The Russian invasion|The response of the outside world

Europe's support too little - and will not arrive in time

Half of the arms shipments that Western countries send to Ukraine do not arrive on time. According to Reuters, Ukraine's Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov states this.

- At the moment, a promise does not mean a delivery, says Umerov.

At the same time, Anna Wieslander, head of Northern Europe at the Atlantic Council, tells SR that Europe's military support to Ukraine would have to be doubled - because the US is not currently sending any weapons.

And Europe has the necessary resources to pick up the pace, according to Wieslander. According to her, what is needed is sufficient will.

- I think it is very much about the political will, perhaps driven by fear, but still for a good purpose, she tells SR.

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Buffett has donated billions to Ukraine - promises three more

Financier Warren Buffett's son Howard G Buffett has donated over 500 million dollars to Ukraine - and by the end of the year that figure is expected to be 800 million dollars, TT reports. This corresponds to SEK 8.2 billion.

This can be compared to the UK's total support of Ukraine with approximately 620 million dollars and the Netherlands with 780 million dollars, writes the news agency.

Howard Buffett tells Business Insider that despite his own billions, he is worried that the West's support for Ukraine is running out.

- People lose interest over time, so keeping this going will be difficult. And it will be one of America's biggest historical mistakes if we don't continue to support Ukraine.

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Buffett resigned: There is nothing to buy with record cash

Berkshire Hathaway's coffers grew by nearly 40 billion dollars in 2023 and at the turn of the year was at a record level of 167.6 billion dollars. Warren Buffett writes in the financial statements that they searched with candles and lanterns without finding deals with the "eye-catching" potential that existed in the purchases of, for example, Geico or BNSF. Bloomberg reports.

"There are only a few companies left in this country that affect the state of Berkshire and they have been endlessly scrutinized by us and others," he writes and continues:

"Outside the United States, there are basically no candidates."

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Russian invasionSwedish reactions
Swedish companies teach Ukrainian women to drive trucks

The war in Ukraine has created a shortage of truck drivers, as many men have been mobilized for the army. Swedish companies are now financing truck training for Ukrainian women to support the war-torn country, DI and SVT report.

In February, the first twelve women graduated from the driving school in Kyiv. The project is run by the non-profit association Beredskapslyftet and supported by companies such as Scania, SKF, Saab, Essity and SEB.

- I hope we will be able to scale this up, says Håkan Jyde, Scania's manager in Ukraine.

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Expert: Not many reasons to be optimistic  

 

In his speech on the second anniversary, President Zelenskyi promised Ukrainian victory - but that is highly unlikely in the near future, Ilmari Käihkö, associate professor of military science at the Norwegian Defense Academy, told SvD.  

 

Ukraine lacks the ability for major offensives at the moment, and their hope rests primarily on three things: that the West switches up arms production, that the Russian economy begins to falter and that the front remains relatively frozen, according to Käihkö. 

 

A growing problem is also that the fighting morale of the soldiers is failing to an ever greater extent, which previously mainly affected the Russians, he adds. 

 

- We have been too positive in our descriptions of how things are going in the war, but there are not many reasons to be optimistic anymore. Käihkö: "The soldiers fighting at the front know that there are Ukrainians who live a fairly normal life