The Russian Invasion

Russian President Vladimir Putin with the oil giant Rosneft CEO Igor Sethin. Pavel Bednyakov / AP  

 

Russian invasionRussian reactions  

Russia increases military budget - expected to draw more on oil  

 

Russia plans to increase its military spending next year, according to a draft budget seen by Bloomberg. In 2024, military spending will make up 6 percent of the country's GDP, compared to 3.9 percent this year and 2.7 percent in 2021.  

 

At the same time, Russia expects rising revenues from gas and oil to increase assets in the country's national wealth fund by 40 percent over the next three years. According to the forecast, the fund in 2026 will amount to 14,900 billion rubles, corresponding to just over 1,700 billion kroner, and exceed the level it was at before the war, writes Bloomberg  

 

Johan Huovinen/Lera in Luhansk last winter. TT  

 

The Russian InvasionThe Battles 

Huovinen: Soon comes the infamous Ukrainian mud  

 

Kyiv reports progress on the battlefield, but soon autumn weather and the "infamous Ukrainian mud" become a challenge. This is what lieutenant colonel Johan Huovinen says to TV4 Nyheterna. He notes that in October it will be far too wet, stressing Kyiv to quickly achieve more success. 

 

- Ukraine strives to achieve clearly measurable results, in order to receive continued international support, says Huovinen.  

 

He adds that the large minefields are said to cause problems for the Ukrainian troops because there are also said to be mines behind the defense lines. 

 

Mateusz Morawiecki and Volodymyr Zelenskyj /Archive images TT  

 

The Russian Invasion|The Grain Conflict  

Morawiecki to Zelenskyj: Never insult us again  

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insulted Poland and its people in his speech to the UN General Assembly, according to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. 

 

- I want to tell him never to do it again, says Morawiecki in his own speech in New York according to Reuters.  

 

The spat between the countries erupted after, among others, Poland introduced an import freeze on grain from Ukraine. Zelenskyy said in his speech the other day that the countries that refused to buy Ukrainian wheat were doing Moscow's business. Poland's government has said it is about protecting farmers who cannot compete against Ukrainian prices.

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Biden and Zelensky in the White House on Thursday. Evan Vucci/AP 

 

Zelenskyi on site in the US: "Every cent counts"  

 

The United States gives Ukraine new military aid of 325 million dollars, equivalent to 3.6 billion kroner. This was announced by President Joe Biden after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, writes NBC News.  

 

In a speech, the Ukrainian president assures that "every cent" that the US invests is put to good use, according to CNN.  

 

- I want you all to know that the United States has saved millions of Ukrainian lives.  

 

After the meeting, Zelenskyi also states that Ukraine will start manufacturing weapons with the help of the United States, which he describes as a "historic step".  

 

Axios states that support for Ukraine is beginning to fail in the US. The news site recalls the two-minute standing ovation Zelenskyy received when he was in the US Congress nine months ago. It now appears as a "distant dream", writes the site.