The Kyiv Independent
News, analyses, investigations, opinions, podcasts and more. On-the-ground reporting from Ukraine
Government allocates additional over $200 million for fortifications.
The government has allocated an additional over Hr 8 billion (around $202.3 million) for the construction of fortifications in Ukraine, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on April 23.
Ukrainian authorities have faced criticism for slow progress on fortifying defensive lines. In March, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine was building 2,000 kilometers of fortifications across three lines of defense, adding that the "task is massive, but the pace is good."
Additional funds were assigned by reallocating state budget expenditures, Shmyhal said.
The government already reportedly allocated Hr 38 billion ($961 million) for building fortifications in 2024.
"Our task is to create a reliable defensive rampart that will protect our soldiers and give our army a greater advantage on the battlefield," the prime minister said, adding Ukraine will allocate "all additional resources" to its defense capabilities.
Previously, the funds were reportedly devoted to fortify Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, and Sumy oblasts.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Ukrainian troops are building fortifications in expectation of a Russian offensive in the spring, though there are concerns that the progress is not fast enough.
Zelensky said in an interview with CBS News that a new major Russian offensive may come at the end of May or in June amid a deteriorating situation on Ukraine's eastern front as ammunition and supplies run short.
USAID allocates over $250 million to Ukraine's agricultural sector.
More than $250 million will be allocated to rebuild and expand Ukraine's agricultural sector under the new USAID Harvest program, Deputy Agricultural Minister Denys Bashlyk said on May 3.
German company to deliver 6 more TRML-4D radars to Ukraine.
Hensoldt, a German defense manufacturer, will provide Ukraine with six more TRML-4D radars by the end of 2024, the company said on May 3.
Zelensky: Ukraine facing 'new stage' in war as Russia preparing to expand offensive.
Ukraine is facing "a new stage" in the Russia's full-scale war, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a meeting with border guards in Khmelnytskyi Oblast on May 3.
Governor: Russian missile attack on Kirovohrad Oblast injures man.
Russian forces attacked Kropyvnytskyi district in Kirovohrad Oblast on May 3, injuring a man, Governor Ahdrii Raikovych said.
Ukraine rises in World Press Freedom Index despite constraints of full-scale war.
Ukraine rose from 79th to 61st place in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on May 3.
Aid passes through Gaza's 'lifeline' for the first time - Israel - Hamas war.
US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has told Israel the "time is now" for a ceasefire with Hamas - after a day of diplomatic talks with President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The first aid trucks have entered Gaza through...
Violence erupts between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protesters in US.
Protests sparked by the conflict in the Middle East have spilled over into violence at two US universities. Some of the worst scenes were at the UCLA campus in California - where police initially failed to intervene when fighting broke out between...