Ukraine Briefly

April 28, 2023

Ukraine, Briefly

Ukraine

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This week, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance has provided Ukraine with 1,550 armored vehicles and 230 tanks, in addition to anti-aircraft systems and artillery, to help the country retake territory from Russian forces, Agence-France Presse reported. Since the start of the conflict in February 2022, this delivery represents “more than 98 percent of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said.

Stoltenberg’s announcement follows the release of a new report that found that global military spending has hit a new all-time high of $2.24 trillion in 2022, marking the eighth consecutive year of growth, Al Jazeera noted. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Europe experienced a 13 percent rise in spending from 2021, with Finland and Lithuania boosting their budgets by 36 percent and 27 percent, respectively, due to concerns about Russian aggression. The US remained the largest military spender, with a 0.7 percent rise in spending to $877 billion. China has the second-largest outlay with an estimated $292 billion, while Japan’s military spending rose to its highest level since 1960, reaching $46 billion.

Also this week:

• Leaked US military documents suggest that Russia will be able to fund its war in Ukraine for at least another year, even as it deals with heavy sanctions from the US and its allies, the Washington Post reported. The documents reveal that Russia’s economic elites are fretting about the impact of sanctions on their businesses but are unlikely to withdraw support for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The leaked assessment highlights how some of Russia’s most powerful officials and oligarchs are adapting to the sanctions – but it does not account for other factors that could impact Moscow’s ability to fight, such as ammunition expenditure and the need to recruit or conscript new soldiers, something Russian leaders worry will infuriate the public.

• Chinese leader Xi Jinping assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that China will not add “fuel to the fire” regarding the war in Ukraine and has called for a “political resolution” to the crisis, Politico reported. The call, Xi’s first to Zelenskyy in more than 400 days, is seen as a signal that Beijing will not provide direct military assistance to Russia for its war on Ukraine. Xi suggested that Ukraine should pursue dialogue with Russia to bring peace to Europe. Xi’s call came just days after China’s ambassador to France, Lu Shaye made an explosive remark during a TV interview saying former Soviet countries have no “effective status” in international law, and disputed Ukraine’s sovereignty over Crimea, causing international uproar and forcing Beijing to disavow his remarks in an effort to mend ties with Europe. Chinese officials later countered that Beijing respects the independence of former Soviet nations, according to CNBC.

• At least 12 people have been killed, including a three-year-old girl and her mother, in a renewed onslaught of Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities from Thursday evening, the BBC reported. The central city of Uman was worst hit with 10 residential buildings damaged and 10 dead, while Kyiv, incurring its first assault in 51 days, reported no casualties. The cities of Dnipro, Kremenchuk and Poltava were also hit. The attacks come as Ukrainian forces, bolstered by new equipment from the West, are thought to be preparing for a military offensive.

• Meanwhile, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is calling for a “negotiated” settlement between Kyiv and Moscow over Ukraine, angering Ukraine and causing tensions with the West, Agence France-Presse reported. Lula is on his first European tour since winning reelection in January and is seeking to revive Brazil’s diplomatic ties – but his comments regarding Ukraine have raised criticism. Lula has resisted taking sides in the conflict and has announced that he is sending his top foreign policy advisor to meet Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

This story originally appeared in the April 28, 2023 newsletter, Change and Its Discontents.