Germany's announcement includes permission for allied countries, including Poland, to transfer their Leopard tanks, while US could approve sending M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, as fighting rages on day 336.
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
1243 GMT
Berlin has agreed to deliver German-made Leopard tanks to help Ukraine repel Russia's offensive, a decision hailed by Kiev and its allies but slammed by Moscow as "extremely dangerous".
"The first step on tanks has been taken," said Kiev, urging its allies to now build a "tank coalition".
Germany will provide a company of 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks from its Bundeswehr stocks, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said.
It is also granting approval for other European countries to send tanks from their own stocks to Ukraine, with the aim of quickly assembling "two tank battalions with Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine," he said.Pressure has been building for weeks on Scholz's government's hesitation to send the tanks and allow other NATO allies to do the same ahead of expected spring offensives by both sides that could help turn the tide of the fight.
Here are other updates:
1456 - Ukraine forces pull back from Donbass town after onslaught
Ukrainian forces have conducted an organised retreat from a town in the eastern region of the Donbass, an official has said, in what amounted to a rare but modest battlefield triumph for Russia after a series of setbacks in its attack.
The Ukrainian army retreated from the salt mining town of Soledar to “preserve the lives of personnel,” Serhii Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s forces in the east, told The Associated Press.
The soldiers pulled back to previously prepared defensive positions, he said. Russia claimed almost two weeks ago that its forces had taken Soledar, but Ukraine denied it.
1358 GMT - Cost of war damage in Ukraine near $138B: Official
The total amount of damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure during the ongoing war with Russia has increased to almost $138 billion, an official has said.
“As of December, 149,300 residential buildings were damaged or destroyed,” First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzheppar wrote on Twitter, citing research by the Kiev School of Economics.
Russia has deprived “hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian families” of their homes, she added. The research showed housing and infrastructure – $54 billion and $35.6 billion, respectively – account for most of the total of $137.8 billion.
British volunteer Chris Parry and his colleague Andrew Bagshaw killed while attempting humanitarian evacuation from Soledar in eastern Ukraine, Parry's family says in statement released by Britain's foreign office
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) January 24, 2023
1357GMT - Russia's oldest human rights group shut down by court
Russia's oldest human rights organisation, the Moscow Helsinki Group, has been liquidated after a court ruled it did not have the correct registration, the latest in a series of closures that critics say is reminiscent of the Soviet era.
Founded in 1976 by Soviet dissident scientists, the group produced annual reports on Russia's human rights situation and was one of the country's few remaining independent rights organisations after the closure of Nobel Prize-winner Memorial in 2021.
Russia's Justice Ministry filed a lawsuit against it in December, arguing that the group was only registered to defend human rights in Moscow - not other parts of the country - an argument that the group called nonsensical.
In an emotional plea to the court on Wednesday, co-chair of the group Valery Borshov told the judge and representatives from the Justice Ministry that liquidating the group would put an end to decades of work by activists.1324 GMT - Germany wants to avoid possible NATO-Russia war: Chancellor
Germany will do anything necessary to support Ukraine, but at the same time, wants to avoid a possible war between Russia and NATO, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said.
During a question and answer session in the parliament, Scholz defended his government’s decision to send heavy weapons and Leopards to Ukraine, but also underlined that Berlin does not want further escalation with Russia.
“These are all measures helping Ukraine defend itself and all these decisions were made in close co-operation and agreement with our allies,” he said, adding that it would be “a terrible mistake” to take unilateral decisions on this issue.
Scholz ruled out sending warplanes or deploying German ground troops in Ukraine, warning that this can lead to a military conflict between Russia and NATO.
1320 GMT - NATO foreign ministers to meet in Norway this May
Norway will host the next informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers, an official statement has said.
The extraordinary meeting will be held in the capital Oslo from May 31 to June 1, with the announcement coinciding with Germany’s landmark announcement that it would send Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine.
"This will be an important opportunity for ministers to address the fundamentally changed security situation due to Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine, and our unwavering support for the Ukrainian people so that they can prevail," NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement.
1300 GMT - Russian envoy slams Germany's decision to send tanks to Ukraine
Germany's decision to send Kiev Leopard 2 tanks takes the war in Ukraine to a new level, the Russian ambassador to Berlin has said.
"This extremely dangerous decision takes the conflict to a new level of confrontation and contradicts the statements of German politicians about Germany's unwillingness to get involved in it," Sergey Nechayev said in a statement, published on the embassy's website.
His remarks came soon after Germany announced on Wednesday that it would send 14 Leopard 2A6 battle tanks to Ukraine and allow its allies to export them to do the same.
1255 GMT - 6 European countries to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine
With Ukraine pressing for a beefed-up capacity to repel Russian forces, so far six European countries have given the green light to support Ukraine with Leopard 2 battle tanks.
Following Germany's approval to send the tanks, which was welcomed by European countries, the focus now falls on countries that already voiced their intention to send the tanks to Ukraine, despite warnings by Russia.
Along with Berlin, Norway, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands, and Poland also announced that they would support Kiev by sending the German-made tanks.
0820 GMT - Former Ukrainian official under house arrest
A former deputy minister in Ukraine has been placed under house arrest amid a report by the country's anti-corruption office that found the official had illegally accepted $400,000.
Ukraine's high anti-corruption court has placed Vasyl Lozynsky, who served as former deputy minister for the development of communities, territories and infrastructure, under house arrest until March 22, 2023, according to state news agency Ukrinform.
The report also said that the specialised anti-graft prosecutor in the case had earlier filed a petition with the court asking that Lozynsky be taken into custody with the possibility of bail amounting to 50 million Ukrainian hryvnia ($1.3 million).
0652 GMT - NATO chief calls allies to raise defence spending cap
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expects the alliance's member states to raise their current spending target on defence of 2 percent of national output when they meet for a summit in Vilnius in July, he told German newspaper Die Welt.
"The two percent target was initially for a decade, so until 2024, so we have to update it now."
Stoltenberg said he could not yet say what the member states would agree on, but many allies have increased their military spending since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
0601 GMT - Norway mulls sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine
The Norwegian government is considering whether to send some of its German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, Oslo-based newspapers Aftenposten and Dagens Naeringsliv have reported.
NATO member Norway, which itself borders Russia, may contribute either four or eight of the country's 36 Leopard 2 tanks, according to Dagens Naeringsliv.
No decision to send the heavy battle tanks has yet been made, according to each of the papers, quoting anonymous sources familiar with the deliberation.
0302 GMT - IAEA conducts inspection at Ukraine nuclear plants
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has rejected claims by Russia that Ukraine stores arms at Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
"This morning, I instructed my teams to address a comprehensive review of the facilities in collaboration and in co-operation with the Ukrainian management of these facilities to ascertain whether there is, in fact, any military equipment in-store or stationed or being moved there. And, of course, the results of those inspections were negative,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said.
He also repeated concerns about the security situation around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian control, due to ongoing battles in areas close to the plant.
2200 GMT - Zelenskyy seeks modern tanks amid fighting
Zelenskyy has said that Kiev needs decisions on real deliveries of modern tanks that would strengthen the country's defence.
"Discussions must be concluded with decisions," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.
"Decisions on real strengthening of our defence against 'terrorists'. Allies have the required number of tanks. When the needed weighty decisions are made, we will be happy to thank you for each weighty decision."
While Berlin and Washington have not officially confirmed the news, sources say Germany will send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and allow other countries to do the same, while the United States may supply Abrams tanks.
Social media is bold.
Social media is young.
Social media raises questions.
Social media is not satisfied with an answer.
Social media looks at the big picture.
Social media is interested in every detail.
social media is curious.
Social media is free.
Social media is irreplaceable.
But never irrelevant.
Social media is you.
(With input from news agency language)
If you like this story, share it with a friend!
We are a non-profit organization. Help us financially to keep our journalism free from government and corporate pressure .
0 Comments