Final Word from Thursday, November 30, 2023
Ukrainian Foreign Min. Dmytro Kuleba said in Brussels yesterday: "Our deal is very fair - you give us all what we need, we do the fight[ing]. We're not asking you to sacrifice your lives." A few moments earlier he had said that he had a productive meeting on Tues. with the Slovak foreign minister and that they perfectly understand each other. The maintenance hub in Slovakia for Ukrainian heavy equipment will continue, Kuleba said, as will the contracts between Ukrainian and Slovak companies producing weapons. He didn't mention the Czech Republic, but the setup is similar. Czech arms makers are selling war materiel to Ukraine and are racking up record profits in the process. Instead of buying the equipment from them and then donating it directly to Ukraine, the Czech government is only promising to make sure the export licenses are issued. The Czech and Slovak policy on Ukraine is now very similar, and it's not hard to imagine why everyone involved seems to be quite content with it. [ Czech Republic minister Juraj Blanár corruption war profiteering ]
Glossary of difficult words
setup - the way in which something, esp. an organization or equipment, is organized, planned or arranged;
materiel - (mass noun) military materials and equipment;
content - willing to accept something; satisfied.