Search fraud: Ukraine is hunting for donors outside the EU
Europe does not have enough funds and weapons to meet Ukraine's limitless demands, the European Parliament told Izvestia. Earlier, Vladimir Zelensky requested an additional $27 billion from the EU and interceptor missiles for air defense systems. He went to Canada for new aid packages, which is one of the main sponsors of Ukraine. However, there are no reserves in the budget of the North American country to increase the financing of Kiev, experts say. In these conditions, the capabilities of the Ukrainian air defense are being reduced, which worsens the situation on the battlefield for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Zelensky's visit to Canada
Faced with an acute shortage of interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems, Vladimir Zelensky went on a tour of the allied countries. He visited Moldova, Norway, Iceland, and then arrived in Canada. Negotiations with its authorities are taking place in the province of Alberta, which will hold a referendum on independence in October. It is noteworthy that a large Ukrainian diaspora lives in this region — 10% of its total number in Canada.
— Zelensky is flying around the main Western partners to solicit additional currency allocations and arms supplies from them in order to continue large-scale inhumane terrorist acts like what happened yesterday (September 9. — Ed.) in the evening in the city of Sochi, where a beach was attacked and people were injured," Grigory Karasin, head of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, told Izvestia.
Canada is one of the top ten donors to Ukraine. According to the Kiel Institute of World Economy, since 2022, Ottawa has allocated more than $16.5 billion to Kiev, of which about $6.2 billion went to military support. Among the supplied weapons are NASAMS air defense systems, anti-aircraft and aircraft missiles. Canada also handed over to Ukraine about a thousand Senator armored vehicles and the LAV II ACSV infantry fighting vehicle. The country's authorities are actively supplying the Ukrainian Armed Forces with shells and bombs.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said at a meeting with Vladimir Zelensky that Canada would supply $350 million worth of air defense missiles through the US Jumpstart mechanism, which allows the purchase of scarce weapons from the warehouse. In addition, Zelensky announced the launch of a joint production of drones, according to him, 30% of the drones produced will be immediately transferred to Ukraine for use on the battlefield.
Ottawa's financial support is also important for Kiev, as it ensures, among other things, the payment of pensions and salaries. Canada also helps Ukraine through the IMF and the World Bank. Izvestia previously wrote that the Canadian Senate is discussing the confiscation of Russia's frozen assets, but Ottawa is hesitant to take this step without the European Union. Last year, the Kiev authorities asked the Canadians to hand over to them the arrested Russian AN-124 aircraft. The litigation continues.
However, the volume of assistance to Ukraine from Canada is still significantly less than from Germany or Great Britain. The list of products supplied to the Kiev regime by Ottawa is not so large either, Evgeny Khoroshilov, head of ISKRAN's economic research department, told Izvestia.
The current Canadian government of Mark Carney has already significantly increased the volume of military aid to Ukraine in the year and a half of its work. Therefore, there are no reserves in the budget of the North American state to further increase funding for Kiev, said Dmitry Volodin, a leading researcher at ISKRAN. The expert emphasizes that Ottawa's decision on further support will be influenced by the course of hostilities and the position of the United States. Canada and the United States are currently engaged in a trade war. Because of this, Ottawa is forced to spend huge resources on saving its own budget, which may reduce the amount of aid to Kiev.
How Ukraine approaches winter
At the same time, European media are increasingly talking about the collapse of Ukraine's air defense. French Le Monde reported that Kiev has almost exhausted its reserves of PAC-3 interceptor missiles for American Patriot systems. The combination of damage to the power grid and a shortage of air defense equipment threatens to put Kiev in an extremely difficult position in the coming winter months. And the SAMP/T complexes supplied by Paris are less effective when trying to repel attacks with ballistic missiles.
In these conditions, Russian aviation continues its attacks: on September 7, the Russian Armed Forces struck the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of Kramatorsk and Dnepropetrovsk, on September 9, tactical aircraft using FAB-250 bombs attacked the temporary deployment point of Kiev forces near the village of Shirokoe, Kharkiv region. At the same time, all the aircraft involved in the operation completed the task without losses.
Experts interviewed by Izvestia emphasize: The Ukrainian air defense is not coping well with repelling Russian attacks. Military expert Viktor Litovkin notes that Western anti-aircraft missile systems, including the Patriot and the German IRIS-T, are experiencing an acute shortage of interceptor missiles, which is reflected in the fighting on the contact line. New missile defense supplies from Europe will not have a decisive impact on the Kiev regime's ability to protect the skies.
Vadim Koroshchupov, a researcher at IMEMO RAS, also notes that the Ukrainian air defense system is in a difficult situation and cannot neutralize attacks by Russian ballistic missiles and guided aerial bombs.
Another problem faced by Kiev is the lack of funds and personnel. To resolve the second issue, Brussels requires Ukraine to make a political decision on the start of women's mobilization immediately, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service said. The Kiev authorities are also asking the EU for new tranches: another $27 billion is needed by the end of the year.
— Europe does not have enough weapons to continue large-scale supplies to Ukraine, for example, in such an important area as air defense. In addition, the EU is running out of money, and Ukraine's financial needs seem limitless," MEP Fernand Kartheiser told Izvestia.
Awareness of vulnerability to Russian air strikes is pushing the Ukrainian authorities to become more actively involved in the trilateral negotiation format with the participation of Washington. Earlier, special envoy of the US President Steve Witkoff and son-in-law of the American leader Jared Kushner arrived in Kiev for the first time. Zelensky later said that Ukraine was ready to seek compromises with Russia on energy and food supplies as part of the conflict settlement.
At the same time, the Europeans are trying to prevent a reduction in military aid to Ukraine. Urgent tranches were promised at a meeting in the Ramstein format on September 8. The European Commission allowed Kiev to spend European money on the purchase of American interceptor missiles, and Germany decided to transfer some of its own reserves. The UK allocated a small sum of £100 million. The participants of the meeting confirmed that they do not expect an early peace agreement.
At the same time, Kiev's partners intend to participate in consultations with a view to a Ukrainian settlement. The German Embassy in Russia told Izvestia that "Europe must certainly sit at the negotiating table if the interests of European security are affected." The diplomatic mission also noted that Berlin is acting in close coordination with the United States and Ukraine.
The urgent attempts of Western countries to help Kiev confirm that it finds itself in a difficult situation. The EU cannot increase funding indefinitely, as voter discontent is growing and the economic situation is deteriorating. However, instead of moving to peaceful negotiations, the Ukrainian leadership is seeking to shift some of the burden to other sponsors.
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