In 2023, Ukraine produced three times as many weapons as last year. In particular, the production of artillery ammunition has increased. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting with representatives of the defense sector.
"Ukraine's task is as clear as possible: we must make our state so strong and effective that Russia feels that every strike will be met by our response. This task can only be fulfilled on the basis of sufficient domestic arms production... This year alone... we have already managed to produce three times more weapons and equipment than last year. There has been a significant increase in the production of ammunition, particularly for artillery. At the systemic level, Ukraine is deploying the production of extremely important things - ammunition for domestic drones," Zelenskyy said.
According to him, there are significant results in the production of missiles. Zelenskyy also noted that the share of private companies in the defense industry is growing - four out of five defense companies are already non-state companies.
A strike on the Russian landing ship Novocherkassk in Feodosia left 23 sailors injured and one dead. This was reported by Russian media. A total of 77 sailors were on board the Novocherkassk when it was attacked in the bay in Feodosia.
"33 sailors are missing, 23 people are wounded, and one was killed as a result of the attack on the Novocherkassk ship in the port of Feodosia," the report says.
In addition, it is noted that the wreckage of a Storm Shadow missile was found at the site. It is likely that the munition hit the bow of the large amphibious assault ship.
By the way, according to Oleh Katkov, editor-in-chief of Defense Express, Russia has the ability to produce large amphibious assault ships of the updated design, but their production takes a long time, and the enemy will not be able to recover its losses until 2035-2036.
Brussels is considering contingency plans to allocate financial assistance to Kyiv to circumvent Hungary's veto. It is about allocating up to 20 billion euros to Ukraine. The money may be lent under the guarantees of individual EU countries or through short-term loans, DW writes with reference to the FT.
The plan stipulates that the participating countries will provide guarantees for the EU budget, which will allow the European Commission to borrow the necessary amount from the capital markets for Kyiv next year. The exact terms of the plan are still being discussed, and the final amount will be set according to Ukraine's needs, the sources said.
Such a scheme would not require the approval of all EU countries, unlike the allocation of money from the EU budget, which Hungary has been protesting. Guarantees will have to be provided by countries with high credit ratings. Brussels plans to complete these procedures by March.
The IT Army of Ukraine has paralyzed the work of 1C-Rarus. This is one of the largest ERP systems in Russia. It has stopped working due to attacks by the Ukrainian IT Army, the Ministry of Digital Transformation reports on its Telegram channel.
"Customers cannot use accounting services and work at full capacity. 1C-Rarus has 150,000 users, including tech giants and war sponsors such as Tatneft and VTB. Customers in shops and petrol stations cannot make payments because the cash registers are down. This means millions in losses for the Russian economy. All thanks to the Ukrainian cyber army.