Germany supplies Marder tanks – Selenskyj thanks Scholz and Biden

Created: 05/01/2023 23:02

By: Markus Hofstetter, Bedrettin Bölükbasi, Mark Stoffers, Fabian Müller

Russia moves its bombers deep into its territory after attacks by Ukraine.

But with that, Putin's army is probably risking new problems.

The news ticker.

• Attacks

  in

  Russia

  's hinterland

  : London says bomber moves to Far East weaken air force

• Fighting

  in the

  Donetsk region

  : Ukraine claims 800 Russian soldiers have been killed

• This

  news ticker

  on the military situation in the

  Ukraine war

  is constantly updated.

Update from January 5, 10:55 p.m .:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj thanked Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) for the announced delivery of a Patriot air defense system and Marder-type armored personnel carriers.

"We will still get a Patriot system and powerful armored technology, this is really a great victory for our state," said Zelenskyj in his video address on Friday night.

He also thanked the United States, which also wants to supply armored personnel carriers.

Ukraine war: Selenskyj thanks Germany and US for support with armored personnel carriers

The Ukrainian head of state had previously written on Twitter: "Together with the previously delivered Iris-T system and the Gepard anti-aircraft tanks, Germany is making an important contribution to intercepting all Russian missiles!"

The Ukrainian ambassador Oleksii Makeiev also tweeted the hashtags #Patriot and #Marder as well as three black, red and gold hearts and the words #Thank you Germany.

War in Ukraine: Scholz and Biden agree on tank support

Scholz and US President Joe Biden agreed in a telephone call on Thursday that both states would now supply Ukraine with armored personnel carriers to fight the Russian attackers for the first time.

The US sends Bradley tanks.

In addition, the federal government is following suit with the Patriot system, the delivery of which Washington Selenskyj had already promised shortly before Christmas.

Ukraine War: Germany delivers tanks for the first time

Update from January 5, 9:29 p.m .:

After months of hesitation, Germany and the USA are now delivering infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine for the first time to fight the Russian attackers.

The federal government is also providing Ukraine with a Patriot air defense system.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden agreed on this in a telephone call on Thursday, as it was then said in a joint statement.

Germany wants to supply the Ukrainian armed forces with the Marder infantry fighting vehicle, which was developed more than 50 years ago for the Bundeswehr.

The US sends Bradley tanks.

These are the first western-style armored personnel carriers to be received in Ukraine.

So far, only Soviet models have been delivered to the war zone by Eastern European countries.

However, Ukraine received anti-aircraft, armored transport and armored recovery vehicles from Western manufacturers.

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Russia may be in trouble with drones – Kremlin apparently increases troops with Belarus

Update from January 5, 4 p.m.:

Belarus and Russia want to further increase their joint troops, as reported by the Belarusian state agency BelTA, citing the Ministry of Defense in Minsk.

The report said that the armed forces were being strengthened in terms of personnel, weapons and special equipment in order to protect the common “union”.

In addition, further activities for “battle coordination” are planned.

In addition, a "tactical flight maneuver" will be carried out together with the Russian Air Force.

Concerns about a possible mobilization are rampant in Belarus.

Ukraine war: Russia is apparently facing drone problem

Update from January 5, 2:40 p.m .:

According to the Ukrainian military observer Alexander Kovalenko, the Russian military has already used a considerable part of the kamikaze drones promised by Iran.

Over the past few months, Russia has deployed 660 of a total of 1,750 promised Shahed drones, the Unian news agency quoted the expert as saying.

Considering that Iran produces around 100 kamikaze drones per month and one batch of this weapon contains 350 pieces, he stressed that it takes more than 3 months to prepare a new batch of Shahed drones.

Therefore, it will take at least 6 months before Iran can deliver all the promised drones - even if production is accelerated.

At the same time, he said that Russia may have about 50 Shahed drones from the last delivery and will continue to use them.

He called on the Ukrainian leadership to prevent further cooperation between Russia and Iran.

Ukraine war: Ukraine intelligence chief expects 'deeper' attacks in Russia

Update from January 5, 12:01 p.m .:

Kyrylo Budanov, head of the military intelligence service of Ukraine (HUR), expects further attacks on Russian territory.

The beatings would be carried out "deeper and deeper" in Russia, he said in an interview with US broadcaster ABC News.

However, he did not say whether Ukraine will be behind these attacks.

The head of the secret service also does not want to take responsibility for the attacks on the Engels air force base, although he was "glad" about it.

Budanov becomes a little more specific when it comes to military activities in Crimea.

"Crimea is Ukrainian territory, we can use any weapon on our territory," he says.

Budanov expects "hottest fights" for March.

He added that Ukraine is planning a major push in the spring.

Then you will see the liberation of areas and the last defeats of the Russian Federation.

"Our goal, and we will achieve it, is to return to the 1991 borders," said the HUR boss.

According to Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Military Intelligence Service of Ukraine (HUR), Kyiv is planning a major offensive in the spring (archive photo) © Ukrinform/picture alliance/dpa

"Russia is no longer a military threat to the world, but just a fairy tale," he added.

The only remaining problem is Russia's nuclear arsenal "and the uncontrollable regime".

The whole world will recognize the need for Russia's denuclearization, or at least for international oversight of Russia's nuclear arsenal.

"A terrorist country that wields a nuclear baton and utters threats is not a regime that has an ethical or political right to control weapons of mass destruction."

Attacks in Russian hinterland: relocation of bombers Far East weakens air force, according to London

First report from January 5

: Kiev/Moscow - Russia apparently no longer feels safe on its own territory in the Ukraine war.

This suggests a response to attacks on Engels Air Force Base, deep within Russian territory.

An attack in early December killed at least three people and damaged or destroyed several bombers.

At the end of December there was another attack on the base.

“On December 27, 2022, Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, reported that Russia had deployed long-range Tu-95MS Bear heavy bombers and Tu-22M3 Backfire medium bombers to Russia’s Far East,” writes the British Ministry of Defense in his daily situation report on the Ukraine war.

In fact, it is "very likely" that Moscow responded with a general deployment of long-range bombers, it said.

Russia is said to have moved Tu-95 bombers to the Far East after attacks on the Engels base (archive photo) © Russian Defense Ministry Press p

On December 5 and 26, 2022, the Russian air base in Engels was attacked and several aircraft were damaged.

Russia most likely responded to the incidents with a general relocation of its long-range fighter jets, particularly to airfields further from Ukraine.

"The Russian Air Force will continue to be able to fire cruise missiles from the air at Ukraine, as they have a range of 5,000 kilometers, in addition to the flight range of the bombers," it said.

However, operating from different locations means additional maintenance work and will further reduce the limited flight time of these aging aircraft.

Fighting in the Donetsk region: Ukraine claims to have killed 800 Russian soldiers

More than 800 Russian soldiers are estimated to have been killed on Wednesday, according to the Ukrainian military.

Most died in fighting in the Donetsk region in the east, the Ukrainian military said in its daily morning report.

A plane, a helicopter and three tanks belonging to the Russian armed forces were destroyed.

Pictures of the Ukraine war: great horror and small moments of happiness

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The Russian army is concentrating on an offensive in the Bakhmut area, but its attacks in the Avdiivka and Kupyansk areas have been unsuccessful.

However, the figures cannot be independently verified.