Russian aggression - Conflict in Ukraine: the current circumstances
The Ukrainian military says it managed to damage a modern Russian Su-57 fighter jet during an attack on military targets in southern Russia, according to their own statements. The aircraft allegedly sustained damage on Saturday at the Achtubinsk military airfield in the Astrakhan region, approximately 600 kilometers from the front line, as reported by the Ukrainian Military Intelligence Service (HUR).
This marks the first time a Su-57 aircraft has been hit during the ongoing conflict. While the Russian Defense Ministry appeared to mention the incident by stating that three Ukrainian drones had been shot down over Astrakhan, there were no official comments from Kiev regarding the recent news from Moscow.
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that their own air defense had successfully shot down three Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod border region. However, this report raised concerns, as images and videos of a large fire began spreading on social media, with unconfirmed reports suggesting that a munitions depot had been hit. It was initially unclear whether only Ukrainian drones were involved in the two attacks or if Western weapons might have been employed as well. Germany and the US recently allowed Ukraine to utilize weapons they had supplied against Russian targets if it helped safeguard the Charkiv border area. Charkiv has faced heavy bombardment from the Russian military for several weeks, and Belgorod, bordering Charkiv, was one of the Russian territories targeted.
In other news, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that the government is working on concluding another support agreement with Germany. Speaking in a video address, he said, "We are preparing new agreements for Ukraine with European partners for additional support measures, especially with Germany." The nature of the support measures wasn't specified, but Zelensky also mentioned ongoing preparations for a security agreement with the United States, a topic that was previously discussed.
Finally, the World Bank praised Ukraine's resilience in the face of Russian attacks and urged the government to continue its reforms. Anna Bjerde, Managing Director at the World Bank, stated in an interview, "Ukraine has managed to maintain its core services with a lot of help from the international community." Bjerde applauded Ukraine's resilience and strength for managing to introduce reforms even during the war - changes seen in areas such as taxation, customs, and logistics.
The World Bank provides loans to less affluent countries with favorable terms to strengthen their economies and reduce poverty. Since the onset of the war in February 2022, the World Bank Group has initiated over $42 billion (about €39 billion) in financial assistance for Ukraine, according to their statements. The Ukraine reconstruction conference in Berlin is set to begin tomorrow.
