Poland promises Leopard main battle tanks – soldiers from Slovakia are allowed to enter Ukraine
Created: 01/12/2023 06:22
By: Bedrettin Bölükbasi, Lucas Maier, Christian Stör
After Poland, Great Britain also announces that it will deliver main battle tanks to Ukraine.
President of Slovakia allows seven soldiers to fight for Ukraine.
The news ticker.
Putin
speaks of the
"difficult" situation
in
annexed areas
: the Kremlin boss nevertheless called for a plan
Stoltenberg
calls for more
help for Kiev
: The NATO Secretary General calls for more support from the alliance
Tank delivery
for
Ukraine
: Poland and Great Britain announced support one after the other
Editor's note:
Read the latest developments from the Ukraine conflict in our new ticker.
The information on the Ukraine war processed here comes partly from the warring parties in Russia and Ukraine.
They can therefore not be independently checked in part.
Update from Thursday, January 12, 2023,
6:20 a.m.: Slovakian President Zuzana Čaputová approved seven Slovakian citizens to join the Ukrainian armed forces.
A total of 26 applications were decided.
The remaining 19 applications were rejected.
Slovaks are banned from serving in non-NATO armies without permission, the Ukrainian online newspaper
pravda.ua
writes.
Soldiers for Ukraine: President of Slovakia agrees to join Ukraine's army.
(Archive image) © TASR/dpa
Weapons for Ukraine: Britain pledges tanks
+++ 8:55 p.m .:
After Poland, the British government has now also announced that it will deliver tanks to Ukraine to support its fight against Russia, as the
Financial Times
reports.
According to the report, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urged his defense secretary, Ben Wallace, to "work with partners" in the coming weeks to "move further and faster with our support to Ukraine, including the deployment of tanks."
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It is not known which tank model the UK delivery is supposed to be.
The British Army's only main battle tank is the Challenger 2, which has been manufactured in Britain since 1998 and of which 227 are currently in service.
After much hesitation about tank deliveries by the western powers, Britain's announcement came just a few hours after President Duda's announcement of Polish deliveries.
Poland announces delivery of tanks to Ukraine
+++ 3:55 p.m .:
Poland is ready to deliver Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine as part of an international coalition.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said this at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda in Lviv, western Ukraine.
"A company of Leopard main battle tanks will be handed over as part of a coalition that is forming," Duda said.
For his part, Nauseda stated that he wanted to supply air defense systems to Ukraine.
According to the Unian news agency, he assured that Lithuania and Poland would continue to support Ukraine.
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Putin speaks of the "difficult" situation in annexed areas - and still calls for a plan
+++ 3.20 p.m .:
Around ten and a half months after the start of the war against Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the situation in the illegally annexed areas of Ukraine as “difficult”.
"Combat operations are ongoing in some areas," Putin stressed during talks with government officials, adding: "But all this is no reason to pause and postpone the most pressing issues." Putin instructed the Russian cabinet to Months to draw up a plan for the development of the Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
It is about infrastructure and social services.
News on the Ukraine war: Kyiv and Moscow agree on new prisoner exchange in Ankara
+++ 1:15 p.m .:
Russia and Ukraine have agreed on a new prisoner exchange in Turkey.
This was reported by the British broadcaster Sky News.
At a meeting in Ankara on the sidelines of an ombudsman conference, Russian human rights commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova and her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Lubinets agreed to exchange 40 prisoners of war.
Further details are not known at this time.
Following the agreement, Moskalkova and Lubinets will visit the Turkish presidential palace, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will deliver a speech at the conference, the Sky News report said.
News about the Ukraine war: Stoltenberg calls for more help for Kyiv - "must do more"
+++ 12.10 p.m .:
After Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens), NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has again spoken out in favor of more arms deliveries to the Ukrainian military.
The recent fighting in eastern Ukraine showed "how crucial it is that we expand our military support," emphasized Stoltenberg on Wednesday in Brussels.
Stoltenberg also emphasized that the support of the NATO countries "makes a real difference in this crucial phase of the war".
He turned to the Allies: "We have to do more and even faster." Next Friday, the allies will discuss increasing military aid at the US military base in Ramstein, Rhineland-Palatinate.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin chairs the third meeting of the so-called Ukraine Contact Group.
According to US information, Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) has also been invited.
News on the Ukraine war: peace talks?
Kremlin currently sees “no prospect”
+++ 10.55 a.m .:
Russia still considers peace talks with Ukraine to be impossible.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed the political leadership of Ukraine and the West.
According to the state agency TASS, Peskov emphasized that Ukrainian law prohibits the Ukrainian president from engaging in dialogue with Russia.
At the same time, the West is not ready to "allow Kyiv flexibility in this matter".
Therefore, there is currently no prospect of negotiations.
When asked, the Kremlin spokesman also commented on the situation in Soledar in eastern Ukraine.
"Let's not rush, let's wait for official statements," he underscored.
Pro-Russian mercenaries reported on Tuesday (January 10) that the city in Donetsk had been taken.
So far, however, there is no official confirmation.
In addition, Peskov spoke of a "positive dynamic" for Russia in the course of the war.
Tactical successes are very important.
"But military success is achieved when we achieve the goals set by the supreme commander in the course of the military special operation," he emphasized at the same time.
Ukraine War: Debate over tank supplies to Ukrainian military
First report from Wednesday, January 11:
Berlin - The debate about the delivery of Western battle tanks to Ukraine is still in full swing.
The President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has spoken out in favor of supplying the Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks.
"I think Ukraine should get the military equipment it needs and can use to defend its homeland," she said in Brussels on Tuesday (10 January).
The issue of tank deliveries is particularly explosive because countries such as Spain and Poland are not allowed to hand over their Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine without the permission of the manufacturer, Germany.
The federal government itself does not want to deliver any Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
Ukraine hopes for delivery of Leopard tanks
On the other hand, the delivery of Challenger 2 battle tanks is under discussion in Great Britain.
According to a report by TV broadcaster
Sky News
, up to ten vehicles could go to Ukraine.
Corresponding discussions have been going on for weeks.
The British Ministry of Defense has not yet commented on this.
The number of tanks in itself is probably not decisive.
Ten Challenger 2 would not be a "game changer" in the Ukraine war, the Sky News
report said
, but such a move would encourage other states to supply main battle tanks, the broadcaster quoted a "Ukrainian source".
The British Army operates around 450 Challenger 2 tanks.
More than 3600 pieces of the Leopard 2 main battle tank were built.
They are used in many countries.
In addition to Poland, possible partners in a delivery could also be Finland and Spain.
The German armaments company Rheinmetall had also offered deliveries in the past.
(cs/dpa)
