Ukraine is preparing to defend itself against further Russian air strikes on energy production. “We also discussed the threat that we now see from Russia to our electricity production. We will counteract this,” assured President Volodymyr Zelensky in his daily video message. Previously, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko had reported on protective structures for energy facilities, among other things.
EU Commission President in Kyiv
Before the approaching winter, energy supply was also a topic of discussion with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who traveled to Kyiv. According to Zelensky, an agreement was reached on expanding electricity imports from the EU. “This is something that will definitely support our country and our people in difficult situations,” said the head of state. He did not provide any details.
According to Ukrainian information, 1.7 gigawatts can currently be imported from the EU and its southwestern neighbor Moldova. The government had previously set an increase to over 2.2 gigawatts as its goal. Von der Leyen also spoke about steps that should help “maintain at least a quarter of our electricity production.”
The Eastern European country’s further EU integration was also discussed. “We must speed up the process of talks on membership and the preparation of the relevant parts of the future (accession) agreement,” Zelensky urged.
Von der Leyen also held talks with Prime Minister Shmyhal and Defense Minister Rustem Umyerov. According to a government statement, the Ukrainian leadership hopes that the EU will again transfer financial aid of 16 billion euros to the country, which has been devastated by Russia’s war of aggression, next year. This year, 12 billion of the planned 16 billion have already been received. Shmyhal also proposed doubling the financial aid for his country in the EU budget for 2028 to 2034 to 400 billion euros and introducing a separate budget program for Ukraine.
With Umjerow, von der Leyen opened the EU Defence Innovation Office, which aims to intensify cooperation in the armaments sector between the EU and Ukraine. Weapons production and developments in the IT sector were mentioned in particular.
Speculation about layoffs in the Ministry of Defense
Meanwhile, further personnel changes are apparently underway in the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. According to consistent media reports, two deputies of the head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, were dismissed by Defense Minister Umyerov. The dismissal took place last week without consultation with Budanov. The initiator of the personnel change is said to be Andriy Yermak, head of the presidential office, who wants to weaken the head of military intelligence, according to the reports.
According to the news portal “Ukrainska Pravda”, Umyerov is also said to want to dismiss or has already dismissed around 20 generals and high-ranking employees. Neither Umyerov nor Budanov commented on the reports.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense is reporting that recruitment numbers are allegedly increasing. “On average, 6,500 volunteers are recruited in the country every month,” the ministry’s representative, Oleksiy Bezhevez, was quoted as saying after the opening of a recruitment center in Cherkassy in central Ukraine. From cooks to drone pilots, more than 10,000 vacancies are currently advertised in the army, national guard and border guard. The ministry says it has already set up 38 such recruitment centers across the country. The ministry did not provide any information on the general number of conscriptions.
Footage of violent recruitment
At the same time, images of violent recruitments continue to make the rounds on social media every day, in which men are beaten and kicked by uniformed officers and dragged into minibuses. Passers-by who happen to be there often express their solidarity with the victims. Nevertheless, the media repeatedly report on an acute shortage of soldiers at the front after more than two and a half years of defensive fighting against the Russian invasion. Although a stricter mobilization law has been in effect since May, only men between the ages of 25 and 60 are currently being drafted for military service.
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