Political strategic level
Alex Chockle, the UK's Defence Procurement Secretary, announced that Challenger tanks could arrive in Ukraine by the end of March. Before that, Ukrainian troops will receive intensive training in the use of this British military equipment.
Wojciech Skurkiewiczi, Poland's deputy defence minister, is confident that Warsaw can hand over the promised Leopard tanks to Ukraine in just a few weeks. "I am convinced that Poland will deliver Leopard tanks to Ukraine within a few weeks," Skurkiewicz said. According to the politician, Poland is ready to hand over one Leopard company, which is 14 units. The Vice-Minister recalled that Poland is working hard to build a coalition on tanks. He said that there are currently more than 2 000 Leopard tanks in Europe.
"We hope that in the first phase we will be able to assemble at least a brigade, about 100 Leopards, which we will be able to hand over together to the Ukrainian side", Skurkiewicz said.
The US has already confirmed that it will hand over 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, which are expected to arrive in Ukraine within a few months.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius promises to deliver the tanks to Ukraine by the end of March. Earlier, Pistorius had said that the first Leopard-2s would arrive in Ukraine in about three months.
The Allies are stepping up their support to Ukraine, which is currently finding it difficult to cope with the endless attacks by Russian marauders.
David Petraeus, former head of the CIA and former commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, says that "the Russians are already worried about handing over Abrams to Ukraine. The former intelligence chief says that the supply of Western tanks to Ukraine is "very important", both symbolically and substantively. He notes that a successful war on the battlefield requires the interaction of all types of troops - infantry, engineering, combat vehicles, artillery, air defence, etc.
"Everything has to be coordinated. But it's all about tanks," Petraeus stresses. "Does this offer new opportunities for Ukraine? I bet it does. Should the Russians be worried about it? Absolutely", says the former intelligence chief.
You and I welcome this very important step by the West, but we are not raising the victory trophy yet. Once again, we will be realists, not speaking with emotions, but with reality. And the reality is that victory is a long way off. One tank brigade might allow Ukraine to form a striking fist in one direction, for example towards Melitopol. And how many such brigades are needed? Five? Or maybe ten? How many tank brigades would need reconnaissance assets and capabilities, armoured infantry vehicles, airborne combat aircraft support and artillery systems? Hundreds and thousands of units. How many infantry do we need? Tens of thousands, rested, equipped, rotated after major battles. Are there that many of them? No. For the time being, there are not enough ammunition and rested troops to make a major breakthrough in the front line.
But we have faith in our allies, who see things better than we do and will plan a rapid, targeted and systematic production and delivery of weapons to crush Mordor.
Ukraine, having secured a supply of tanks from the West, is already looking at fighter jets. The country will seek to acquire Western fourth-generation fighters such as the American F-16.
The Kremlin has stated that Ukraine's Western allies' promises to deliver tanks to Kyiv are proof of their direct and growing involvement in the war. "There are constant statements from European capitals and Washington that sending various weapons systems, including tanks, to Ukraine in no way implies the participation of these countries or the alliance in the hostilities in Ukraine," Putler's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "We categorically disagree with this, and in Moscow everything the alliance and the capitals I mentioned are doing is seen as direct participation in the conflict. We see that this is becoming more and more widespread", added the shadow of terrorist No 1.
Yes. The West is involved. And it will be increasingly involved. Perhaps the first peacekeepers will soon appear. And what?
One of Putin's closest allies, Nikolai Patrushev, has said that what is happening in Ukraine is the result of a years-long "hybrid war" waged by the West against Russia.
I wonder how the West has 'hybridised' that poor Russia. They probably wanted to gayise, lesbianise and equalise the opportunities for women and men in the country, so that the drunken Valodzhia would no longer be able to kick the already toothless Lyuda.
Dmitry Medvedev, the rarely sober Secretary of the Russian Security Council, opened his eyes and declared that Ukraine and its current leadership are completely dependent on the West. According to the stage-four alcoholic, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky "is 1000% dependent on NATO weapons and Western money". The hangover-ridden exputin began to play Zelensky: "Come on, make decisions faster. I'm still alive and in control of everyone around me. Give me more weapons and more money, because your enemy is incomprehensible, cunning and dangerous. But I will not surrender to the enemy, I am very, very strong, so there is no need for speeches or communication. Besides, the enemy is almost afraid of me", Medvedev broadcast Zelensky's alleged thoughts to the world, which were dutifully quoted by the main Kremlin channels.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has once again stated that he rejects the possibility of any negotiations with Russia. "I am not interested. It is not interesting to meet, it is not interesting to talk", the President said.
Joe Biden is considering a trip to Europe to commemorate the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The trip has not yet been confirmed, but details are already being worked out. CNN reports that one of the stops under consideration is Poland, a key ally of Lithuania, where thousands of American troops are currently stationed and which is also a hub for Western arms transfers to Ukraine. US troops in Poland are also training Ukrainian troops.
Mr Biden's trip to Kyiv is unlikely because of the US President's security.
Our sources in Ukraine warn that the Kremlin has ordered the activation of a level three agency in Lithuania and Estonia. We believe that our special services are closely monitoring the situation and the individuals who may be preparing provocations.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has ruled out resuming talks with Sweden and Finland on their NATO applications, saying such a move would be "meaningless". Mevlut Cavusoglu says there is no proposal to separately assess Sweden and Finland's NATO membership after Ankara withdrew from trilateral talks scheduled for next month following recent protests in Stockholm. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson says his country wants to re-establish dialogue with Turkey.
Ankara clearly wants to sit on two stools. And the desperate Erdogan has one foot in Moscow and one in Brussels. Who can deny that the action to 'desecrate' the Koran is not a performance staged by the Kremlin?
The United States has officially designated the Wagner Group, run by Putin's chef Prigozhin, as an 'international criminal organisation'. This shadowy paramilitary group is said to have close ties to the Kremlin and was actively involved in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The US Treasury Department stated that it took this step as part of a series of actions targeting dozens of individuals and entities in order to undermine Russia's ability to wage war. It is reportedly freezing any assets located in the US that may be held by the Wagner Group or individuals associated with the group.
Washington has also designated other entities accused of supporting the Wagner Group's military operations, including Russia-based Terra Tech Joint Stock Company and China-based Changsha Tianyi Space Science and Technology Research Institute Co LTD.
Extended sanctions on Wagner will make it even more difficult for Putin to arm and equip his war machine," said US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
"The Wagner Group is not some private, semi-independent and autonomous organisation. It has been a creation of the Kremlin since its inception, doing the bidding of the Russian General Staff, the FSB. In short, it is a terrorist group of the Kremlin.
US auditors and consultants from the World Bank and Deloitte have travelled to Ukraine to monitor the use of military aid. Republican members of Congress have expressed their willingness to undertake additional oversight efforts on US assistance to Ukraine. Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs, says that the oversight measures have been taken to make sure that "aid and weapons are not being misdirected".
Earlier, Ukrainian law enforcement detained the country's Deputy Minister for Territories and Infrastructure, Vasyl Lozynsky, after he allegedly took a bribe of USD 400 000 for "assistance" in the award of contracts for the purchase of equipment and machinery.
Operational level
No significant changes.
After the West's determination to provide Ukraine with modern tanks, the Kremlin's response was a massive missile attack. Yesterday, in the second half of the day, another one followed. This time the Ukrainian air defence forces were ready and shot down 47 of the 55 missiles launched.
The Drisks are slowly strangling the Bakhmut Loop and pushing from Soledar towards Krasnaya Gora, taking the railway line.
The Ukrainians are pushing the Drisks towards Kremina.
The Russians have launched a strong assault on Vuhledar, south-west of Donetsk.
Vuhledar is a strategically important communication point in the south of the Donbass, the frontier of Ukraine's future offensive in the Crimean corridor. The seizure of Vuhledar would improve the strategic position of the Russian army in the Donbas. The Russians have mobilised their best troops, such as marine and airborne brigades and ammunition reserves, to storm the city.
Mordor is digging its teeth into eastern Ukraine and will seek to occupy the whole of the Donbass by 9 May.
Tactical level
Russian terrorists have launched 44 air strikes in the past day. 18 of them were carried out by Shahed-136 unmanned aerial vehicles. All UAVs were shot down.
A total of 70 missiles were fired into Ukrainian territory, of which 47 were destroyed. 125 rocket attacks were conducted. The occupying forces killed 11 people, wounded a number of people and damaged civilian infrastructure.
In the Zaporizhzhya region, artillery fire hit more than 20 neighbourhoods.
In the direction of Kherson, the occupiers again shelled Kherson.
During the past week, Ukrainian military aviation carried out 8 strikes against the occupiers' concentrations and hit the positions of anti-aircraft missile complexes. 3 enemy reconnaissance aircraft were shot down. Rocket and artillery units struck 4 checkpoints, a Russian live-fire base, 2 artillery centres, an ammunition depot and 2 other important objects.
The Ukrainian army resumed its offensive in the direction of Kremina and in the Zaporizhzhya area.
Photo - Kyiv region after rocket shelling, AP Photo/Roman Hrytsyna.
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