The Guardian: Hard-right House Republicans are against Ukraine aid – and they seem to be in charge
As he excoriated Kevin McCarthy over his leadership of the House Republican conference last week, hard-right congressman Matt Gaetz accused the then speaker of cutting a “secret side deal” with Joe Biden to provide additional funding to Ukraine amid its ongoing war against Russia.
“It is becoming increasingly clear who the speaker of the House already works for, and it’s not the Republican conference,” Gaetz, who represents a solidly Republican district in Florida, said in a floor speech at the time.
The day after Gaetz delivered that speech, McCarthy was out of a job, becoming the first House speaker in US history ever to be ejected from office. Although McCarthy denied the existence of a side deal, Gaetz’s complaints underscored how funding for Ukraine served as one of the thorniest issues during the former speaker’s brief and contentious tenure.
U.S. NEWS: Top Ukraine General Says Fighting in Northeast Has ‘Significantly Worsened’
Russia’s military pressed on with fierce assaults on the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka on Saturday, with shelling so fierce that emergency crews were unable to recover the dead from wrecked buildings, the town’s top administrative official said.
It was the fifth straight day of assaults on the town in Ukraine’s industrial heartland of Donbas, focal point of Moscow’s 19-month-old invasion of its neighbour.
NEWS TRIBUTE: US: North Korea has delivered 1,000 containers to Russia
The White House said Friday that North Korea has delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia for its ongoing war in Ukraine.
Speculation about a possible North Korean plan to refill Russia’s munition stores drained in its protracted war with Ukraine flared last month, when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin and visit key military sites.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. believes Kim is seeking sophisticated Russian weapons technologies in return for the munitions to boost North Korea’s military and nuclear program.
The White House released images it said show the containers were loaded onto a Russian-flagged ship before being moved via train to southwestern Russia. The containers were shipped between Sept. 7 and Oct. 1 between Najin, North Korea, and Dunay, Russia, according to the White House.
BUSINESS NEWS: Ukraine’s Finance Minister says donor ‘fatigue’ is increasing as war drags on
Ukraine is finding it harder to secure financial aid as officials from major donor countries focus on upcoming elections and geopolitical tensions rise, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko told Reuters on Saturday.
“I see a lot of fatigue, I see a lot of weakness in our partners, they would like to forget about the war but the war is still going on, on a large scale,” Marchenko said on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). ) and World Bank meetings in Marrakesh.
He said Ukraine was “making twice as much effort right now to persuade our partners to provide support to us compared to previous annual meetings” in April.
As the war with Russia escalates, Ukraine needs to seek Western financial aid to close a $43 billion budget gap in 2024. This week’s talks have been overshadowed by the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which began as delegates were making their way through. Marrakesh.
POLSKIE RADIO: Ukrainian pilots set to begin f-16 training in Arizona
The pilots, who arrived in the United States in September, have completed a language training program at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas and will now transition to the Arizona base for specialized flight training.
The training regimen will initially familiarize the Ukrainian pilots with F-16 operations through classroom instruction and simulator experiences, before progressing to live flight training. The training schedule may be quickened to facilitate the pilots’ timely return to Ukraine, if they needed to engage in military activities at home.
Previously, expectations in the US anticipated that the initial batch of Ukrainian pilots undergoing F-16 training could complete the program within a three-month timeframe, with combat mission deployment to follow at a later date.
Ukraine and Netherlands fortify alliance with enhanced defense and secured trade routes
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and Dutch PM Mark Rutte, during a joint visit to the Black Sea port of Odesa on Friday, pledged to enhance Ukraine’s air defenses and secure its critical grain export routes.
In an effort to safeguard Ukraine against Russian air strikes and to preserve vital grain export corridors, Rutte confirmed that the Netherlands will supply additional Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine. These measures come in anticipation of intensified hostilities during the winter months, with Russiaexpected to escalate its aerial assault.
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