Germany, US expected to announce tanks deal
- After days of intense discussions, media reports say Germany and the United States are poised to announce they will dispatch their battle tanks, the Leopard 2 and M1 Abrams respectively, to Ukraine. There is no official confirmation yet.
- Deliveries of battle tanks by the US would be “another blatant provocation” Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the US, says.
Ukraine red cross prepares for more aid as it expects the war to intensify
As the war is expected to intensify, the Ukrainian Red Cross is preparing for more aid to assist the civilian population in the country’s war-plagued zones, the organization’s general secretary told Reuters.
“Everyone expects some intensification of the fighting,” Maksym Dotsenko told the news agency during a visit to the German capital Berlin. “I cannot say that all the needs are covered. But I can say that in general the situation is under control,” Dotsenko said.
The Red Cross, he said, is ready to provide generators to hospitals and other places in case of more Russian attacks on critical infrastructure. “Of course, we need more financial support,” he added, but there was no need for donations of clothing.
The Red Cross, Ukraine’s biggest civil organization, has no access to Russian-occupied territories in eastern and southern Ukraine, but is operating in the rest of the country.
It has increased its staff to 1,500 employees from 400 before the war and more than doubled the number of volunteer workers, Dotsenko said. So far, five of the organisation volunteers have died in the conflict.
Wagner making progress in Bakhmut: Russian-installed governor
The Russian-installed governor of Ukraine’s Donetsk region has said that units of the Wagner private military company were making progress in the town of Bakhmut, with fighting ongoing in previously Ukrainian-held neighbourhoods.
Bakhmut has been the focus of intense fighting for months. It’s fall to Russian forces could mark Moscow’s most significant victory after months of military setbacks.
Russia defence ministry says frigate tests strike capabilities in Atlantic
The Russian Defence Ministry says that the Admiral Gorshkov tested strike capabilities in the western Atlantic Ocean.
Russia prepares to deploy small number of T-14 Armata: UK ministry
The British ministry of defence gives its latest bulletin on the situation in Ukraine.
The focus is on the Russian-made tanks, the T-14 Armata, which Moscow has prepared in small number “for the type’s first operational deployment” in the war-torn country, the ministry said.
“However, in recent months, deployed Russian forces were reluctant to accept the first tranche of T-14 allocated to them because the vehicles were in such poor condition.
It is unclear exactly what aspects of the vehicles prompted this reaction, but within the last three years, Russian officials have publicly described problems with the T-14’s engine and thermal imaging systems.
In 2021, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu described the planned production run for 2022 as only an “experimental-industrial” batch. Therefore, it is unlikely that any deployed T-14 tanks will have met the usual standards for new equipment to be deemed operational,” the ministry added.
