The European Union has allocated €148 million for humanitarian aid to Ukraine and projects in Moldova for Ukrainian refugees. The total amount of EU humanitarian aid has reached €1.1 billion.
Points of attention
The European Union has recently allocated 150 million euros in humanitarian aid to Ukraine and Moldova for Ukrainian refugees.
The funding focuses on emergency assistance such as food, shelter, clean water, and winter health care for regions affected by the war with Russia.
A part of the aid is directed towards humanitarian projects in Moldova, supporting Ukrainian refugees and host communities.
The second tranche of grant assistance amounting to 150 million euros is aimed at initiatives like school meals, infrastructure restoration, and agricultural support.
The EU's support comes as Ukraine faces urgent humanitarian needs with 12.7 million people requiring assistance due to the ongoing conflict with Russia.
The EU has provided new humanitarian aid to Ukraine
As Russia's aggressive war continues to devastate Ukraine, some 12.7 million people are in need of urgent assistance.
In particular, 140 million euros have been allocated for humanitarian projects in Ukraine.
In addition, €8 million has been allocated for humanitarian projects in Moldova. The support will focus on providing assistance to Ukrainian refugees and host Moldovan communities.
What is known about the new tranche to Ukraine from the EU?
On December 25, 2024, the European Union provided Ukraine with a second tranche of grant assistance in the amount of €150 million to support rapid reconstruction. Part of it will go to school meals.
As reported by the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine on December 25, the funds will be directed to:
free meals for primary school students — 65 million euros,
restoration of port infrastructure — 50 million euros,
support for agriculture — 20 million euros,
restoration of critical infrastructure — 15 million euros.
This tranche is part of the agreement between Ukraine and the EU under the "Support to the Rapid Recovery of Ukraine" program, the total amount of which is 300 million euros.
Russia has begun using North Korean artillery systems on the front, indicating Russia's increasingly critical situation with artillery systems and its dependence on imported weapons, said Colonel Ants Kiviselg, head of the Estonian Defense Forces' intelligence center.
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Russian army facing artillery issues and increasingly relying on imported weapons, as revealed by Estonian intelligence.
Ongoing conflict in the Donetsk region between Russian and Ukrainian forces, with strategic strikes on key Russian infrastructure.
Both Russia and Ukraine employing airstrikes and missile attacks to weaken each other's military and economic targets.
Russia's use of North Korean artillery systems on the front reveals the critical situation with Russian artillery systems.
Current tactics indicate that both sides are focused on undermining the economic potential of the enemy to influence the course of the war.
The Russian army has problems with artillery
Kiviselg noted that the most notable tactical observation was the appearance of North Korean artillery systems on the front as part of Russian units.
This indicates Russia's increasingly critical situation with artillery systems and its dependence on imported weapons.
Kiviselg believes that in the 151st week of the war, trends that have already developed earlier persist, with Russian troops continuing to maintain the tactical initiative.
The main fighting is taking place in the Donetsk region in the Pokrovsky direction, where Russian troops are trying to advance in the western and eastern directions from the city.
Although the pace of advance has slowed, offensive pressure remains high, with an average of 164 attacks per day across the entire front.
Within a week, Russian troops were able to make slight advances in the directions of Velyka Novosilka, Toretsk, Godynnyk Yar, and Kupyansk.
In Kursk, Ukrainian units retreated to the positions they held before the new offensive on January 5. During the week, Ukrainian forces conducted several attacks in Kursk Oblast. Some settlements or districts are changing hands.
The reorganization of North Korean units operating in the Kursk region has not yielded significant results, the head of the intelligence center added.
Kiviselg added that Ukraine's rapidly effective defense, which is both fast-adapting and technically capable, withstands massive enemy pressure and gradually undermines its offensive capabilities.
Current situation on the front
At the same time, Ukraine continues to strike key Russian infrastructure. Over the past week, Ukraine has increased the number of strikes on Russian fuel and chemical industry enterprises.
The attack hit the Aleksinsky Chemical Plant in the Tula region, which produces ammunition, gunpowder, and materials for the Russian military-industrial complex. An ammunition depot at the Engels airfield in the Saratov region, which mainly stored high-explosive bombs, guided bombs, and cruise missiles, was also hit. The Ukrainian Armed Forces also struck the Saratov oil refinery. A large fire was reported at the facility after the strike.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine carried out a second attack on the oil storage facility in Engels. The previous attack took place on January 8. The oil depot burned for five days and was extinguished only a day before the new attack.
On the night of January 15, Russian forces, in turn, attacked Ukraine, involving six Tu-95MS bombers and eight Tu-22M3 bombers that took off from the Olenegorsk airfield in the Murmansk region.
Both sides seek, first of all, to undermine the economic potential of the enemy, and thereby influence the course of the war, Kiviselg noted.