Ukraine war briefing: Europe-funded weapons shipments begin under ‘Purl’ scheme
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Version 0 of 1. Zelenskyy says Patriot and Himars included in Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List; drones threaten Volgograd oil refineries. What we know on day 1,303 The first weapons supplied to Ukraine under a programme funded by its European allies will include missiles for Patriot air defence systems and Himars rocket launchers, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday. The two initial batches are worth US$500m each. Ukraine has secured over $2bn in financing via what is called the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List, or Purl. Ukraine’s president said he expected the total committed funds to reach $3.5bn in October. Patrick Turner, Nato’s senior representative in Ukraine, said: “Four packages [under Purl] have already been funded and equipment is already flowing.” Russia closed its Volgograd airport and put oil refineries on alert for a Ukrainian drone attack early on Thursday morning. Between 10 and 15 explosions were heard and flashes were seen in the sky as air defence systems opened fire, said the Russian Telegram channel Shot. It was likely a missile fired at Russian drones from a Polish plane that hit a house, a government minister said on Wednesday, when UAVs swarmed into Poland in an unprecedented violation of Nato airspace. Authorities initially said one of the 21 Russian drones hit the house on the night of 9-10 September. The minister, Tomasz Siemoniak, said on Wednesday: “Everything indicates that it was a missile fired by our plane, defending Poland, defending the fatherland, defending our citizens.” Poland’s PM, Donald Tusk, promised an investigation of how it happened but all responsibility for the damage still lay with Russia, which he said was responsible for orchestrating a provocation using drones. Denmark said on Wednesday that it would for the first time acquire “long-range precision weapons” for its defence, citing the need to deter Russia. The prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, called it “a paradigm shift in Danish defence policy” adding that Russia would constitute a threat to Denmark and Europe “for years to come”, requiring “credible deterrence”. “With these weapons, the defence forces will be able to hit targets at long range and, for example, neutralise enemy missile threats.” The announcement sparked a back-and-forth with Russia’s ambassador to Denmark who called it “pure madness” and equated it to “threatening a nuclear power publicly”. Frederiksen said the ambassador’s comments should be interpreted as a threat. “Russia is trying to threaten Europe and Nato into not defending our people and borders. Of course, we will not be intimidated.” Denmark’s defence ministry said it was looking into which long-range weapons to buy. Russia attacked Ukraine with 172 drones as well as missiles on Tuesday night into Wednesday, Ukraine’s air force said. Air defences shot down or jammed 136 drones in the north, south and east of Ukraine. Missile hits and 36 strikes by UAVs were recorded at 13 locations, the air force said. Lithuania has charged 15 people with terrorism offences over an alleged Russia-backed plot to detonate parcels last year in Germany, Poland and Britain. Prosecutors said that the suspects used delivery companies DHL and DPD to send four packages of explosives hidden in cosmetics containers from the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, to various European countries. The devices caused three explosions: at Leipzig airport, in a truck in Poland and a warehouse in Britain. The fourth malfunctioned, the Lithuania prosecutor’s office said, adding that it was an international inquiry. Those charged are Russian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian and Ukrainian citizens. Ukraine and the US International Development Finance Corporation announced they would each commit $75 million to a joint investment fund that is part of Kyiv’s minerals deal with Washington, the Ukrainian prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, said on Wednesday. The US corporation said the investment would support Ukraine’s reconstruction and long-term economic recovery and strengthen US natural resources supply chains. The first weapons supplied to Ukraine under a programme funded by its European allies will include missiles for Patriot air defence systems and Himars rocket launchers, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday. The two initial batches are worth US$500m each. Ukraine has secured over $2bn in financing via what is called the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List, or Purl. Ukraine’s president said he expected the total committed funds to reach $3.5bn in October. Patrick Turner, Nato’s senior representative in Ukraine, said: “Four packages [under Purl] have already been funded and equipment is already flowing.” Russia closed its Volgograd airport and put oil refineries on alert for a Ukrainian drone attack early on Thursday morning. Between 10 and 15 explosions were heard and flashes were seen in the sky as air defence systems opened fire, said the Russian Telegram channel Shot. It was likely a missile fired at Russian drones from a Polish plane that hit a house, a government minister said on Wednesday, when UAVs swarmed into Poland in an unprecedented violation of Nato airspace. Authorities initially said one of the 21 Russian drones hit the house on the night of 9-10 September. The minister, Tomasz Siemoniak, said on Wednesday: “Everything indicates that it was a missile fired by our plane, defending Poland, defending the fatherland, defending our citizens.” Poland’s PM, Donald Tusk, promised an investigation of how it happened but all responsibility for the damage still lay with Russia, which he said was responsible for orchestrating a provocation using drones. Denmark said on Wednesday that it would for the first time acquire “long-range precision weapons” for its defence, citing the need to deter Russia. The prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, called it “a paradigm shift in Danish defence policy” adding that Russia would constitute a threat to Denmark and Europe “for years to come”, requiring “credible deterrence”. “With these weapons, the defence forces will be able to hit targets at long range and, for example, neutralise enemy missile threats.” The announcement sparked a back-and-forth with Russia’s ambassador to Denmark who called it “pure madness” and equated it to “threatening a nuclear power publicly”. Frederiksen said the ambassador’s comments should be interpreted as a threat. “Russia is trying to threaten Europe and Nato into not defending our people and borders. Of course, we will not be intimidated.” Denmark’s defence ministry said it was looking into which long-range weapons to buy. Russia attacked Ukraine with 172 drones as well as missiles on Tuesday night into Wednesday, Ukraine’s air force said. Air defences shot down or jammed 136 drones in the north, south and east of Ukraine. Missile hits and 36 strikes by UAVs were recorded at 13 locations, the air force said. Lithuania has charged 15 people with terrorism offences over an alleged Russia-backed plot to detonate parcels last year in Germany, Poland and Britain. Prosecutors said that the suspects used delivery companies DHL and DPD to send four packages of explosives hidden in cosmetics containers from the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, to various European countries. The devices caused three explosions: at Leipzig airport, in a truck in Poland and a warehouse in Britain. The fourth malfunctioned, the Lithuania prosecutor’s office said, adding that it was an international inquiry. Those charged are Russian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian and Ukrainian citizens. Ukraine and the US International Development Finance Corporation announced they would each commit $75 million to a joint investment fund that is part of Kyiv’s minerals deal with Washington, the Ukrainian prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, said on Wednesday. The US corporation said the investment would support Ukraine’s reconstruction and long-term economic recovery and strengthen US natural resources supply chains. |