BAKKACIMA BLOG

  From its 2023 budget, the German government has allocated an additional 1 billion euros ($1.03 billion) to support Ukraine. According to a document, funding is set aside to protect Ukraine from Russian hackers and gather proof of war crimes. "The Ukraine budget makes clear that our support goes much beyond the crucial and necessary weapons delivery," said Robin Wagener, a Green lawmaker and chair of the parliamentary Ukraine group. "We heavily put money into promoting peace in Europe and Ukraine." The third-largest military donor to Ukraine is Germany.

  In negotiations with the US for restarting nuclear arms inspections, Russia says it does not anticipate a speedy breakthrough. Due to the pandemic, the two nations decided in March 2020 to cease their mutual inspections under the New START treaty, the final remaining agreement restricting their strategic nuclear arsenals. They have yet to agree on a deal to restart them, in any case. The deputy foreign minister of Russia, Sergei Ryabkov, downplayed hopes for a breakthrough at the Cairo summit, which he suggested would happen in late November or early December. Russian news outlets quoted him as adding, "This is not a problem that started today or yesterday, and it will scarcely be feasible to address it in a few days."