FUNDING
On the ground, questions are growing about the long-term strategy of Ukraine’s counteroffensive into Russia’s Kursk region, given Moscow’s push in the east of Ukraine.
“If this is a short-term operation, it will strengthen us,” Bogdan, one serviceman sitting at a cafe in Druzhkivka, near Kramatorsk, told AFP.
“If it’s a long-term operation and we plan to stay in Kursk, it will deplete our main resources.”
On Thursday, the Kremlin said its missiles had struck two launchers of a US-made Patriot air-defence system, which Ukraine uses against Russian missiles.
Ukraine relies on billions of dollars’ worth of US aid to fight Russia’s invasion, and the US presidential election in November could prove pivotal.
The German-based Kiel Institute warned Thursday Western military and financial aid to Kyiv could halve to about 29 billion euros (US$31 billion) in 2025 if Trump wins the November 5 election.
Trump has promised to end the war “in 24 hours” if he is elected – a prospect Kyiv fears means being forced to make massive compromises to achieve peace.
Rutte downplayed the issue on Thursday, saying that Trump “understands completely and agrees with me that this fight in Ukraine is not only about Ukraine, it’s also about the safety and the future security of the United States.”
Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday.
