 The European Union is moving into a war economy mode due to Russian aggression. The EU must revise its military strategy and drastically ramp up defence production to help Ukraine in the conflict with Russia. European Council President Charles Michel said, the call comes as Kiev has increasingly warned of ammunition shortages. Writing in an op-ed published by the La Libre Belgique newspaper and the Euractive website, Michel claimed that Moscow is a serious military threat to our European continent and global security. If we do not get the EU's response right and do not give Ukraine enough support to stop Russia, we are next, he added. The EU Council Chief argued that for decades, Europe has failed to invest sufficiently in our security and defence, and now urgently needs a radical and irreversible shift in our thinking towards a strategic security mindset. We must therefore be defence ready and shift to a war economy mode. It's time to take responsibility for our security. We can no longer count on others or be at the mercy of election cycles in the U.S. or elsewhere, he added. The bloc's defence production has increased by 50% since the start of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Michel said, adding that the bloc will double ammunition production to over 2 million shells yearly by the end of next year. The EU has been struggling to procure enough weapons and ammunition for Kiev's needs, as Ukrainian and international politicians and experts, as well as soldiers on the battlefield, are blaming shortages for the losses of territory to Russia. The shipments were further delayed when U.S. President Joe Biden's $61 billion aid package stalled in Congress due to political infighting between Democrats and Republicans. The bill remains in limbo due to opposition from GOP legislators. The situation with the supply of Western air defence systems to Kiev is particularly dire. According to the New York Times, the newspaper cited an official U.S. assessment in early February which stated that, without replenishment, Ukraine's air defence could operate only until March 2024. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has renewed his call for additional deliveries, warning in February that an artificial deficit of weapons would only help Russia. What awaits Russia after Putin's victory? War is again in the foreground. Russia has concluded voting in the seventh presidential election of its modern history. First time presidential elections in Russia were held over three days for 12 hours daily between March 15th and 17th. According to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, Putin gains 87.3 percent. This year's ballot also saw sporadic attempts to interfere with the working at polling stations. Almost 30 such cases in a total of 20 Russian regions saw perpetrators attacking ballot boxes according to Central Election Commission head Ella Pamphilova. Presidential elections in Russia have never been associated with a democratic procedure. At the same time, a victory in the first round will give Vladimir Putin a new stamp of legitimacy and will likely send a clear signal. The war with Ukraine has the full support of the Russians, writes CNN. It is noted that among those who follow Russia, attention is focused on several major issues. For starters, if the vote in this election is indeed a referendum on Russia's war against Ukraine, does this election give Putin free reign? Putin appears to have some room for manoeuvre on this issue. The Russian president is demonstrating confidence in development on the battlefield, and in an environment where the West is dragging its feet on providing assistance to Ukraine, the election results give him more rhetorical arguments, the publication says. At the same time, as CNN points out, Russia's gradual advance in eastern Ukraine has led to horrific losses in the Russian army. It is expected that Putin and his generals will have to start a new round of mobilization to feed the troops in the meat grinder. Observers believe Putin will soon simply be forced to make a potentially unpopular move another big mobilization. The second issue on the agenda in Russia is the continuation of repression against the internal opposition, what is left of it. War is also unpredictable, and whatever Putin's efforts to turn the situation in his favor, Russia's long-term problems, demographic decline, the costs of war and sanctions, and the inherent fragility of unity of command are unlikely to disappear before Putin runs for a sixth term. State CNN.