Putin confidant Medvedev derides western tanks as soon to be “rusty scrap metal”
Created: 01/12/2023Updated: 01/12/2023 06:33
By: Bedrettin Bölükbasi, Andreas Schmid
The debate about main battle tanks for Ukraine is picking up speed – and the SPD parliamentary group continues to call for peace talks.
News ticker on diplomacy in the Ukraine war.
Poland
considers delivery of
Leopard 2 tanks
: will Germany approve?
Negotiations
in the
Ukraine war
: Kremlin sees little room for maneuver and blames the West and Ukraine
Historical
Baerbock
visit in
Kharkiv
: Arrival under the highest secrecy
This
news ticker
on diplomacy in the
Ukraine war
is constantly
updated
.
Update from January 12, 6:24 a.m
.: Will the western tanks in Ukraine soon be useless?
At least that is the opinion of former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
The armored vehicles will not save the collapsing "artificial state" of Ukraine, commented the Vice-Chairman of Russia's National Security Council.
At the meeting between Zelenskyy and Dudas in Lviv, tanks such as the Leopard, modernized T-72 and British tanks were "adored".
"But all this iron will definitely soon turn into rusty scrap metal," Medvedev said.
Medvedev was considered a moderate politician during his time as President of Russia.
Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, he has tried to make a name for himself with extreme positions.
Medvedev (l.) is considered a confidant of Putin (archive photo).
© Yekaterina Shtukina/imago
Update from January 11, 7:50 p.m
.: The SPD in the Bundestag continues to rely on diplomatic initiatives to reach a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
"Because we know that wars are not usually ended on the battlefield," says the draft for a position paper by the largest government faction, which is to be decided at the annual meeting beginning on Thursday.
"Even if, for understandable reasons, there is no longer any trust in the current Russian leadership, diplomatic talks must remain possible." That is why the talks between Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Russian President Vladimir Putin are right and necessary.
Wherever possible, diplomatic initiatives should be taken, according to the draft available to the German Press Agency.
"We must continue to make every attempt to persuade Russia to withdraw and to demand that Russia be honestly willing to conclude a just peace agreement." The Ukrainian government is skeptical about diplomatic initiatives.
She sees no point in negotiations with Russia until all troops are withdrawn from Ukrainian territory.
Have called each other "several times" since the Ukraine war.
Olaf Scholz and Vladimir Putin.
© Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance/IMAGO/Russian Look (montage)
Update from January 11, 7.40 p.m .:
Russia and Ukraine agreed on another prisoner exchange in Turkey on Wednesday.
Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said after meeting her Ukrainian colleague Dmytro Lubinets in Ankara that they had agreed to exchange more than 40 prisoners each.
The talks are expected to continue on Thursday.
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Hofreiter calls for tanks for Ukraine: "Scholz is now responsible"
Update from January 11, 7:11 p.m
.: Green politician Anton Hofreiter calls on Olaf Scholz to control the delivery of battle tanks to Ukraine at international level.
"Chancellor Scholz is now responsible for coordinating the delivery of the battle tanks with the other Western heads of state and government," Hofreiter told the
Tagesspiegel.
Update from January 11, 6:30 p.m .:
Volodymyr Zelenskyj expressly welcomed Poland’s initiative to provide his country with Leopard main battle tanks.
"Thank you very much to President Duda, the Polish government and all our Polish friends," said Zelenskyj on Wednesday evening in his daily video address on the results of his meeting with his Polish colleague Andrzej Duda and Lithuanian head of state Gitanas Nauseda in Lviv.
Western-made tanks are "the work of our entire anti-war coalition and a new level of our potential."
Poland Considers Supply Of Leopard 2 Tanks: Will Germany Approve?
Update from January 11, 4:10 p.m .:
Poland is ready to deliver Leopard 2 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.
Ukraine has long been demanding the delivery of Leopard 2 main battle tanks.
After much hesitation, the federal government announced on Thursday that it would be delivering Marder armored personnel carriers and a Patriot air defense system to Ukraine.
With a view to the Leopard 2 tanks, however, Berlin remains cautious.
Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said there was “no new status to be communicated” on the subject.
The debate about tank deliveries is particularly explosive because countries like Spain and Poland are not allowed to hand over their Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine without the permission of the manufacturer Germany.
The pressure to grant permission is mounting on Berlin.
Meanwhile, confusion reigns over the situation regarding control of the city of Soledar.
Ukraine denies Russian claims, while Russia speaks of a "icing on the cake".
Ukraine-News: Putin admits "difficult" situation in annexed areas
Update from January 11, 3:15 p.m .:
Around ten and a half months after the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the situation in the illegally annexed areas of Ukraine as “difficult”.
"Fighting is ongoing in some areas," Putin added when speaking to government officials.
"But all this is no reason to take a break and postpone the most pressing issues," said the Kremlin boss.
Putin instructed the Russian cabinet to draw up a plan for the development of the Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the coming months - for example with a view to infrastructure and social services.
Ukraine War: New prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine agreed
Update from January 11, 1:15 p.m .:
Russia and Ukraine have agreed on a new prisoner exchange in Turkey, as reported by the British broadcaster
Sky News
.
Accordingly, the Russian human rights commissioner Tatiana Moskalkowa and her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Lubinets agreed on the exchange of 40 prisoners of war from the Ukraine war at a meeting in Ankara on the sidelines of an ombudsman conference.
Further details are not known.
Following the agreement, Moskalkova and Lubinets will visit Turkey's presidential palace, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will deliver a speech at the conference, Sky News said.
Ukraine-News: Stoltenberg calls for more help for Ukraine
Update from January 11, 12:05 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 Ukraine.
The recent fighting in eastern Ukraine showed "how crucial it is that we expand our military support," said Stoltenberg in Brussels on Wednesday.
Stoltenberg emphasized that the support of the NATO countries "makes a real difference in this crucial phase of the war".
He called on the allies: "We have to do more and even faster." Next week, Friday, the allies will discuss increasing military aid at the US military base in Ramstein, Baden-Württemberg.
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.
Negotiations in the Ukraine war: Kremlin sees little room for maneuver and blames the West and Ukraine
Update from January 11, 10:40 a.m.:
Russia still sees no scope for peace talks with Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov blamed the Ukrainian leadership and the West.
Ukrainian law bans the Ukrainian president from contacts with Russia, while the West is unwilling to "allow Kiev flexibility in this matter," Peskov said, according to the state news agency
Tass
.
Therefore, there is currently no prospect of negotiations in the Ukraine war between the warring parties.
In response to a question about the situation in Soledar, Vladimir Putin's spokesman replied: "Let's not rush things, let's wait for official statements." 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-News: Baerbock in Ukraine - it's about tanks and air defense
Update from January 11, 6:43 a.m
.: During her visit to Kharkiv, Baerbock underlined the need for "further tank deliveries".
This is necessary so that other places occupied by the Russian army can be liberated, said the Foreign Minister in the ARD "Tagesthemen".
Ukraine also needs “further air defense”, especially to protect infrastructure.
However, Baerbock still did not want to give a promise to deliver the German Leopard main battle tanks desired by Kyiv.
She referred to ongoing votes among the allies.
It takes time to think about how to act responsibly - "even if your heart is on fire". But there is also a responsibility to ensure that the war does not spread to other countries.
Zelenskyj expatriates pro-Russian MPs: "Our services work"
Update from January 11, 6:24 a.m
.: Volodymyr Zelenskyj is now expatriating pro-Russian members of parliament: "If representatives of the people decide not to serve the Ukrainian people, but rather the murderers who have come to Ukraine, then our steps will be appropriate," he said Ukrainian President in his recent video address.
According to the constitution, the expatriation was made on the basis of information from the SBU secret service and the migration service.
"Our services work." All four members of parliament are suspected to have Russian citizenship.
Under Zelenskyi's predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, and in the Soviet Union, expatriation of politically undesirable people was a common practice.
Update from January 10, 7.30 p.m
.: New details on Annalena Baerbock’s trip to Kharkiv.
The foreign minister first went to Kyiv by train, news agencies report.
From the Ukrainian capital, where Ukraine is preparing for a new Russian attack, we then went on to Kharkiv.
Due to the war, it is currently not possible to travel to Ukraine by plane.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen) is sitting on the Intercity Express from Kyiv to Kharkiv during her trip to eastern Ukraine and has the book “Woman of War” by Anna Shyla lying on the table in front of her.
© Jörg Blank/dpa
Baerbock message to Ukraine: "You can count on our solidarity"
Kharkiv – The war is present in Kharkiv every day.
Less than 40 kilometers separate the eastern Ukrainian city from the border with the aggressor Russia.
Rockets from the neighboring country hit the region almost every day.
A visit to Kharkiv is a gamble.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) took the risk on this sunny and cold January day to deliver a message in the Ukrainian wartime winter.
"People in all parts of Ukraine should know that they can count on our solidarity and our support," said Baerbock after arriving in Kharkiv on Tuesday.
In the greatest secrecy, she had traveled to the bullet-riddled city, which the minister sees as a “symbol of the absolute insanity of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine”.
The battle front is currently about 130 kilometers away.
One and a half million people lived in Kharkiv before the war, 500,000 of them had to flee.
Baerbock says: "Today you can see deep traces of Russian destructiveness on practically every street corner."
"In this winter of war, don't lose sight of Ukraine's place in our European family": Annalena Baerbock.
© Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa/Archive
Historical Baerbock visit in Kharkiv: Arrival under the highest secrecy
Never since the beginning of the war has a foreign foreign minister ventured to Kharkiv.
The thermometer shows minus seven degrees Celsius when Baerbock climbs out of a silver-painted regional train at the station at noon.
Behind her lies a long night on rails through icy landscapes.
An arrival by plane is not possible because of the war.
Her colleague Dmytro Kuleba had invited Baerbock to Kharkiv so that she could get an idea of the situation.
Baerbock says she especially wants to listen to the residents "who are being hit so hard by the war in this bitterly cold winter, when temperatures at night are down to minus 15 degrees, that we can't even imagine it “.
Weapons for Ukraine?
Baerbock speaks of "further deliveries"
In Kharkiv, the minister also spoke of "further arms deliveries that Ukraine needs to free its fellow citizens who are still suffering from the terror of the Russian occupation".
Baerbock's visit comes a few days after the German government's commitment to supply German armored personnel carriers to Ukraine settled another point of contention in the mutual relationship.
Baerbock's party friends in Berlin are among those who now want to deliver even heavier war equipment - namely the Leopard battle tank - to the Ukraine.
However, the federal government disagrees.
(as/AFP)
