The US joined Germany in promising to supply Ukraine with battle tanks, providing Kyiv’s forces with a significant upgrade against their Russian invaders.
(Bloomberg) — The US joined Germany in promising to supply Ukraine with battle tanks, providing Kyiv’s forces with a significant upgrade against their Russian invaders.
President Joe Biden said the US will send 31 of its M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, without giving details of the timing. Germany has promised more than 100 Leopard 2 tanks, with the first consignment possibly arriving within three months. The Kremlin warned that tanks supplied by allies to Ukraine would be destroyed on the battlefield.
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Key Developments
- Biden Says US Will Send Tanks to Ukraine in Broad Allied Effort
- Germany to Boost Ukraine Firepower With Leopard Battle Tanks
- Ukraine Seeks Weapons to Beat Back Russia: Here’s What It’s Got
- Zelenskiy’s Call for Justice Triggers Shakeup in His Government
- Sweden’s NATO Bid in Doubt After Erdogan Refuses Support
On the Ground
Ukrainian forces repelled attacks near eight settlements in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions over the past day, the General Staff said on Facebook. Russian troops conducted offensive operations in the directions of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka and Novopavlivka, while being on the defensive on the Kupyansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson axes, according to the statement.
(All times CET)
Biden Says Tank Pledges Show NATO Unity (7:45 p.m.)
Biden said the delivery of US tanks will help Ukraine achieve its strategic objectives. The president, who earlier spoke with European leaders, said Ukraine’s allies are maintaining their common front.
“The expectation on the part of Russia is we’re going to break up, we’re not going to stay united,” Biden said. “But we are fully, thoroughly, totally united.”
US Warns Banks to Look Out for Sanctions Dodge (6:40 p.m.)
The US Treasury warned financial institutions to be on the lookout for Russians seeking to evade sanctions by investing in US commercial real estate.
The Treasury said sanctioned Russians could take advantage of the industry’s complex financing methods and opaque ownership structures to continue investing in the US. It warned banks to keep an eye out for the use of offshore vehicles to purchase commercial real estate.
Zelenskiy Welcomes German Tank Decision (2:15 p.m.)
Zelenskiy said on Telegram that he spoke by phone with Scholz.
Ukraine Confirms It Pulled Out of Soledar (12:50 p.m.)
Ukrainian troops have pulled out of Soledar in order to spare lives of servicemen, Suspilne.media news website reported, citing military spokesman Serhiy Cherevatyi.
A week ago, the UK’s Ministry of Defence intelligence update already suggested the Ukrainians had completed the pullback from Soledar as of Jan. 16, but this was the first confirmation coming from Kyiv.
Germany to Boost Ukraine’s Firepower With Leopard 2 Tanks (11:49 a.m.)
The aim is for Germany and its partners to supply two battalions totaling 112 Leopards and the government in Berlin will give allies authorization to supply their tanks, according to a statement. The package includes training in Germany for Ukrainian troops, logistics, ammunition and maintenance.
“This decision follows our well-known line of supporting Ukraine to the best of our ability,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said. “We are acting in a way that is closely agreed and coordinated internationally.”
Ukraine Sanctions Businessman Novinskiy, Top Russian Clergy (11:41 a.m.)
Zelenskiy signed a decree on personal five-year sanctions against businessman Vadim Novinskiy and senior clergymen with the Russian-subordinated part of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
Finland Seeks Way to Participate in Tank Plans (10:55 a.m.)
Finland is ready to take part in the Leopard tank donation to Ukraine in one way or another, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said.
Stopping short of offering the tanks, of which Finland has about 200, Haavisto indicated it could provide training for the drivers, training for maintenance, or spare parts.
“We will consider what is the best way to participate in the package,” Haavisto told reporters. There is concern in Finland that handing over tanks could jeopardize the defense of its 1,300 kilometer-long (800 miles) border with Russia.
Kremlin Warns It Will Destroy US and German Tanks in Ukraine (10:54 a.m.)
Any US M1 Abrams and German Leopard battle tanks supplied to Ukraine will “burn just like all the others,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call, the Tass news service reported.
Plans to provide the tanks overestimate their likely potential to boost the Ukrainian armed forces and are based on a “deep delusion,” he said.
Spain Joins Plan to Provide Leopard Tanks, El País Says (9:29 a.m.)
Spain will join moves by European nations to make Leopard tanks available to Ukraine, the El País newspaper reported, without specifying how it got the information.
The government is currently weighing how the country can contribute to the program that a number of countries will support either by directly delivering tanks or through funding, the newspaper said.
Spain Joins Plan to Provide Ukraine With Leopard Tanks: El País
Japan’s Premier Faces Pressure to Visit Ukraine (9:28 a.m.)
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he would consider an invitation extended by President Zelenskiy to visit Ukraine, as Japan’s ruling party No. 2 publicly urged the premier to go ahead with the trip.
Kishida told lawmakers Wednesday a decision would be based on the circumstances. Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi told parliament it would be desirable for Kishida to go ahead with the visit.
Kishida was invited by Zelenskiy when they spoke earlier this month. The premier has said he plans to strengthen coordination in support of Ukraine when Japan hosts the Group of Seven summit in May. But Japan and the US are the only two countries among the group whose leaders have not made the visit.
Japan PM Kishida Faces Pressure to Visit Ukraine Ahead of G-7
Ukrainian President Appoints New Deputy Chief of Staff (9:14 a.m.)
Zelenskiy picked Oleksiy Kuleba, a former Kyiv region governor, as his new deputy head of stuff.
Kuleba replaces Kyrylo Tymoshenko, who quit a day earlier without giving a reason, as Zelenskiy dismissed at least 10 officials in a government shakeup following an outrcy over perceived excesses by civil servants amid the nation’s efforts to fight off Russia.
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