Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed concerns that Germany’s supply of battle tanks could make his nation an active party to the war with Russia. Western allies also have a “consensus” with Ukraine’s leader that weapons provided to Kyiv will not be used to attack Russian territory, he said.
(Bloomberg) — Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed concerns that Germany’s supply of battle tanks could make his nation an active party to the war with Russia. Western allies also have a “consensus” with Ukraine’s leader that weapons provided to Kyiv will not be used to attack Russian territory, he said.
At least two missiles launched from Belgorod in Russia struck residential areas and a university building in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv early Sunday, causing extensive damage and wounding at least five people. The UK assessed that Bakhmut in Donestsk, the scene of months of fierce fighting, is increasingly isolated by Russian advances.
The US is sending Ukraine a new $2.1 billion weapons package, the Pentagon said Friday, including a new ground-launched, bomb-tipped rocket. Canada sent the first of four Leopard 2 tanks it pledged to donate. Ukraine’s president spoke with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
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On the Ground
Two Russian S-300 missiles hit the center of Kharkiv in Ukraine’s northeast Sunday morning, mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram. Emergency services are still at work; at least five injuries were reported. Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odesa and the surrounding area are still struggling with power outages, the energy group DTEK said. Over the past day, Ukrainian troops repelled assaults near 9 settlements in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions in the east, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook. Civilian targets in the southern Kherson regions were shelled more than 60 times from multiple launch rocket systems, according to the General Staff.
(All times CET)
Ukraine Concerned About Sluggish Tank Deliveries (12 p.m.)
Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk urged European states with Leopard 2 tanks to contribute to the tank coalition without delay. In an interview with Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Melnyk warned that “every day counts,” referencing the threat of new Russian offensives.
Melnyk, who until October was Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, this weekend also suggested allies should provide naval vessels, including submarines.
Germany, which has decided to supply the German-made main battle tanks, is waiting for concrete offers from several states that promised such deliveries. Finland and the Netherlands, for instance, haven’t yet made concrete offers, Sueddeutsche reported.
Ukraine Specialists Training on Anti-Ballistic Missile Defense (11:12 a.m.)
A team of Ukrainian military specialists is headed abroad for training on SAMP/T-Mamba air defense systems provided by the governments of France and Italy, the country’s Air Force commander said.
The service members will return in the spring with the systems, Mykola Oleshchuk said. The SAMP/T-Mamba systems are able to guard against tactical ballistic missiles.
Bakhmut ‘Increasingly Isolated’ by Russian Advances, UK Says (8 a.m.)
Kremlin forces have continued to make small advances in their attempt to encircle Bakhmut in Donetsk, leaving the Donestsk town increasingly isolated, the UK defense ministry said.
The M03 and the H32 – the two main roads into the city for Ukrainian defenders – are likely now both threatened by direct fire, following the Russian advances, the UK said. Earlier, Wagner paramilitary forces highly likely seized a subordinate route which links Bakhmut to the town of Siversk.
Germany’s Scholz Says ‘Joint Approach’ in Ukraine to Prevent Escalation (6 a.m.)
Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejected concerns that war with Russia is bound to escalate after Germany’s move to donate Leopard battle tanks to Kyiv in interview with the Bild on Sonntag tabloid.
“We have carefully weighed every arms shipment [to Ukraine], coordinated them closely with our allies, first and foremost with the United States,” Scholz told Bild. “This joint approach prevents an escalation of the war.”
Scholz said there was a “consensus” involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that weapons provided by Western allies would not be used to strike Russian territory.
Canada Sends First Leopard Tank to Ukraine (12:20 a.m.)
Canada sent its first Leopard 2 tank to Ukraine on Saturday, one of four pledged late last month, Defense Minister Anita Anand tweeted. The donation will include spare parts, ammunition and an unspecified number of Canadian soldiers to help train Ukrainians on the equipment.
Odesa Substation Damage Linked to Previous Russian Strikes (4:27 p.m.)
A “significant” accidental fire at an electrical substation in Odesa that’s caused widespread blackouts can be tied back to heavy damage from earlier Russian missile strikes, said Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, CEO of the grid operator Ukrenergo.
Crucial infrastructure in the Black Sea port city is receiving electricity, including water supply and heating facilities, Kudrytskyi said.
Zelenskiy, Sunak Talk as Ukrainian Crews Train on Challenger 2 (3:30 p.m.)
Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak about “further expanding the capability of the Ukrainian army” and about Kyiv’s demand for Russian athletes to be banned from the next Olympic Games, in Paris in 2024.
Sunak told Helenka he’s focused on ensuring UK military equipment reaches the front lines in Ukraine as quickly as possible, a readout from his office said.
The UK defense ministry earlier tweeted images it said showed Ukrainian soldiers training on the Challenger 2 main battle tanks.
Ukraine, Russia in Year’s First Prisoner Swap (11 a.m.)
Ukraine said 116 of its service members were returned in exchange for 63 Russian prisoners of war. The Russian defense ministry said earlier that its returning soldiers included some in an unspecified “sensitive” category.
The Ukrainians released include soldiers who captured in Mariupol in the spring and others who served in Kherson, Bakhmut and other areas, said Andriy Yermak, chief of the presidential office.
Ukraine also received the remains of two British volunteers — Christopher Perry and Andrew Bagshaw — and of Yevhen Kulyk, a Ukrainian who served in the French Foreign Legion before returning after Russia’s invasion.
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