Russia Invades Ukraine. Again
POSTED BY: captaincrunch
UPDATED: Sunday, September 6, 2026 21:09
VIEWED: 562266
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Ukraine still missing billions in defense funds for 2026
By Luca Léry Moffat, Chris Powers | April 22, 2026 10:13 am
https://kyivindependent.com/exclusive-ukraine-still-missing-billions-i
n-defense-funds-for-2026/
Ukraine is still missing billions of euros needed for its defense in 2026, despite the EU finalizing a massive loan to Kyiv.
Kyiv faces a defense gap of 19.6 billion euros ($23.1 billion) in 2026, even after accounting for 86.7 billion euros ($102 billion) already committed to the country and an extra 28.3 billion euros ($33.9 billion) on its way as part of the EU's 90-billion-euro Ukraine Support Loan, according to a European Commission presentation seen by the Kyiv Independent.
Now in its fifth year of fighting off Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine relies heavily on foreign assistance to fund and supply its military, and to keep state services functioning.
Outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban vetoed a central part of that funding, the 90 billion euro ($106 billion) Ukraine Support Loan, ostensibly over a dispute related to a Russian oil flow through the Soviet-era pipeline Druzhba pipeline.
That veto is now expected to be lifted as Ukraine has repaired the pipeline and Orban lost to a pro-European challenger in Hungary's April 12 election.
But while Ukraine's budget will be fully financed in 2026 in light of the loan, a gap remains for defense funds, the document says.
Ukraine needs a total of 134.6 billion euros ($158.2 billion) for its defense in 2026, up from 111.4 ($130.9) billion euros in 2025.
While the civilian side of expenditures is funded for this year, Kyiv could also face a shortfall of cash in 2027 should no more funds be identified, European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis said, speaking to journalists in Brussels on April 21.
The International Monetary Fund assumes that Ukraine will receive $38 billion from the European Union in 2027, to cover the country's gaping budget gap.
But the breakdown of the EU's support loan means that only 13.3 billion euros ($15.6 billion) will be left for Kyiv in 2027, less than half of the IMF's assumption.
That cash will also come with conditions attached, according to the presentation, intended as an additional incentive for Kyiv to pass EU membership and IMF rules, an EU official told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity.
Those measures include boosting Kyiv's capacity to raise tax revenues, reducing corruption, and aligning Ukraine with European norms and standards.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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About those missing Ukrainian funds ...
Quote:
Ukraine’s richest man buys $550 million Monaco apartment: Inside one of the world’s most expensive deals
https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/ukraine-s-richest-man-buys-550-mi
llion-monaco-apartment-inside-one-of-the-world-s-most-expensive-deals/ar-AA21uQdo
*****
Since I watch Military Summary Channel almost every day, I don't depend on ISW’s bullshit to tell me how the war is going. HINT: It's not what ISW says.
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"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger
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Quote:In the next country to the West of Ukraine, a similar person was imprisoned this week, after 7 years of lawyers filing cases against him around the world:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
About those missing Ukrainian funds ...Quote:
Ukraine’s richest man buys $550 million Monaco apartment: Inside one of the world’s most expensive deals
https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/ukraine-s-richest-man-buys-550-mi
llion-monaco-apartment-inside-one-of-the-world-s-most-expensive-deals/ar-AA21uQdo
Moldova's former most powerful person sentenced to 19 years in jail
https://kyivindependent.com/moldovas-once-most-powerful-person-sentenc
ed-to-19-years-in-jail/
Who is Rinat Akhmetov, the giant crook from Ukraine who is NOT YET in jail, and will also probably require 7 years of lawyers chasing him around the world before he is jailed?
Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine's richest man, is not currently known to be under formal criminal indictment, though he has faced multiple high-level investigations and allegations over his career. While Russian authorities accused his businesses of "financing terrorism" in 2020 and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy alleged his involvement in a coup plot in 2021, he has not been charged with crimes in these matters. Organized Crime and Corruption Repo... +3
Key Investigations and Allegations:
• Coup Plot Allegations: In Nov 2021, President Zelenskyy alleged Akhmetov was involved in a coup attempt.
• Russian Criminal Case: In Sept 2020, Russian authorities opened a case against his businesses regarding alleged "financing of terrorism".
• Asset Disputes: Akhmetov has faced scrutiny regarding his assets in Russian-occupied Crimea and has filed lawsuits against Russia for seizing his property.
• Business Investigations: He has faced various investigations in Ukraine related to his business practices and political influence, often described by him as Slander. Wikipedia
Despite these pressures, Akhmetov has not been officially charged with a crime, often maintaining that accusations against him are politically motivated or false. Organized Crime and Corruption Repor... *1
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Ukraine will never get on its feet until it tackles corruption. Same with India. Same with the USA. When the monied get control of government nothing good happens.
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"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger
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The Kremlin continues to use long-standing false narratives that the Ukrainian government is oppressing religious liberties as a moral justification for its protracted war in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated on April 22 at a Russian Orthodox Easter reception that one of Russia’s war goals in Ukraine is to protect the “honor and dignity” of Russian citizens, including their right to use the Russian language and practice the Orthodox faith.[1]
Lavrov claimed that Ukraine has persecuted the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Moscow Patriarchate (UOC MP) for over a decade and accused the Ukrainian government of seizing churches and “attacking” UOC MP clergy and parishioners. The UOC MP is not an independent religious organization, but rather the Kremlin-controlled Russian Orthodox Church’s (ROC) subordinate element in Ukraine.[2]
The Kremlin has long used claims about the alleged discrimination of Russian people, the Russian language, and the ROC in Ukraine as a justification for invading Ukraine and for its continued refusal to engage in good-faith peace negotiations.[3]
The ROC is notably an element of Russia’s hybrid warfare toolkit, particularly in the Kremlin’s efforts to promote Kremlin narratives and Russian nationalist ideology to sustain and expand Russia’s influence in former Soviet states and justify its war-making initiatives.[4]
The ROC has also advocated for the codification of a Russian state ideology premised on the idea that Ukraine should not exist.[5]
Russia has additionally engaged in widespread persecution of religious minorities, including Orthodox believers, in occupied Ukraine as part of its wider campaign aimed at systematically destroying independent Ukrainian national and religious identities.[6]
Russian occupation authorities regularly conduct arbitrary detention and assassinations of Ukrainian clergy or religious leaders and loot, desecrate, and deliberately destroy places of worship.[7]
Lavrov’s April 22 claims demonstrate the Kremlin’s continued commitment to its original war aims and disinterest in negotiations to end the war. However, these claims are undermined by the realities of Russia’s treatment of religious minority communities in occupied areas.
https://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive
-campaign-assessment-april-22-2026/
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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US spent up to 61% of its Patriot arsenal in 39 days — Ukraine looks at building its own ballistic defense
“Ukraine is in such a state that there seems to be no other alternative but to try.”
By Igor Kossov
22/04/2026
https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/04/22/us-spent-up-to-61-of-its-patrio
t-arsenal-in-39-days-ukraine-looks-at-building-its-own-ballistic-defense/
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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$106 Billion Loan Reflects E.U.’s View That Peace in Ukraine Is Far Away
The delayed funding, which was approved on Thursday, is heavily weighted toward military spending, unlike previous European packages.
By Constant Méheut Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine
April 23, 2026 Updated 8:04 a.m. ET
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/23/world/europe/eu-loan-ukraine.html
For weeks, Ukraine had been caught in a bind. A path to ending the war seemed increasingly illusory, as peace talks with Russia went from yielding no results to being put on hold. That meant Kyiv needed to prepare to fight indefinitely, even as vital financial support from the European Union remained frozen.
On Thursday, a breakthrough finally arrived.
After Hungary dropped its opposition to a $106 billion E.U. loan to Ukraine the day before, European leaders unblocked the funds and adopted a new package of economic sanctions against Russia.
The money, which had been held up since December, will cover a large share of Ukraine’s financial needs over the next two years. Once those funds are exhausted, an additional $117 billion from the bloc’s long-term budget is expected to be allocated to Ukraine. Taken together, the pledges appear to put Ukraine on firmer financial footing at least through 2029, said Hlib Vyshlinsky, head of the Kyiv-based Center for Economic Strategy. The pressure, he added, now shifts to Moscow, which is facing growing economic strain in sustaining its own war effort.
The European Union’s extended commitment to Ukraine has largely filled a void left by the Trump administration. Last year, European countries provided nearly all of Kyiv’s military, financial and humanitarian support, while U.S. aid fell by 99 percent, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research center.
Unlike previous E.U. assistance packages, the latest one is heavily weighted toward defense spending. Some $70 billion of the loan will go to the military, giving Kyiv a substantial pool of money to buy costly air defense systems and expand production of drones.
The emphasis on military financing reflects what many European and Ukrainian officials have expressed privately for months: that Ukraine must prepare for a prolonged war by strengthening its defenses.
Russia has refused to agree to a cease-fire, and the Trump administration, which has mediated peace talks, has not put significant pressure on Moscow to compromise.
The negotiations are now on ice as the United States has entangled itself in another Middle Eastern war. Sergey V. Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, has said that resuming negotiations is not Moscow’s top priority.
That comes as no surprise to European leaders. “The truth is, anyway, Russia has never taken them seriously,” Boris Pistorius, Germany’s defense minister, said about the talks last week. “This is why it is all the more important to support Ukraine.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky has reshaped his cabinet to reflect the likelihood that the war will not end soon. He appointed a new defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, a tech enthusiast who has embraced drones as central to pushing back Russian forces.
While neither Russia nor Ukraine has any clear path to victory, Mr. Fedorov has said his mission is to make the fight futile for Moscow and compel a settlement.
“The president has given the Ministry of Defense a clear task: alongside diplomacy, strengthen our defense in such a way that we force the enemy into peace,” Mr. Fedorov said in a February statement outlining his blueprint.
The plan includes expanding air defense capabilities to protect Ukrainian skies, maximizing Russian losses on the battlefield and using long-range weapons to strike Russia’s revenue-generating oil industry.
The interest-free E.U. loan — which Ukraine would have to repay only if Russia paid reparations — will, in part, provide the financial foundation for Mr. Fedorov’s strategy.
The loan will be disbursed evenly over the next two years, with $33 b
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'A nightmare' — Russians in Tuapse in disbelief after Ukrainian drones bring the war home
April 23, 2026 4:27 pm
https://kyivindependent.com/a-nightmare-russians-in-tuapse-in-disbelie
f-after-ukrainian-drones-bring-the-war-home/
The Tuapse Oil Refinery, a Rosneft facility, is one of the 10 largest oil refineries in Russia. The refinery is capable of refining approximately 12 million tons of crude oil per year.
. . . pro-Russian Telegram channels and media outlets are comparing the situation in the city to the worst nuclear disasters in history, including Hiroshima in Japan, where the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb in 1945.
Yet, no nuclear power facilities were damaged in the city or the wider region. Ukraine also does not possess nuclear weapons, having relinquished them under the 1994 disarmament agreement.
"The consequences of the bombardment of Tuapse are simply monstrous," pro-Russian Telegram channel RIA Katyusha said. "What is happening there (in Tuapse) now is Hiroshima, only without radiation."
Pavel Kukhmirov, known by the call sign "Shakespeare" and a member of Russian proxy forces in the Donbas region, said on his Telegram channel that the city of Tuapse "no longer exists" and compared the situation to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, one of the worst nuclear accidents in history.
"The soil is poisoned, the water is poisoned, the air is poisoned. Right now black rain is falling there, like in Hiroshima — water mixed with oil soot," Kukhmirov wrote.
"Since 2022, (Russian authorities) have kept saying to us, very pompously, 'Do you want Chernobyl in Kyiv?' Well, now Chernobyl is in Tuapse."
Local authorities did not issue an official statement on significant air quality issues until the third day of the intense fire.
According to the Krasnodar Krai Emergency Response Headquarters' statement, combustion byproducts were released into the atmosphere and fell with rain on April 22, leaving a black coating on surfaces.
Concentrations of benzene, xylene, and soot in the air are two to three times higher than normal in several districts of the city as of April 21, the Krasnodar Krai Emergency Response Headquarters said. Yet, due to rain, no air quality measurements were taken on April 22.
Local residents have been advised to limit time outdoors, wear masks when outside, clean their homes more frequently using wet methods, and seek medical attention if they experience symptoms of acute illness or feel unwell.
The emergency response headquarters said the situation would return to normal "as soon as the fire is put out."
Meanwhile, local residents continue posting videos on social media showing streets covered in black puddles after rainfall, with some surfaces speckled with oil droplets.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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The "Executed Renaissance" has its day
April 23, 2026 8:17 PM
https://kyivindependent.com/in-trying-to-destroy-ukrainian-culture-rus
sia-only-proved-how-powerful-it-is/
The Kyiv Independent this month revisited Ukraine's "Executed Renaissance" — the generation of Ukrainian artists, writers, and intellectuals killed by Soviet authorities in the 1920s and 1930s.
During this period, writers like Mykola Khvylovy urged Ukrainians to move “Away from Moscow,” and connect their own cultural heritage and traditions to European modernism. The Soviet state responded in force. In November 1937, more than 100 Ukrainian artists, intellectuals, and writers were executed.
Contemporary Ukrainian painter Oleksandr Dubovyk's own family existed within the shadow of that destruction. His father, poet Mykhailo Dubovyk, was killed in 1941 after the first wave of Soviet executions.
Now 93 years old, Dubovyk's philosophy centers on the notion of the "Great Ukrainian Idea," a type of Ukrainian cultural renaissance set to emerge from Ukraine's defeat of Russia, coinciding with the Age of Aquarius. According to Dubovyk, all that was once suppressed in Ukraine under the Executed Renaissance will flourish internationally and give human beings new models for the future.
Although this concept may seem far-fetched to U.S. and European audiences, this spring is starting to reveal the contours of such a world.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Ukraine won't repay $90 billion EU loan — here's the plan
By Daria Dmytriieva | Thu, April 23, 2026 - 17:15
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/ukraine-won-t-repay-90-billion-eu-loan
-here-1776953020.html
The billion-dollar question: who pays Europe back?
. . . the loan will be repaid using reparations that Russia is expected to pay to Ukraine.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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