A large article on The Washington Post is dedicated to a demoralization of the Russian military. The publication refers to the case when Ukrainian troops in the Kherson region found a walkie-talkie in the Russian position and began listening in on the conversations of the occupiers. This turned out to be the best motivator for Ukrainian fighters. In conversations among themselves, the Russians complained how the command forgot about them, how the soldiers in the trenches could not eat all day ― and in general, how "everyone fooled them." The Ukrainian military is already starting to encounter Russians who surrender as prisoners ― and it turns out that they are newly mobilized, who only a week ago worked as mechanics or fitters in the Russian hinterland. In Ukraine, the propaganda fed to them by Russian TV channels immediately crumbled, as did the determination of the failed occupiers. On the other hand, the morale of Ukrainian soldiers is also suffering. They are worried about many things: both the onset of cold weather and the probable strengthening of the Russian army with mobilized forces ― even if most of them turn out to be unfit to participate in the war, someone will become a good fighter and a problem for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Also, soldiers from several Ukrainian brigades spoke about exhaustion due to the lack of even a short rest. And the uncertainty that the next wave of soldiers of the Ukrainian army, which will enter the battlefield, will be as motivated as they are. The publication concludes that with the cold weather, when the front line is not expected to change actively, both sides will use the morale of the fighters as one of the most serious weapons at their disposal.
After Russiaʼs missile attacks on Ukraine earlier this week, NATO countries were concerned not only with providing Kyiv with more air defense, but also with the creation of their own integrated air defense system, writes Politico. In the case of aid to Kyiv, everything is simpler: the Ukrainian authorities already have a detailed list of what can protect Ukrainian skies from the Russian threat. And in NATO, for a long time, different countries had their own approach to protecting the sky, which in some places has become outdated. On Tuesday, the 14 countries of the alliance plus Finland announced their intention to create a new system that would cover the entire European continent. Under this plan, called Sky Shield, participating countries must acquire the latest air defense equipment in coordination with the rest of the participants in the process. "We need to quickly close the holes in the European air defense system, given the dangerous times we live in," said German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht. Currently, this system is planned to be organized without the active participation of the USA ― although the already active Aegis Ashore systems operating in Poland and Romania will be used. These systems are aimed at protecting against drones like Iranʼs Shahed-136. However, the backbone of the future security system should be the American Patriot air defense equipment, the German IRIS-T, as well as the Israeli Arrow-3, designed to destroy targets flying at high altitudes.