Ukraine War Update NEWS: Military Aid News - NATO, UDCG Summary
Table of Contents 📖
"NATO expenditure is not paying for a thing that you all are taking a piece of at that time. You're paying for future defence if it's needed by spending on your own defence at that time"
Hello Team
🎦 00:00-00:18⏩
Jonathan welcomes everyone to the channel for this two part Ukraine War Update News which focuses on military aid. This is the first part of the video which covers military aid.
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NATO Spending Targets
🎦 00:18-04:46⏩
NATO allies are unlikely to meet the proposed spending target of 5% of GDP set by US president-elect Donald Trump although may be open to an increase from 2%. Jonathan discusses defence spending with specific reference to how the 2% GDP target should be interpreted and the importance of European nations increasing their defence budgets.
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US Department of Defense (DoD) Fact Sheet - Ukraine Defence Contact Group Efforts
🎦 04:46-12:08⏩
The Pentagon has released a fact sheet about the efforts of the Ukraine Defence Contact group. Jonathan goes through the document in detail. Since the Russian invasion, there have been 14 meetings since September 2022 with a 15th on 10th January 2025. More than 14 nations actively participate, including representatives from NATO and the European Union. The forum, which is co-chaired by US Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment, William LaPlante and Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister for European Integration, Sergei Boyev, focuses on requirements-based planning for the production of military equipment, increasing capacity, tangible deliveries and accelerating capability deliveries to Ukraine. Key areas include:
- Mapping global production capacity to increase throughput
- Identifying production constraints and mitigations including joint ventures
- Enabling the sustainment of equipment and reconstitution of Ukrainian forces
- Increasing standardisation/integration/interoperability
Achievements to date include:
- Expanding/establishing production capacity for critical munitions around the world (including details of specific projects)
- Increasing domestic production of mortar and artillery ammunition in Ukraine by 150%
- Identifying gaps and mitigating production constraints for items such as propellants and explosives
Jonathan goes into considerable detail about the projects.
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Effectiveness of Ukraine Defence Contact Group
🎦 12:08-12:35⏩
Jonathan feels that the Ukraine Defence Contact Group has been incredibly successful despite the challenges in getting so many different countries to work together.
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US Aid to Ukraine Benefits US Manufacturing
🎦 12:35-13:50⏩
Jonathan discusses an article that highlights how the $57.9 billion of aid to Ukraine has been an investment in US manufacturing, with over $80 billion to be allocated. Money has been distributed to manufacturing bases across the US, to states that both do and do not support continued aid to Ukraine. A map showing the geographical spread of investment is shown.
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Biden: US Congress Supports Continued Aid to Ukraine
🎦 13:50-14:50⏩
Jonathan discusses comments made by Biden where he has said that there is enough support from Democrats and Republicans to continue providing aid to Ukraine. However, Jonathan is concerned that the new US administration under Trump will simply not put bills to Congress and questions how much influence Congress will actually have.
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Ukraine-Italy: Discussions about Military Aid
🎦 14:50-16:34⏩
Jonathan talks about how Ukraine and Italy have been in discussions about the possibility of using the proceeds from frozen Russian assets (reported to be around 3 billion euros) to bolster Ukraine's ammunition stocks and air defence capabilities. Ukraine has specifically requested Santee air defence systems which are a French-Italian project. Jonathan believes that we will be hearing more about Santee air defence systems and that this could be a win for Europe as the SAMP/T system is a competitor to the US Patriot system.
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Germany to Send RCH 155 Howitzers to Ukraine
🎦 16:34-17:17⏩
Germany will be sending RCH 155 Remote Controlled Howitzers to Ukraine (likely to be as early as next week). Jonathan explains that the UK are planning to replace their AHS-90s with this Howitzer, which is based on the Boxer chassis and will involve German-British co-production.
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Germany Announces New Weapons Package to Ukraine
🎦 17:17-18:00⏩
Germany has announced a new weapons package for Ukraine which includes:
- 22 Leopard 1s
- 25 Marder Infantry Fighting Vehicles
- RST Air Defence system
- 16 Howitzers
- 2 Patriot Launchers
- 7 Gepard Systems + 120,000 rounds of ammunition
- 3,500 Helsing Armed Drones
- 6 Sea King Helicopters
- 250,000 Artillery Shells
German Weapons Package - Analysis by Germanator Ukraine
🎦 18:00-19:24⏩
Jonathan talks about a 34-post article on Germanator Ukraine's website which provides more detail and analysis on the German weapons package announced yesterday. He discusses the claims made in the Reuters article about what the self-propelled howitzers will be and where they will be coming from:
- The Leopard 1A5s and Marders are likely to be delivered
- The self-propelled howitzers are expected to be RCH-155s with a single Panzerhaubitze 2000 and the rest made up of Zuzana 2s from Slovakia
- 18 Panzerhaubitze 2000s have been ordered but won't arrive until 2026/2027
- Slovakia do not want to be seen to be directly supporting Ukraine militarily but are happy to if they are paid for it
German Weapons Package - Further Details
🎦 19:24-21:48⏩
Jonathan continues his summary of the Germanator Ukraine article, providing further information on the German military aid package:
- 3x RST SLM fire units and 6x RST SLS launchers to be delivered in 2025
- 2x Patriot Launchers (of the four promised) to arrive in the next six months
- 7 Gepard SPGs to be delivered + 120,000 rounds of ammunition within the next six months
- 3,500 Helsing loitering munitions (HF1 variant) - delivery expected to be completed by Q3 2025
- 6 Westland Sea King Mark 41 Helicopters - expected soon (delayed due to the fitting of modern missiles)
Jonathan is impressed with the level of support being provided by Germany.
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France: Mirage 2000-5 Fighter Jet Update
🎦 21:48-22:28⏩
Jonathan quotes a French official who has confirmed that France is to provide support to Ukraine by training fighter pilots to fly Mirage 2000-5 aircraft which are to be delivered soon. The official confirmed that France is committed to supporting Ukraine in key areas such as air superiority and ground attack. Three are expected imminently.
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Ukraine to Procure Fibre Optic FPV Drones
🎦 22:28-23:12⏩
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has started the process of procuring fibre optic FPV drones. Jonathan notes how Russia had the upper hand with this technology but that Ukraine are now catching up and that he expects them to achieve parity as they have excellent drone manufacturing capabilities and work very closely with other nations in the drone capability coalition.
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Increased MLRS Activity on the Frontline
🎦 23:12-24:24⏩
Jonathan talks about how Max24 has reported unusual activity on the front - MLRS are being used non-stop. Footage of HIMARS/MLRS in action is shown. This could be an indication that that Ukrainians are finally receiving the ammunition that was promised from the US. Jonathan also shows footage of an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), called a Ripsaw M3. He does not know who is manufacturing it or where it has come from.
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Azov Brigade to Recruit English Speaking Soldiers
🎦 24:24-27:54⏩
Jonathan discusses an article in the Guardian newspaper about how the Azov Brigade is to recruit English speaking soldiers in an attempt to boost numbers. They are particularly interested in recruiting individuals with military experience. The Azov Brigade has said that they are fighting to stop Russia getting closer to Europe, fearing that other countries, such as Poland and the Baltic states would be under threat if Ukraine was to fall. To date, fifteen Britons fighting in Ukraine have been killed since the start of the invasion in 2024. Jonathan also talks about how the Ukrainian legion in Poland has received 1,300 applications from Ukrainians living in Poland and other European countries. Jonathan goes on to highlight the challenges that Ukraine faces in recruiting personnel, particularly given that Russia has emptied their prisons and are also using mercenaries. He believes that Ukraine need to find a way to be able to compete with Russia in this domain.
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Wrap up
🎦 27:54-28:14⏩
Jonathan thanks everyone for watching and suggests that they take a look at the DoD fact sheet which has been linked in the description below.
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