On March 4th, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that the government had allocated approximately $525 million for the construction of defense lines and fortifications in 2024.
 |
| Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. (Source: Ukrainian Cabinet) |
The Ukrainian news agency Fakty quoted Shmyhal as emphasizing that the coordinating headquarters operates almost daily, while numerous agencies and ministries cooperate to carry out work efficiently and quickly in order to have a reliable line of defense and rear support.
The majority of the funding – $105 million – was allocated to the construction of fortifications in the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine.
In addition, the government has also allocated approximately $1 billion to purchase various types of drones.
In a related development, on the same day, at a conference organized by the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Budapest, Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated that the West would not be able to defeat Russia in Ukraine, but Moscow would also not be able to win there.
TASS quoted Orban as saying that there is only one solution: " peace negotiations must begin sooner or later," and the sooner they take place, the better for everyone.
However, the Hungarian Prime Minister also assessed: "Europeans have failed to contain the conflict; on the contrary, they have only expanded it and missed the opportune moment to quickly sign a peace agreement, when even the Russians are interested in this goal."
While hoping that Russia and Ukraine will sooner or later reach a peace agreement with the participation of the US, the Hungarian leader believes that, in such a situation, the opinion of the European Union (EU) will likely no longer be taken into account in the negotiations.
Budapest has repeatedly stated that not only Ukraine and Russia, but also the United States – the main provider of financial and military support to Kyiv – should participate in negotiations to resolve the conflict.
Prime Minister Orban has made no secret of his view that, on this issue, he places high hopes on Donald Trump winning the upcoming November election and returning to the White House.
Reuters reports that the Hungarian leader will meet with former US President Trump in Florida this Friday, March 8th.
Source
Comment (0)