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Denmark Sends $1 Billion to Build Up Ukrainian Arms Industry Using Seized Russian Funds

By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | May 12, 2025

Denmark is making a significant investment in Ukraine’s domestic arms industry using interest generated from frozen Russian assets.

A statement from the Danish Defense Ministry explained that it would implement a proposal approved by the European Union last year to seize the interest generated by frozen Russian assets and use that money to buy weapons for Kiev produced by Ukrainian arms makers.

“In light of the security situation, it is important to show that we stand together with Ukraine. From the Danish side, we have taken the lead by leading the international work through the “Danish model” for procurement via the Ukrainian defense industry,” Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen said. “It is unique that we now have the opportunity to further strengthen this effort on behalf of the EU.”

Copenhagen has dubbed the process of investing in Kiev’s arms industry as “the Danish model.” In 2024, Denmark invested about $450 million in Ukraine’s defense companies, with  $300 million coming from the interest on frozen Russian assets. Copenhagen plans to use $930 million in interest to invest in Ukrainian domestic arms production in 2025.

EU members hold over $220 billion in seized Russian money, and it is estimated to generate about $4 billion in interest annually. Western governments are attempting to use the interest to pay back a $50 billion in collective loans that is being taken out to buy arms for Kiev.

The money sent by Copenhagen is in addition to the $1.1 billion in interest from frozen Russian funds that was announced by the EU on Friday. “We have just made available 1 billion euros for the Ukrainian defense industry so that Ukraine can better defend itself,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.

Euroclear, the financial market infrastructure group that holds most of the assets, has also seized some of the frozen funds to repay Western investors who allegedly had their assets seized by Moscow.

Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced the Western attempts to use the frozen Russian funds as theft. “Western countries have now frozen Russian assets and foreign exchange reserves. They are considering the ways to create at least some legal basis in order to finally appropriate them. But despite all the fuss theft will remain theft. It would not go unpunished,” he said.

May 12, 2025 Posted by | Militarism | , , , | Leave a comment

Kremlin issues update on proposed Ukraine peace talks

RT | May 12, 2025

Russia is ready to resume direct peace talks with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has reiterated, stressing Moscow’s “serious” commitment to reaching a lasting settlement of the conflict.

On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered Ukraine the opportunity to restart direct negotiations without any preconditions in Istanbul, Türkiye, which Kiev unilaterally walked away from in 2022.

However, Ukraine, backed by several European nations, has demanded that Russia agree to a ceasefire first as a precondition for talks. After US President Donald Trump urged Kiev to “immediately” agree to the proposal for direct unconditional talks, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky said he would be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday “personally.” Nevertheless, he maintained that Kiev awaits “a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow [Monday], to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy.”

Asked about the progress in the Ukraine peace process, Peskov told reporters on Monday that Moscow remains committed to “resuming direct talks in Istanbul without any preconditions.”

Moscow’s approach is aimed at “finding a genuine diplomatic resolution to the Ukrainian crisis, addressing the root causes of the conflict, and achieving a lasting peace,” Peskov said. He added that Putin’s proposal had received support from “leaders of many countries,” including those in several former Soviet republics and BRICS members.

The spokesman also noted that Trump had “called on the Ukrainian side to urgently, and without any conditions, take part in the meeting we proposed,” while pointing to Türkiye’s readiness to facilitate the talks. “In general, we are focused on a serious effort to find a path toward a long-term peaceful resolution.”

Moscow has said it is open to a ceasefire “in general,” but has flagged several crucial concerns. Russian officials argue that any pause in fighting would allow Ukraine to regroup its battered forces and continue its mobilization campaign. Moscow has also demanded that all Western arms deliveries to Ukraine be halted during any ceasefire period.

May 12, 2025 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

Western states want Ukraine conflict to continue – Slovak Prime Minister Fico

RT | May 11, 2025

Many Western states want the Ukraine conflict to continue, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has said. This explains their lukewarm response to Moscow’s proposal for direct talks with Kiev, he has argued.

Earlier on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered Ukraine the opportunity to restart negotiations to resolve the conflict next Thursday in Istanbul, Türkiye.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that his country is prepared to host the talks. US President Donald Trump welcomed the proposal, writing on Truth Social that he expects “a BIG week upcoming.”

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, however, said Putin’s offer is “not enough” and called for a ceasefire first.

”I am shocked that there is a proposal that on May 15, Russians and Ukrainians can meet in Istanbul for direct talks where concrete results can be obtained, and I hear statements from Germany and France that they do not agree,” Fico told a press briefing on Sunday following his visit to Moscow for Victory Day. “What do they have to do with it all? Isn’t it a matter for Ukraine to decide?”

Fico warned that the conflict will “last years more” if Kiev’s Western backers don’t stop interfering and start “respecting basic things,” including the right for Russian and Ukraine to work out a settlement one-on-one.

The prime minister went on to say that Western interference was behind the failure of the previous Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul in 2022. “Everything was ready, Ukraine was ready to sign a peace agreement, but the big boys from the West came and said no, we have to use this war to beat the Russians.”

“Many Western countries really want this war to continue,” Fico added. He expressed hope, however, that this will change once Russia and Ukraine sit down for talks. “This is a matter of Ukraine and Russia above all. If they are interested in working, they will be working.”

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has called Putin’s proposal a “positive sign” and said he is “ready to meet” for talks. He insisted, however, that a ceasefire should come first, suggesting that it begin on May 12.

Moscow has been wary of a prolonged pause in the fighting without a formal deal, warning it could allow Kiev to regroup and rearm. Ukraine rejected Russia’s 72-hour Victory Day ceasefire, and the Russian Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces violated that short-term truce multiple times.

May 11, 2025 Posted by | Militarism | , , , | Leave a comment

Europe’s Security Plans Are Taking it Nowhere

By Salman Rafi Sheikh – New Eastern Outlook – May 11, 2025

Over the past few weeks and months, European leaders have changed their plans from sending troops to Ukraine to offering ‘air support’ and, finally, to bolstering Ukraine’s military forces and defence capability as a means to protect European security.

This whimsical switching exposes a lack of internal coherence and the continent’s inability to act autonomously and decisively to shape the course of events.

Europe’s Many Plans

Immediately after the Trump administration began its peace talks with Russia and Ukraine to end the military conflict, Europe decided to take a different route. This was supposed to be the first major manifestation of Europe’s strategic autonomy ever since its decision in 2003 not to support the US war on Iraq. The first route involved sending European troops from within the so-called “coalition of the willing” to Ukraine as a ‘peacekeeping’ force. This plan was the brainchild of the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. But, as the Telegraph, a leading UK-based newspaper, reported at the end of March, the UK’s military officials dismissed the plan, calling it a “political theatre”. Needless to say, President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, had already dismissed the plan as “a posture and a pose” only. The second plan turned to offering air and naval support. But defence sources in the US and elsewhere in Europe reportedly found no military sense in this plan too, considering that this deployment will be hundreds of miles away from the frontline. In fact, one defence source told the media this support will not only be meaningless, but it will not be able to defend itself in the wake of any escalation.

The “Porcupine strategy”

This has led Europe to contemplate an altogether different strategy. The new plan is to arm the Ukrainian military to its teeth to prevent any deal between Russia and the US. It also includes upgrading Europe’s own defence capability. This strategy was released earlier in April as a “Joint White Paper for European Defence Readiness 2030”.

The White Paper is interesting for several reasons, one being that it is critical of Washington as well. For instance, the reason why Europe needs to upgrade its defence readiness is that it is being “coerced by external actors” who are “threatening our way of life and our ability to choose our own future through democratic processes. They believe that we are politically unable to summon a meaningful and strategically enduring response.” The paper squarely places these threats against the backdrop of the massive changes to the “political equilibrium that emerged from the end of the Second World War and then the conclusion of the Cold War”. Called the “Porcupine strategy”, the underlying objective of this plan is to help Ukraine boost its overall military capacity so that it can ‘resist’ Russia and protect Europe from any possible Russian expansion. It involves providing “large-scale artillery ammunition”, “air defence systems”, “drones”, “train and equip Ukrainian brigades”, “direct support to Ukraine’s defence industry”, and, among other things, “enhances access to EU spaces and services”.

The elephant in the room, however, is whether the EU actually has the ability to boost Ukraine. A lot of this is based upon the hope that the EU will be able to deliver this. The paper says, “Member States need the European defence industry to be able to design, develop, manufacture and deliver these products and technologies faster and at scale. In the context of substantially increased defence expenditure, a higher share needs to be invested in defence research and development and technology, concentrating efforts and resources on common European projects”.

A good part of this strategy, in fact, depends upon securing and providing loans. The White Paper proposes that the EU should “provide Member States with loans backed by the EU budget. With up to EUR 150bn, the Security and Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument will strongly support a significant increase in Member States’ investments in Europe’s defence capabilities, now and over this decade.”

Of course, it does not include, at present, any assurances and commitments from member states that they will be able to either secure these loans and/or be willing to invest this much in the defence industry immediately. For many in Europe continue to hope that transatlantic ties could still return to ‘normal’ in the post-Trump era.

While this is understandable as to why Europe, facing a different and unpredictable administration in the US, would want to chart a new course for itself – and doing so might, in the long run, help multipolarity as well – its rapid shifts between several plans based upon wrong strategic and financial calculation is unlikely to take it anywhere.

 

Salman Rafi Sheikh, research analyst of International Relations and Pakistan’s foreign and domestic affairs.

May 11, 2025 Posted by | Militarism, Russophobia | , , | Leave a comment

Russia is not afraid of Western sanctions – Kremlin

RT | May 10, 2025

Russia is used to Western pressure and is not concerned about new sanctions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

He was commenting on a new round of sanctions recently imposed by the UK.

”We already know what we will do once the sanctions are announced and how we will minimize their effect,” Peskov told journalist Pavel Zarubin on Saturday. Russia has learned effective ways to counteract Western pressure, he said. “Therefore, scaring us with sanctions is pointless.”

On Friday, the British government announced what it called the “largest-ever” sanctions package against Russia, targeting its oil transportation network in order to deliver a blow to the country’s energy revenues.

The new measures blacklisted up to 100 oil tankers that the West claims are part of a Russian ‘shadow fleet’, older vessels operating outside Western insurance systems. Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict over three years ago, successive British governments have introduced more than 2,000 sanctions on Russian individuals and entities.

Moscow has said the move will not harm Russia’s economy and will instead increase energy costs and inflation in Europe.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump called for an “unconditional ceasefire” between Moscow and Kiev, threatening punitive measures if the truce is not observed. “The US and its partners will impose further sanctions” if it is violated, he said.

In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that a total of 28,595 sanctions were imposed on Russian companies and individuals in recent years – more than the total number on all other countries combined. According to the president, the West sought to eliminate Russia as a competitor but its economy has only grown more resilient under pressure.

May 10, 2025 Posted by | Economics, Russophobia | , , , | Leave a comment

EU Disburses Another $1.1Bln for Ukraine as Part of G7 Loan Secured by Russian Assets

Sputnik – 08.05.2025

MOSCOW – The European Commission on Thursday disbursed the fourth tranche of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine worth 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) as part of the G7 loan meant to be repaid with proceeds from frozen Russian assets.

“Today, the European Commission disbursed the fourth tranche of its exceptional macro-financial assistance (MFA) loan to Ukraine, worth €1 billion,” the Commission said.

This is part of the EU’s 18.1 billion euro share of collective contributions within the G7’s 45 billion euro package for Ukraine. It comes on top of the 6 billion euros disbursed by the EU across the first three tranches, the statement read.

“These loans are to be repaid with proceeds from immobilised Russian State assets in the EU,” the Commission added.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov calls the freezing of assets “theft” and warns it’s not just private funds, but state assets targeted.

Vladimir Putin earlier warned that “stealing other people’s assets has never brought anyone good.”

May 8, 2025 Posted by | Economics, Militarism | , | Leave a comment

Ukraine’s Air and Naval Drone and Cruise Missile Attack on Russia’s Novorossiysk: What We Know

Sputnik – 03.05.2025

Shortly after midnight on Saturday, a missile hazard signal rang out across the Russian Black Sea port city of Novorossiysk.

Russia’s military reported that it had repelled a large-scale aerial and naval drone and cruise missile attack targeting local infrastructure.

According to the MOD:

  • 47 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Krasnodar Region during the night
  • 14 unmanned boats were eliminated
  • Eight Storm Shadow missiles and three Neptune-MD missiles were destroyed over the Black Sea

City and regional authorities indicated that five civilians, including two children, were injured after eight apartments in two multi-story buildings suffered damage. A state of emergency was declared.

Drone fragments also fell in the villages of Taman, Yurovka and Tsibanobalka, with private houses damaged, but no casualties reported.

The KSK grain terminal in Novorossiysk Sea Port, one of Russia’s main grain export terminals, reported a fire triggered by UAV debris, which damaged three tanks. The fire was extinguished with the help of Ministry of Emergency Situations firefighters.

No casualties were reported, and the terminals are operating as normal, the Delo Group of companies reported.

The Novorossiysk port is a key regional and global foodstuffs transit hub. Millions of tons of grains are exported through its terminals each year, including to food-insecure countries in the Global South. Later this month, a new logistical route to West Africa, the Novorossiysk-Lagos route, is set to be launched.

May 3, 2025 Posted by | Militarism, War Crimes | , | Leave a comment

US approves F-16 support package for Ukraine

RT | May 3, 2025

The US has approved a $310.5 million deal to sustain Ukrainian-operated F-16 fighter jets provided by Kiev’s European backers. The move comes after the US and Ukraine signed a deal in which Kiev grants Washington access to its natural resources in exchange for future assistance.

The F-16 deliveries from European NATO members to Ukraine were approved by former US President Joe Biden in August 2023, but the first jets did not arrive in the country until a year later. While Ukrainian officials hailed the deliveries as a major coup, Western media warned that they would not be a “game changer” in the conflict. In March, the Ukrainian Air Force acknowledged that the F-16s operated by Kiev “cannot compete” with the latest Russian jets.

In a statement on Friday, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said the State Department had signed off on a foreign military sale to Ukraine which includes training, spare parts, aircraft modifications, logistics assistance, and software support for F-16s.

The agency added that the proposed sale “will support the foreign policy goals… of the United States by improving the security of a partner country that is a force for political stability” in Europe.

More than 80 F-16s have been promised to Ukraine, with the bulk expected to come from Belgium and the Netherlands, while the US has never committed to providing the jets on its own. While the exact number of jets delivered is unknown, Moscow confirmed last month it had shot down one F-16. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky said the aircraft’s pilot perished during a “combat mission.”

In 2024, Ukraine reported the loss of another F-16, saying it crashed while repelling a Russian air strike.

The DSCA announcement comes after the Pentagon said it is sending “disused and completely non-operational F-16s to Ukraine for parts.” It also follows the signing of a US-Ukraine resource deal that is intended to allow Washington to recover the cost of future military support through shared proceeds from Ukrainian mineral resource licenses.

Moscow has condemned the Western arms shipments to Ukraine, warning they will only prolong the conflict without changing the outcome. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Ukrainian-operated F-16s will “burn” just like other Western-supplied equipment.

May 3, 2025 Posted by | Militarism | , , , | Leave a comment

Ukraine hit by another military corruption scandal

RT | May 1, 2025

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has arrested several military officials for their alleged involvement in a corruption scheme that resulted in tens of thousands of defective mortar shells being sent to the front, thus compromising operations. Ukraine has long been notorious for its rampant corruption, a problem exacerbated when large military procurement orders began being placed.

Complaints from frontline soldiers about subpar 120mm mortar shells began to pour in late last year. Service members claimed that only one in ten shells exploded due to a smorgasbord of problems, including wet powder and faulty fuses. Local media later reported that as many as 100,000 shells had been recalled, and that authorities had launched an investigation.

In a statement on Tuesday, the SBU said that a defense plant in Dnepropetrovsk Region supplied the military with 120,000 mortar rounds unsuitable for combat use. Without identifying the facility, the agency said that it had detained four suspects, including the plant’s director general, his deputy, as well as two military officials who were responsible for receiving the rounds and overseeing production.

According to the SBU, the plant signed a contract with Ukraine’s Defense Procurement Agency to produce 120,000 mortar shells. However, in some cases, the plant used “low-quality materials and performed defective work” to produce the shells.

This way, the agency continued, “the organizers of the scheme tried to reduce the cost of production in order to get a greater profit from the state order.” Moreover, the military officials overseeing the process were involved in the scheme and deliberately “turned a blind eye” to the defective batch of ammunition, the statement read.

The defendants are now charged with aggravated obstruction of the military leading to severe consequences, and face 15 years in prison.

Last year, several media reports indicated that the mortar shell crisis was only one facet of the difficulties in the Ukrainian defense industry, which was struggling to begin mass domestic production due to logistics and personnel issues.

Corruption has also been a long-standing issue in Ukraine’s defense sector, especially after the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022. Kiev’s Western backers have acknowledged the problem, citing graft as a major obstacle to the country’s EU integration.

Earlier this week, US National Security Adviser Michael Waltz called for proper oversight of American aid to Kiev, calling Ukraine “one of the most corrupt countries in the world.”

May 1, 2025 Posted by | Corruption | | Leave a comment

Aggressive Rhetoric of NATO, EU Hinders Russia, US’s Risk Mitigation Efforts – Shoigu

Sputnik – 30.04.2025

Militarization of Europe and aggressive rhetoric on the part of NATO and the EU hinder the success of Russia and the United States’ efforts to reduce strategic risks, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday.

“Today we continue to consistently convey to the Americans the need to work together on comprehensive reduction of strategic risks, which should have positive impact on the international security. However, militarization of Europe and aggressive rhetoric of NATO and the EU hinder achievement of positive results in this area,” Shoigu said at the meeting of high representatives of BRICS countries in charge of security issues, which is taking place in Brasilia.

Using Terrorist Proxies for Geostrategy

Some European countries are increasingly using terrorist groups for their geostrategic purposes, and the most prominent example is Ukraine, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday.

“Some European states are increasingly using terrorist groups for their geostrategic purposes, primarily in confrontation with countries that do not recognize dominance,” Shoigu said at a meeting of the BRICS countries’ high representatives in charge of security issues, adding that the most striking example is Ukraine because Kiev uses NATO weapons to shell residential neighborhoods, commits sabotage and political assassinations.

The most serious challenges to global security come from ISIS and Al-Qaeda, because they are quickly adapting to changing geopolitical conditions, Shoigu added.

April 30, 2025 Posted by | Militarism | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Zelensky should keep his original promise to voters – Moscow

RT | April 30, 2025

Moscow has urged Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky to finally fulfill the promises that led to his landslide victory in the 2019 presidential election.

The former actor rose to power pledging to bring peace between Ukraine and Russia, Vassily Nebenzia, Moscow’s envoy to the UN, reminded him.

During a UN Security Council session on Tuesday, which focused on the Ukraine conflict, Nebenzia urged Zelensky to “finally honor the pledge made to Ukrainian voters back in 2019, which is to pursue peace with Russia and respect for the rights of the Russian-speaking population of his country.”

Zelensky defeated the incumbent, President Pyotr Poroshenko, by vowing to ease tensions with ethnic Russian citizens who had rejected the government imposed after the 2014 armed coup in Kiev. However, his initial overtures for dialogue were met with threats of violence from radical nationalists, causing his administration to abandon its compromise agenda.

The Ukrainian leader, who claims presidential power despite the expiration of his term last year, “needs to act in the interests of his country rather than for the benefit of those seeking to use Ukraine purely as a pawn in the geopolitical struggle waged against Russia,” Nebenzia said.

The diplomat emphasized that Moscow’s demands include an end to anti-Russian discrimination. According to Nebenzia, Zelensky has repeatedly demonstrated unreliability while his nation now resorts to terrorist tactics in its military campaign against its neighbor, which are tacitly supported by Western nations.

Nebenzia asserted that Zelensky currently “is concerned solely with saving his own skin and covering up the crimes that he has committed against his own people,” suggesting that these interests necessitate the continuation of hostilities rather than a peaceful resolution.

The diplomat also accused Western nations of misrepresenting Kiev’s position as genuinely seeking a truce while falsely attributing warmongering motives to Moscow.

April 30, 2025 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Militarism, Russophobia | , | Leave a comment

Ukrainian MP issues post-war terror threat

RT | April 28, 2025

Ukrainian intelligence services plan to continue to assassinate Russian officials and public figures for decades to come, MP Roman Kostenko, the secretary of the Verkhovna Rada’s Defense Committee, has said.

Speaking to the newspaper Ukrainskaya Pravda on Sunday, the senior lawmaker welcomed the assassination last week of the deputy chief of operations of Russia’s General Staff, Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, and said that Kiev was behind it.

Prior to pursuing a political career, Kostenko served with the Ukrainian military and the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), taking part in the early stages of the conflict in Donbass.

“I am pleased. This is good work by our special services,” Kostenko stated when asked about his take on the assassination of the Russian general. The MP also threatened a continuous campaign of killings inside Russia for decades to come.

“Even if we manage to get to the point when the war is put on hold, the work of the special services will only just begin,” he said, adding that attacks on Russian officials and public figures will remain a priority “for the next 10, 20, and possibly even 30 years.”

The remarks were swiftly condemned by Moscow, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova charging that Ukraine has already turned into a full-fledged terrorist state.

“The Kiev regime has become a true terrorist cell that receives international support with weapons and money,” she stated.

Moskalik was killed by a car bomb outside his residence in the suburban Moscow town of Balashikha early on Friday. Shortly after the explosion, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) detained a suspect, identified as 42-year-old Ignat Kuzin.

The suspect has confessed to acting under orders from Ukrainian security services and was allegedly promised a payment of $18,000 for the attack. According to Russian investigators, Kuzin was originally recruited by the SBU in 2023, later moving to Russia to await “specific instructions from a Ukrainian handler.”

Last December, a bomb that Russian authorities similarly linked to Ukrainian special services killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who served as the commander of the Russian Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Defense Forces. He was assassinated alongside an aide as they were exiting a building in Moscow, using an explosive device concealed inside an electric scooter. The scene was monitored by the perpetrators through a camera placed inside a parked car, and the bomb was detonated remotely.

April 29, 2025 Posted by | War Crimes | | Leave a comment