him to investigate allegations against Biden — a move that triggered his first impeachment.
Responding to questions from Bloomberg on Wednesday, Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign’s communications director, said the prospective Republican presidential candidate “will do what is necessary to restore peace and rebuild American strength and deterrence on the world stage”.
Zelensky also challenged the notion that Kyiv was losing, refuting the term “deadlock” to describe the conflict. He said Kyiv’s forces were better positioned in terms of manpower than they were months ago and a new counteroffensive was a matter of arming its brigades.
“It’s not a deadlock, it’s a problematic situation,” he said. “A deadlock means there’s no way out. But a problem can be solved if one has the will and has the tools. We do have the will, and the tools — they haven’t arrived yet.”
As the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion goes well into its third year, dwindling stockpiles of weapons and ammunition among Ukrainian forces have been exploited by Russia’s military, which has made incremental gains since the beginning of the year.
While Zelensky lauded the $61-billion assistance package approved by the US Congress this year — after a six-month delay — he said the equipment was taking too long to make its way to the front.
“This is the biggest tragedy of this war, that between the decision and real fact, we have a real long, long, long wait,” said Zelensky.
Putin meets Xi for second time since May as leaders hail ties
President Vladimir Putin trumpeted Russia’s “fully-fledged partnership” with China as he met Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for the second time in less than two months, highlighting Moscow’s deepening embrace of Beijing.
Russo-Chinese ties “are at their best in history”, Putin said at a meeting on the sidelines of a security summit on Wednesday in Astana, Kazakhstan. “They’re built on equality, mutual benefit and respect for each other’s sovereignty.”
“My dear friend, I am very happy at our new meeting,” Xi said.
China and Russia should continue to strengthen strategic coordination and oppose external interference, Xi also said, according to a readout from the Chinese Foreign Ministry. He added China supported Russia in fulfilling its duties as the rotating chair of the BRICS, uniting the Global South nations, preventing a “new cold war” and opposing “illegal unilateral sanctions and hegemony.”
On Ukraine, Xi reiterated China was “always on the right side of history” and was willing to make positive efforts to promote peace talks and political resolution.
Dutch support for Ukraine is ‘rock solid’, says new defence chief
The Netherlands will continue to support Ukraine in “every possible way” after a far-right election victory last year cast doubt on the nation’s commitment.
The incoming government would keep existing support in place and add more if needed, new Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans said in an interview in The Hague late on Tuesday. “We treat Ukraine differently than all the other budget items.”
Brekelmans’ comments were quickly backed up by his boss. New Prime Minister Dick Schoof ensured Zelensky of his country’s support in a Wednesday phone call, according to a post on X.
The comments by the Schoof government assuage concerns that The Hague would backtrack on its support for Ukraine after Geert Wilders’ far-right Freedom Party won at the polls last year.
The previous Dutch government — led by future Nato chief Mark Rutte — had been a vocal proponent of sending military equipment to back the war-torn nation and allocated billions in military support for Kyiv. Despite Wilders’ sceptical comments about such aid in the past, the new coalition agreement reaffirmed the country’s support for Ukraine and included a proposal to anchor the Nato 2% norm in the Dutch law.
The Dutch government had also said it would send 24 F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv. This week, it issued an export permit for the aircraft delivery. “We will try to deliver those as soon as possible,” said Brekelmans said.
US allies say China is developing attack drones for Russia
Chinese and Russian companies are developing an attack drone similar to an Iranian model deployed in Ukraine, European officials familiar with the matter said, a sign that Beijing may be edging closer to providing the sort of lethal aid that Western officials have warned against.
The companies held talks in 2023 about collaborating to replicate Iran’s Shahed drone, and started developing and testing a version this year in preparation for shipment to Russia, said the officials, who asked not to be identified to discuss private information. The Chinese drones have yet to be used in Ukraine, they said.
Providing Russia with a Shahed-like attack drone would mark a deepening of Beijing’s support for Russia despite repeated warnings from the US and its allies. Xi has sought to portray China as neutral in the conflict in Ukraine even as Western officials say it’s provided components and other support for President Vladimir Putin’s forces.
At the same time, US officials have said China is holding off directly providing weapons and artillery, something that would signal an unprecedented escalation and almost certainly trigger more forceful action — such as sanctions — against the world’s second-biggest economy.
Some nations believe that providing Russia with drones for attack purposes would cross the line into lethal aid, two of the officials said. One person familiar with the matter said the US assessment is China was weighing whether to send fully built unmanned aerial vehicles, but in the meantime was sending kits that can be converted into attack drones.
Nato allies agree on €40bn funding target for Ukraine
Nato allies agreed on Wednesday they should aim to provide at least €40-billion in military aid for Ukraine per year, but refrained from explicit pledges for the years ahead, according to alliance diplomats.
The outcome undercuts their aim of providing Kyiv with more predictability over expected aid. Despite initial enthusiasm for a multiyear funding proposal by outgoing Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg, several allies found it politically and legally challenging to commit to the precise figure for future years.
Instead, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s 32 members committed to the €40-billion target for aid, with the caveat that it be reviewed every year, according to the diplomats, who were granted anonymity to discuss closed-door negotiations. The target in the future could decrease or increase, depending on the situation on the battlefield, they said.
Funding for this year is already significantly above that threshold, with the US alone already committing around $60-billion. Under the plan, allies’ donation targets will be based on their gross national income to ensure greater burden sharing, one of the people familiar said.
The funding pledge, which still needs to be endorsed by heads of state, will form part of a broader package to be presented to Zelensky at a summit of Natto leaders in Washington next week.
Ukraine discusses transit of Azeri gas to EU
Ukraine is in talks to send natural gas from Azerbaijan to the European Union as it seeks to maintain its role as a transit country and help Western neighbours ensure energy security, said Zelensky.
A deal to replace Russian gas with Azeri supplies was “one of the proposals” currently being discussed, Zelenskiy said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Kyiv on Wednesday. “It’s the cabinet officials who are dealing with this now.”
Europe has tried to wean itself off Russian gas since Moscow’s invasion, but some European states continue to receive it through a pipeline that crosses Ukraine. The agreement that covers this transit arrangement expires at the end of 2024, and with the war still raging, many market watchers expect gas flows will come to a halt.
“Alternative steps are being considered now on how we can use the pipeline with another gas supplier, another country. Negotiations are under way,” Zelensky said. “We don’t want to extend the gas contract with the Russian Federation. We don’t want them making money here.”
China can end Russia’s war in Ukraine with one phone call, says Finland
Russia’s reliance on China has reached the point where Beijing could end the war in Ukraine if it chose to, said Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
“Russia is so dependent on China right now,” Stubb said in an interview in Helsinki on Tuesday. “One phone call from President Xi Jinping would solve this crisis.”
Stubb’s comments reflect the increasing frustration among Ukraine’s allies over China’s perceived support for Russia’s war effort. They accuse Beijing of providing the Kremlin with technologies and parts for weapons and helping Moscow to get around international trade restrictions.
“If he were to say, ‘Time to start negotiating peace,’ Russia would be forced to do that,” Stubb said. “They would have no other choice.”
China rebuffed the suggestion.
“Both China and Russia are independent major countries. China did not create the Ukraine crisis,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Wednesday at a regular press briefing in Beijing. “We will always stand on the side of peace and dialogue, and maintain communication with relevant parties including Russia, and play a constructive role in the political settlement of the crisis.” DM