Russia's main state bank, VEB, announced this morning that the Russian economy has entered a recession. The announcement comes as several European nations have pledged significant financial and military aid to Ukraine, including funds for US-made weapons systems. Finland is also increasing its border security with Russia. Finland is reinforcing its 1,300 km border with Russia and has proposed to triple funding for border security in the next EU budget, according to a statement from the EU. Meanwhile, multiple countries have committed funds for Ukraine's procurement of US-made weapons systems. These include the Netherlands with €500 million, Canada with $500 million USD, Germany with $500 million USD, Sweden with $275 million USD, Norway with $118.1 million USD, Belgium with €100 million, Denmark with 580 million DKK, Lithuania with €30 million, and Latvia with €2 million, totaling €1.922 billion. In military aid, Germany has delivered one IRIS-T SLM medium-range air-defense battery and two IRIS-T SLS launchers to Ukraine. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius expressed satisfaction with the progress of cooperation with Kyiv on the production of long-range weapons in Ukraine, financed by Germany. Separately, satellite images released yesterday show damage to the 8-N Naitopovychi fuel pumping station in Bryansk, Russia, caused by Ukrainian army actions last night. A storage unit and pumping infrastructure were damaged, with visible traces of fire. The coordinates provided are 52.76579, 32.69141. In other developments, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed EU proposals for a 40–100 km buffer zone, stating that modern warfare renders such concepts ineffective due to the long-range capabilities of current weapons and drones. He suggested that if Russia desires greater distance, it should retreat further into occupied territories. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) have stated they are not investigating "flamingo missiles" as reported in some media outlets. An explosion at a gas station in Dagestan, Russia, injured several people, according to a report yesterday.
