Kiev’s donors are increasingly distracted by domestic problems and tensions in the Middle East, according to Sergey Marchenko Securing financial support is becoming more difficult for Kiev as the country’s Western backers shift their focus to domestic matters and geopolitical tensions, the Ukrainian finance minister told Reuters on Saturday.

Russia’s defense minister has claimed that Western countries are trying to prolong and escalate the conflict Western countries are forcing Kiev to present tactical successes on the battlefield regardless of the cost to human lives and “pumping” the country full of weapons and fighters, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has claimed.

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