DPA

US defence chief Austin makes unannounced visit to Kiev

By DPA,

4 days ago

The US secretary of defence, Lloyd Austin, arrived in Ukraine on Monday for an unannounced visit, his fourth since assuming the position in 2021 and at a precarious moment for the country.

Austin wrote on X that his trip was meant to demonstrate "that the United States, alongside the international community, continues to stand by Ukraine."

Austin will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, US media travelling with the secretary reported.

His visit to Kiev comes in the waning months of the Biden administration and with all eyes on the dead-heat race for the White House.

Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris has vowed to continue military aid to Ukraine should she win on November 5, while her Republican rival Donald Trump has expressed antipathy for further support.

The United States has been the largest military and financial backer of Ukraine since the start of the all-out Russian invasion in February 2022.

Russian forces have made slow but steady territorial gains in eastern Ukraine. Zelensky has pressed his allies in the West allow Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia, but to no avail.

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Leo

3d ago

. Workers who are not subject to mobilization are in particular demand now. This was stated in an interview with the German Spiegel by Ella Libanova, Director of the Institute of Demography and Social Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine"From the employer's point of view, the ideal employee today is someone who is already 60 years old and therefore cannot be drafted into the army," Libanova said.She also noted that the labor shortage was observed in Ukraine before the SVO, and worsened afterwards. About 1.5 million people left the post-Soviet republic. Now the places of mobilized men are being replaced by women and those who are not subject to mobilization.The director of the Institute of Demography and Social Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine also noted that after the start of the SVO, the population migrated to the western regions. The population of Kiev did not change significantly - those who left were replaced by a comparable number of those who arrived.According to the legislative norms adopted in Ukraine, the mobilization age is limited to the upper limit of 60 years. The Ministry of Economy of Ukraine estimates the need for labor force at an additional 4.5 million people. The International Labor Organization predicts that the deficit in the labor market of Ukraine in the next decade will be 8.6 million people.

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