Ukraine is preparing for a winter of tough defensive combats by investing half of its public spending on equipping its Army, while its enemy, Russia, increases its defense and security budget by two-thirds.

“The funds exist and all the decisions have been made. Now the corresponding work must be done on the ground. Everything is perfectly detailed. There are enough mines and cement” to fortify, assured the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in his message on Tuesday to the population.

The president made this statement after promulgating the State budget for 2024, whose expenditure item includes nearly $90 billion, half of which will be allocated to defense.

Total Ukrainian spending is less than the resources that Russia will allocate next year to defense alone, which will total 10.4 trillion rubles (about $111 billion).

Zelensky pointed out that “more speed and effectiveness is needed” in reinforcing the fortifications and stressed that all those responsible “have clear tasks.”

It was precisely on defensive tasks that the Ukrainian president focused his visit this Wednesday to the southern region of Odessa, on the shores of the Black Sea, where he discussed with military commanders the defense of its ports and infrastructure for the export of grain.

The city of Odessa, the regional capital, was attacked almost daily this summer with drones and missiles in the bombing campaign against Ukraine’s agricultural export capabilities.

Although in recent weeks Moscow’s troops have intensified attacks against Ukrainian positions, especially on the eastern front, and have apparently regained some initiative, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmitro Kuleba, assured today in Brussels that there is no “stagnation ” in Kiev’s response to the Russian invasion.

Kuleba made this statement upon his arrival at the meeting of NATO foreign ministers that ended today in the Belgian capital.

“We need to create a Euro-Atlantic common area of ??defense industries. This is the only way not only to continue helping Ukraine at a sufficient level, but also to ensure the security and defense capabilities of the NATO countries themselves,” he stressed.

Kuleba expressed confidence that the US Congress “will find a solution that is in the interest of the American people, which is to support both Israel and Ukraine,” referring to the delay in approving military aid to Kiev.

“The best way to avoid sending your own soldiers to war is to help another country fight its own war,” he said.

According to many military experts, the Ukrainian counteroffensive failed to achieve its expected objectives this summer due, in large part, to the strength of the fortifications built by Russia in the south.

The Ukrainian General Staff reported today that during the past day Russian troops continued their attempts to advance with massive attacks in several theaters of operations in the eastern province of Donetsk, in particular near the towns of Marinka, Avdivka and Bakhmut.

The Russian Army claimed today to have taken the Ukrainian town of Khromove (Artiómovskoye), west of the city of Bakhmut, controlled by the Russian Army since last May.