War in Ukraine: the EU grants an additional 500 million euros to arm kyiv

The EU granting an additional 500 million euros to arm Ukraine, Poland ready to do without Berlin's approval to deliver tanks, a pro-Russian official visiting Soledar...

takes stock of the conflict in Ukraine on Monday 23 January.

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Poland ready to do without Berlin's endorsement to deliver tanks

Poland warned on Monday that it was ready to do without the approval of Berlin, which has

made a decision on the delivery of German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

The German government appears divided on the question of the delivery of heavy tanks.

So far evasive, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, to whom it is ultimately up to decide, finds himself under ever-increasing pressure on Monday, after the head of diplomacy Annalena Baerbock ruled the day before that Germany was ready to authorize Warsaw to supply these armored vehicles to kyiv.

Under German law, a country with German military equipment must seek the green light from Berlin to transfer it to a third country.

Read alsoDelivery of tanks to Ukraine: Poland ready to do without Germany's endorsement

“We are going to ask for such an agreement but it is a secondary question

,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki reacted on Monday.

, including

Poland, ready to send 14 Leopards to kyiv, is in discussions with about fifteen states on this subject, many European armies having such armored vehicles, likely to have a significant impact for the Ukrainians in the face of the steamroller of the troops Russians.

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The EU grants an additional 500 million euros to arm Ukraine

The European Union on Monday granted new funding of 500 million euros for arms supplies to Ukraine and allocated 45 million euros for the training of Ukrainian soldiers in the EU, AFP learned. from diplomatic sources.

EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels agreed to release these two allocations funded by the European Peace Facility, following a videoconference interview with their Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kouleba.

This amount brings to 3.6 billion euros the military financial aid to Ukraine financed with the European Peace Facility (EFF) to which must be added the bilateral financing of the Member States on which not all communicate.

Read alsoDiscover Western tanks, key asset according to kyiv to break the Russian lines in Ukraine

Russian official visits Soledar, one dead in Kherson region

On the ground, Russian artillery fire killed a civilian on Monday in Antonivka, a village in the southern region of Kherson, deplored its governor, Yaroslav Yanushevich.

The day before, a leader of the local occupation authority installed by Moscow had claimed that the Russian army was advancing towards two localities in the Zaporizhia region, also in the south, where clashes with troops from kyiv had broken out. intensified this week.

One of the main leaders of the separatists in eastern Ukraine, Denis Pushilin, meanwhile displayed himself in Soledar, a small town which Moscow claimed to have taken more than a week ago, confirming Monday to the Russian television that it had been

by the fighting.

Read alsoWar in Ukraine: what are the stakes of the Battle of Soledar?

Ukraine has so far not officially acknowledged the loss of Soledar, saying it continues to fight in its western part.

On Monday again, the regional administration reported

, without further details.

The pro-Russian separatists have also announced that they have seized two nearby villages, Krasnopolivka and Dvourechye.

And shells fell in the center of Vorozhba, a locality in the northern region of Sumy, where a residential building was

and a railway line damaged, according to Ukrainian regional authorities.

” SEE ALSO –

War in Ukraine: Ukraine: the Russian army says it has carried out “offensive operations” in the Zaporizhia region

South Africa calls itself 'friend' of Moscow, Estonia expels Russian ambassador

On the diplomatic front, South Africa, criticized for its

position refusing to condemn Moscow since the start of the war in Ukraine, took a new step on Monday by proclaiming itself a

of Russia.

Estonia will for its part expel the Russian ambassador, a measure of reciprocity after a similar decision taken a few hours earlier by Moscow with regard to the Estonian ambassador.

Latvia immediately asked the Russian ambassador to leave the country.

Russians and Westerners have multiplied the expulsions of diplomats in recent years and more since the Russians launched their offensive against Ukraine on February 24, 2022. But this is the first time that ambassadors have been returned to their country since the beginning of the war.

Read alsoWar in Ukraine: expulsion of the Estonian ambassador to Russia

Norway: Wagner deserter arrested by police

A former mercenary from the Russian paramilitary group Wagner who fled to Norway about 10 days ago has been arrested by Norwegian police under immigration law, police said on Monday.

The exact reasons for this arrest have not been specified but, according to his lawyer, it is due

which surround him.

Read also“In Russia, the Wagner militia is a state within a state”

Andrei Medvedev, 26, had crossed the Russian-Norwegian border in the Far North on the night of January 12 to 13 and requested asylum in the Scandinavian country, saying he was ready according to his lawyer to

The man says he fought in Ukraine in Wagner's uniform for four months before deserting in November when the paramilitary organization led by businessman Yevgeny Prigojine, he says, extended his contract against his will.