The Malva self-propelled howitzer is the counterpart to a French-made systems used by Kiev Russia’s first-ever wheeled self-propelled howitzer, the 2S43 Malva, has successfully completed trials and will enter service, Director of Uralvagonzavod Aleksandr Potapov said on Wednesday.

Despite the increase, the EU’s top diplomat warned that the bloc continues “to lag behind other players” in defense spending Military spending in the European Union increased by 6% to a record €240 billion ($261.4 billion) in 2022, according to figures published on Thursday by the European Defense Agency.

Russia’s Defense Ministry has published statistics detailing the aid supplied to Ukraine from abroad during the conflict with Russia. According to its figures, Kiev’s foreign backers together have spent more than $203 billion on assisting the government of President Vladimir Zelensky.