German Chancellor Scholz, under pressure to allow the shipment of tanks to Ukraine, said all decisions on weapons deliveries would be made in coordination with allies including the US, as the conflict enters its 334th day.
Leopard tanks, which are held by an array of NATO countries but whose transfer to Ukraine requires Berlin’s approval, are seen by defence experts as the most suitable for Ukraine (Reuters)
Monday, January 23, 2023
Germany would not stand in the way if Poland wants to send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, Germany's foreign minister said, signalling a possible breakthrough for Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials have been calling on Western allies to supply them with the modern German-made tanks for months but Germany has held back from sending them or allowing other NATO countries to do so.
Leopard tanks, which are held by an array of NATO countries but whose transfer to Ukraine requires Berlin's approval, are seen by defence experts as the most suitable for Ukraine.
Western allies pledged billions of dollars in weapons for Ukraine last week but they failed to persuade Germany to lift its veto on providing the tanks.
But in an apparent shift in Germany's position, foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said her government would not block Poland if it were to send its Leopard 2 tanks without German approval.
"For the moment the question has not been asked, but if we were asked we would not stand in the way," she told France' s LCI TV, when asked about her government's reaction to any such Polish decision.
Here are other developments:
0409 GMT - Potanin says sanctions constrain Nornickel
Nornickel boss Vladimir Potanin, one of Russia’s richest men, said the metals giant was reworking its strategy and building closer ties with countries such as China, Türkiye and Morocco because of Western sanctions on the Russian economy.
Potanin told Russia’s RBC television that the impact of sanctions "does not directly affect the life of the company, its survival, but of course it limits its capabilities, including financial ones, and development of those markets in which it has traditionally been present".
0355 GMT - Russia-backed admin visits Soledar
The top Moscow-supported official in the occupied parts of the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine said that he had visited the town of Soledar that Russia claimed to had captured earlier this month.
Denis Pushilin, a Russian proxy official in eastern Ukraine, published a short video on the Telegram messaging app that showed him driving and walking amidst uninhabited areas and destroyed buildings."I visited Soledar today," Pushilin said in an accompanying statement, noting Soledar mines were damaged and "difficult" to descend into.
Ukraine has never publicly said that the town was taken by Russian forces. On Sunday, the general staff of its armed forces said in a daily update that Russian forces had fired on Ukrainian positions in the area.
Russia's army declares that the bodies of the Ukrainian soldiers who died in the battles for Soledar will be handed over to Ukraine's army for funerals. In this report by media reportedly owned by Prigozhin, he appeared on the video of the loading of the bodies. pic.twitter.com/hbL7GxlWo3
— Ruslan Trad (@ruslantrad) January 21, 2023
0310 GMT – Britain’s former PM visits Ukrainian president
Britain’s former Prime Minister Boris Johnson made an unannounced visit to Ukraine’s capital to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Johnson also met with students and lecturers of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kiev and answered their questions, according to the Ukrainian Presidency,
Despite the fact that his country is still at war with Russia, Zelenskyy said he believes that victory can be achieved in 2023 with international assistance.
For his part, Johnson said: "The only way to end this war is for Ukraine to win – and to win as fast as possible. This is the moment to double down and to give the Ukrainians all the tools they need to finish the job."
0300 GMT - Hundreds and thousands dead or wounded: Norway
Russia has suffered 180,000 killed or wounded in Ukraine so far, while the figure for the Ukrainians is 100,000 military casualties and 30,000 dead civilians, according to estimates released by Norway's army chief.
"Russian losses are beginning to approach around 180,000 dead or wounded soldiers," Norwegian Chief of Defence Eirik Kristoffersen said in an interview with TV2, without specifying how the numbers were calculated.
Norway, a country bordering Russia, has been a member of NATO since its founding in 1949.
"Ukrainian losses are probably over 100,000 dead or wounded.
In addition Ukraine has about 30,000 civilians who died in this terrible war," said the Norwegian general.
Moscow and Kiev have not provided reliable accounts for their losses for months.
In November, US army joint chiefs of staff chairman Mark Milley said the Russian army had suffered more than 100,000 dead or wounded, with a "probably" similar toll on the Ukrainian side.
These figures cannot be independently verified by TRT World.
0020 GMT – Germany ready to let Poland send Leopard tanks to Ukraine
Germany
is ready to authorise Poland to send German-made Leopard tanks to
Ukraine to help Kiev fight the Russian forces if Warsaw makes such a
request, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said.
"If we are asked the question, then we will not stand in the way," Baerbock told LCI television after a Franco-German summit meeting in Paris.
"We know how important these tanks are and this is why we are discussing this now with our partners. We need to make sure people's lives are saved and Ukraine's territory liberated."
Baerbock said that Poland had yet to make a formal request.
Her comments come as Berlin resists pressure from Kiev to send some of its own stocks of the Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
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(With input from news agency language)
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