©Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS
The Russian side knows that Finland has already agreed to allow NATO forces to be deployed on its territory, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said.
"Evidently, the entire [North-Atlantic] alliance has increased the zone of contact with its main enemy, as Russia is viewed by the alliance, by 1,300 kilometers. And they will demand that Finland do what other allies are doing, i.e. take all necessary measures and deploy foreign forces on its territory. We know that Finland has signed relevant bilateral agreements," he said at the Primakov Readings forum.
In this context, he stressed that Russia will be taking all possible precautions in response to NATO’s activity near its borders. "We will do this, as the Russian president [Vladimir Putin] said, based on real changes in the military situation. I mean the military forces that can be deployed or appear along our borders," he said, adding that NATO’s military activity near the Russian border "creates a military-political reality, which is heavily charged with destabilization."
The 9th Primakov Readings international forum is being held in Moscow from November 27 to 28. TASS is the general information partner of the Primakov Readings international forum and conference.
NATO foreign ministers recognize failure of Ukraine's counteroffensive — Hungarian MFA
NATO foreign ministers have acknowledged that the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ counteroffensive against Russian troops has failed, falling far short of their expectations, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, participating in the two-day meeting that opened in Brussels, said.
"The goals and hopes of the Ukrainian counteroffensive have been dashed because there has been no major change on the battlefield and no breakthrough since its beginning. This has been recognized by many people here. Quietly, cautiously, but still recognized," Szijjarto told Hungarian journalists after the first day of the NATO ministerial meeting.
"Regarding the course of the counteroffensive in Ukraine, they mostly said that it brought lower-than-expected results," the foreign minister, whose speech was broadcast by the M1 TV channel, said. He specified that almost no one "considered the counteroffensive a success," save for a lone holdout. "But this was an isolated attempt that no one joined," Sijjarto said. He added that the main idea was that "everything that is happening is not living up to expectations."
Scholz urges support for Ukraine despite budget crisis
Germany’s economy needs to be modernized in order to be prepared for unexpected crises in the future, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in his address to parliament on Tuesday. A recent Constitutional Court ruling blocked the government’s plans to divert unused pandemic funds into its Climate and Transformation Fund intended for that purpose.
In his speech, Scholz recalled that the country had faced challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine conflict, and rising energy prices.
According to Reuters, Scholz said that “it would be a grave and unforgivable mistake to neglect the modernization of our country in the face of all these acute challenges.”
While Scholz called for the “transformation” of the German economy, he said that the country would continue to provide assistance to Ukraine “as long as it is necessary.” As quoted by the Guardian, he said this support had “existential importance” not only for Germany but for all of Europe, with the chancellor adding that “if Putin won” there would be “even more serious consequences.”
Earlier this month, the German government reportedly agreed to double military aid to Ukraine next year to a total of €8 billion ($8.79 billion).
During his address, Scholz also said that “it is also clear that we must not let up in our support for Ukraine and in overcoming the energy crisis,” according to Reuters.
While Scholz claimed that his government would deal with the budget crisis, the opposition Christian Democrats (CDU), whose legal action sparked the Constitutional Court ruling, greeted his words with laughter.
According to Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, the legal decision could have “massive implications” for the country’s transformation into a cleaner and more technologically advanced economy, Bloomberg reported last week.
A few days ago, Bavarian premier Markus Soeder, who also leads the state’s largest party and CDU ally, the Christian Social Union (CSU), said Scholz’s government had “gone bankrupt” and criticized its strategy of lifting energy price controls by the end of the year. The controls were designed to protect households and businesses from soaring gas and electricity costs caused by dwindling energy imports from Russia amid EU sanctions.
Ukrainian Shell Hits Residential Building in Donetsk
Ukrainian forces shelled the Kuibyshevsky district in Donetsk using Grad multiple rocket launcher systems (MLRS), leaving five civilians wounded.
According to Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) representatives in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination, the Ukrainian military shelled the DPR 15 times in the past 24 hours. Reports say that four residential buildings and two other infrastructure facilities sustained damage.
The Ukrainian military routinely shells multiple districts in the city. The attacks result in killed and injured civilians, as well as damaged infrastructure.
Ukraine Loses Up to 135 Soldiers in Donetsk Direction in Past Day - MoD
Ukraine has lost up to 135 soldiers in the Donetsk direction in the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
During the given period, the Russian armed forces have repulsed three attacks by Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk direction and another one in the Zaporozhye direction.
"In total, the enemy lost up to 135 military personnel in this [Donetsk] direction, as well as three pickup trucks," the ministry said in a statement, adding that Kiev has also lost up to 65 soldiers in the Zaporozhye direction.
The Ukrainian counteroffensive began on June 4. Kiev has thrown into battle brigades trained by NATO instructors and armed with Western equipment, including Leopard and Challenger tanks. Three months later, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Kiev's push had failed, with Ukraine suffering severe casualties. Several Western officials also admitted that the Ukrainian counteroffensive had not been successful so far. On November 1, Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said in an interview with the Economist that Kiev's counteroffensive had reached a "stalemate."
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