While U.S. President Trump has set a new deadline for Russia to negotiate an end to its war against Ukraine, Ukraine is not wasting time and continues to carry out long-range strikes targeting critical Russian infrastructure: the Central Asia–Center gas pipeline, the oil depot in Adler, the Shahed drone storage airbase, and the Elektropribor plant.
In this edition, I focus on several special reports published in Ukrainian outlets that help us understand how weather affects the operations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and which artillery systems are currently the most effective on the battlefield. Spoiler: it’s not the Ukrainian Bohdana yet—but it has the potential to become a frontline star in a few years.
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Foreign Military Aid
The PEACE Act, introduced by the US Senators Roger Wicker and Jim Risch, outlines how Trump could use European funds to arm Kyiv.
The legislation would create a U.S. Treasury fund to collect allied contributions. The defense secretary could then use this money to pay contractors to replenish U.S. stockpiles, allowing continued weapons shipments to Ukraine without weakening U.S. military readiness. The plan aims to raise $5–8 billion annually, with likely donors including Germany and the UK.
While allies already fund new weapon production for Ukraine, which is a lengthy process, the PEACE Act would offer a faster option by drawing from existing U.S. stockpiles.
“This is the fastest way to arm Ukraine and counter the strategic threat Russia poses to the U.S. and NATO,” Wicker said.
Separately, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill that includes $1 billion in support of Ukraine on July 31, despite the Trump administration's previous pledge to reduce funding allocated for military assistance to Ukraine in its upcoming defense budget. Although the bill still requires approval from both chambers of Congress and the president’s signature, its passage through committee highlights a widening divide among lawmakers over the war in Ukraine.
Additional pledges:
🇩🇪 The German government is planning to allocate approximately $9.7 billion in military aid to Ukraine in 2026, according to a draft budget approved by the German Bundestag. The aid package is part of a broader draft federal budget for 2026, which outlines total spending of around $600 billion—an increase of 3.5% compared to 2025. To support the rising expenditures, Berlin plans to borrow nearly $200 billion in 2026, $35 billion more than the previous year.
🇩🇪 Germany will deliver two additional Patriot air defense batteries to Ukraine, with the first components set to arrive in the coming days.
As part of the first phase of the military equipment transfer, the Bundeswehr will hand over additional Patriot missile launchers in the coming days. In the second phase, which will take place over the next two to three months, other components of the systems will be delivered.
The United States and NATO allies are developing a new system to streamline and fund arms deliveries to Ukraine, aiming to maintain sustained support during the ongoing war with Russia. The plan involves Ukraine submitting a “Priority Ukraine Requirements List” (PURL) that outlines its most urgent military needs. NATO countries would then either supply equipment from their own stockpiles or purchase it from U.S. manufacturers to fulfill these requests.
Aid would be sent in regular packages valued at around $500 million each. A senior European official told Reuters the initiative could lead to arms transfers totaling up to $10 billion, though no specific timeline for completion was given. Under the proposed mechanism, a NATO country supplying weapons to Ukraine could avoid the usual delays associated with US arms sales procedures when restocking its own arsenal.
NATO is holding consultations with allies to expedite the transfer of Patriot systems to Ukraine. “This is not about a single meeting on a single day. It is a continuous process aimed at providing Ukraine with urgently needed support as quickly as possible,” a NATO representative emphasized.
🇵🇱 Polish FM Sikorski said that work is ongoing on the next two packages of military aid for Ukraine.
Artillery Systems in Ukraine
German, British, or Swedish artillery systems? Or maybe the Ukrainian Bohdanas? The founder of Ukrainian Reaktyvna Poshta, a specialized charitable foundation dedicated solely to supporting artillery units, shared his insights on the most effective artillery systems currently used on the battlefield in Ukraine.