Russia counting losses in Ukraine invasion, as Germany explores Gulf region for alternative energy supply

Ukrainian forces captured a batch of intact Russian missiles and fired them back at Russian troops.

Russian troops trying to invade Kyiv from the northwestern city of Hostomel on Sunday were attacked with their own weapons, Yuri Golodov, the deputy commander of one of Ukraine’s Territorial Forces, said.

“Last night we sent the Ukrainian armed forces 24 Uragan missiles that were on their way here to fly over our cities,” Golodov said Monday.

“We captured them intact, gave them to the Armed Forces of Ukraine at night, and now the Ukrainian army has fired missiles back at them,” he added.

Golodov leads a team of Ukrainian soldiers working to repair and repaint Russian military equipment that has been captured or abandoned.

The Ukrainian soldiers work on different types of military vehicles, from a junkyard in Kyiv, fixing broken parts, removing communications systems, and painting over any Russian military symbols, CNN reported.

“It looks like old weaponry, but actually if you use it correctly it will serve us for a long time,” Golodov told CNN, referring to an artillery support vehicle that was under reconstruction.

“Everything that we take away from the Russian army, we transfer to the armed forces of Ukraine.”

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joked that Russia had become a major arms supplier to Ukraine because so much of its equipment had been captured by Ukrainian forces.

“We take trophies and use them to protect Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said a video address.

“Today, Russian troops are, in fact, one of the suppliers of equipment to our army.”

Ukraine’s Armed Forces said Monday that Russian troops had lost 498 tanks, 121 helicopters, and 1,535 armored personnel carriers since the start of the conflict on February 24. The figures have not been verified.

Meanwhile, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is continuously being funded by EU members states, with the biggest share of financial resources provided for Moscow by Germany. Most EU states are reliant on Russia for its energy and fuel supplies, but Germany paid more than €40 billion (£33.6bn) to Vladimir Putin alone in 2021.

In January, Berlin spent €2.6 billion to Russia in gas, oil and coal orders.

That means Germany has been funding Russia’s economy and military spendings for up to £3.7 million per hour, making it the country economically contributing the most to Putin’s attack on Ukraine in Europe.

On Monday, German companies signed several agreements with firms in the United Arab Emirates to build up a comprehensive hydrogen value chain between the two countries, Germany’s Economy Ministry said.

The signing of the deals come during a visit by German Economy Minister Robert Habeck to the Gulf states to discuss long-term energy supplies.

Berlin is making efforts to reduce its reliance on Russian energy and increase pressure on President Putin over the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Germany’s Hydrogenious and Uniper, along with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Japan’s JERA will enter a joint demonstration project for hydrogen transport, the ministry said in a statement.

The Kremlin said on Monday Europe would be hit hard in the event of an embargo on Russian oil, striking the continent’s energy balance.

Some European Union foreign ministers are pushing for an oil embargo as part of a possible fifth round of sanctions against Russia, in an effort to punish Moscow over events in Ukraine.

For now, the 27-nation EU, which relies on Russia for 40 percent of its gas, with Germany among the most dependent of the bloc’s large economies, is divided on how to tackle the energy issue.

“Americans would remain as they are and would feel much better than Europeans (in the event of oil embargo). This would be hard for Europeans – such a decision would hit everyone,” Peskov said.

Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on February 24 in what it called a “special operation” to degrade its southern neighbour’s military capabilities and root out people it called dangerous nationalists.

Ukrainian forces have mounted stiff resistance and the West has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia in an effort to force it to withdraw its forces.