Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, vice president of the Russian National Security Council, once again evokes the use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine. In a message on Telegram, Medvedev warned that the possible launch of long-range missiles supplied by the West against positions on Russian territory will not be considered an action of “self-defense, but an obvious and direct justification for the use of nuclear weapons against a country”.
Zelensky: “Pause in the war would only benefit Russia”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during a press conference in Tallinn with Estonian President Alar Karis, warned that any “pause” in Ukraine's defense would only benefit Russia, which would have time to rearm and “overwhelm us “. “Give the Russian Federation two or three years, then they will simply overwhelm us. We will not take this risk, there will be no pauses in favor of Russia,” Zelensky said during what is the second stop of his tour of the Baltics.
The Ukrainian president added that a “long war” would not be good for Ukraine. “We are against this war from day one and will be until the end”, he commented, specifying that Kiev “deserves” an invitation to join NATO because its forces would “strengthen” the eastern flank of the Bloc.
For his part Estonian President Alar Karis has pledged to allocate 1.2 billion euros for Kiev until 2027. Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia have been among Kiev's staunchest supporters against Russian aggression, pledging the highest share of gross domestic product of all the allies. Yesterday Zelensky was in Lithuania, where the government has pledged almost $220 million to Kiev for the next three years.
EU will miss target of delivering 1 million ammunition by March
Today, during the press briefing in Brussels, it emerged that the European Union and its Member States will miss the target announced by the Commission of delivering one million artillery ammunition to Ukraine by the end of March 2024. That announced by Commission, said Internal Market spokeswoman Johanna Bernsel, was a “political objective”. The Commission, explained Bernsel, is confident that “the EU's production capacity will reach 1 million ammunition” per year.
The problem is that an important part of the European production of heavy ammunition is exported by the industries, which are “private” companies, as the spokespersons remind us, although in reality it is unlikely that a company that operates in such a highly regulated sector and whose customers are essentially public entities can afford to ignore the will of their government. Foreign Affairs spokesman Peter Stano recalled that the “political” objective had been set “by the member states”, who do “what they can” to try to achieve it. “It's an ongoing effort: we need to see the effort in other fields too, not just on ammunition.” Stano reiterated that the EU will continue to support Ukraine “for as long as necessary”.
Kiev Prosecutor's Office confirms Russian use of North Korean missiles
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General, Andri Kostin, confirmed the use of North Korean missiles by the Russian Armed Forces in Ukrainian territory, as already reported in recent days by American intelligence. “As for North Korea, we have received the first evidence of the use of missiles manufactured in this country by the Russian army,” Kostin told Ukrainian radio Suspilne, noting that the missile fired by Russia on January 2 on Kharkiv came from Pyongyang. Kostin said a commission is carrying out further tests to verify these findings. Additionally, the Prosecutor's Office is working to identify fragments of other missiles launched by Russia over Kharkiv and Odessa and determine their origin.
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