Military

Ukraine Asks France to Help Hold Positions in 2024 to Launch New Counteroffensive - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Kiev has asked Paris to help the Ukrainian military hold the positions on the battlefield this year so that it can launch a new counteroffensive in 2025, a French official who took part in the talks with the Ukrainian authorities has told Le Figaro newspaper.
Sputnik
"The Ukrainians are telling us: help us make it through 2024, and we will be able to resume the counteroffensive in 2025," the official said.
Ukraine is in need of the SAMP/T air defense system, the official added. However, MBDA, which manufactures the Aster 30 missiles for the platform, will not be able to provide Kiev with more missiles in the near future, as the French military also needs them, Le Figaro reported.
World
Over $1 Billion in US Weapons Sent to Ukraine Could Be Stolen – Report
Western countries have provided hundreds of billions of dollars worth of aid to Ukraine since the start of Russia's special military operation in February 2022. Aid shipments began in 2022 with artillery munitions and training and have escalated to include tanks, advanced air-defense systems, missiles and cluster munitions.
The Kremlin has consistently warned against the West's continued arms deliveries to Ukraine, saying that they only prolong the conflict, adding that Western military equipment will be eventually destroyed. Moscow also cautioned that NATO countries “are playing with fire” by providing Kiev with arms.
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