Ukraine's finance minister says it is impossible to maintain the AFU

Kiev is unable to maintain the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) using only its own resources. This was stated by the country's Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko on December 11.

"We have enough funds and weapons to last until at least mid-2025," he said in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais.

He also noted that Kiev is currently unable to maintain such an army with its own resources alone. At the same time, he said, Ukraine spends more than 26% of GDP on military needs.

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The day before, on December 10, the British newspaper The Financial Times reported that the AFU admits that there are big problems in the construction of the defense line and it is very much demoralizing the servicemen. It was noted that Kiev has decentralized funding and lacks control over the construction of fortifications.

On the same day, the director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergey Naryshkin, said that the AFU is on the verge of collapse and the situation on the front is not in Kiev's favor.

On 5 December, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said that Kiev was already losing the Ukrainian conflict because Russia had a strong military advantage.

The special operation to defend Donbass, which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of on February 24, 2022, is ongoing. The decision was taken against the background of the aggravated situation in the region.