In September, Riyadh had already played an unexpected role of mediator, resulting in an exchange of prisoners between Moscow and kyiv. This time, Saudi Arabia announced, Saturday, October 15, humanitarian aid of 400 million dollars for Ukraine. According to the official SPA news agency, the crown prince of this Gulf kingdom, Mohammed bin Salman, spoke on the phone to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and stressed “the kingdom’s position to support anything that will contribute to de-escalation, and the kingdom’s willingness to pursue mediation efforts.” Follow our live.
New military aid from the United States. Himar ammunition, rocket launchers mounted on light armored vehicles, more than 23,000 artillery shells, 5,000 remotely operated anti-armour mines, 5,000 anti-tank weapons, 200 Humvee transport vehicles… The United States will provide an additional $725 million in military aid to Ukraine for its defense against the Russian invasion, the Pentagon and the State Department announced on Friday. “This installment will bring total U.S. military assistance to Ukraine to an unprecedented $18.3 billion+” since Joe Biden took office, said the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, in a press release.
SpaceX struggles to finance the internet network in Ukraine. Through the voice of its boss, Elon Musk, the SpaceX company assured Friday that it no longer had the means to continue financing the Starlink internet network in Ukraine. Since the start of the war, the company has delivered thousands of terminals there, providing an Internet connection via a constellation of satellites. The operation has already cost 80 million dollars to SpaceX and the bill should reach 100 million by the end of the year, according to Elon Musk. The latter appeals to the US Department of Defense to take over the financing of the use of Starlink by the Ukrainian government and its army.