"Fabulous, very good material": Ukrainian Defense Minister praises British tanks after test drive

Ukraine's defense minister praises western tanks.

Germany sent 18 Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

The news ticker. 

• Scholz

  delivers

  Leopard tanks

  : 18 main battle tanks for defense in the

  Ukraine war

• Kremlin

  stationed

  nuclear weapons

  : German government condemns Vladimir Putin's plans

• Zelenskyy

  accuses Russia

  of terrorism

  : rockets were aimed at Ukrainian civilians

Update from March 28, 2:37 p.m

.: According to Moscow, Ukraine uses GLSDB-type US missiles.

Such a precision missile, which has a range of 150 kilometers, was shot down by the Russian air defenses, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said.

The US promised Kiev the missiles in early February.

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A Ukrainian multiple rocket launcher from the Soviet era - now Ukraine has received new precision rockets from the USA.

© Vadim Ghirda/dpa

Update from March 28, 12:40 p.m .:

After a test drive, the Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov praised the British Challenger 2 main battle tank that had just arrived and announced that it would be deployed in combat soon.

"Fabulous, this is very good material," Reznikov said in a video published on Twitter on Tuesday.

The clip, which is accompanied by hard beats, shows the 56-year-old doing a few laps in the tank on a training ground.

It was not said how many of the announced 14 main battle tanks arrived from Great Britain.

Ukraine War: Ukraine repels drone strikes

Update from March 28, 12:00 p.m .:

According to military information from Kiev, Ukraine repelled several Russian drone attacks on Tuesday night.

14 of the 15 Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drones were shot down, the Ukrainian General Staff said.

At the same time, the military warned that the risk of new missile and air strikes across the country remains high.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported explosions in Kiev.

A fire broke out in a shop in the capital.

So there were no injuries.

The head of the Kiev presidential office, Andriy Yermak, accused Russia of "terror against civilian infrastructure" after the new drone attacks.

"It won't work," he insisted.

In the Sumy region, Russian air forces bombed the town of Bilopillya.

Buildings and a gas line were hit and one person was injured.

Yermak also published a photo of a large crater.

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An Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drone.

(archive image)

© Sobhan Farajvan/imago-images

War in Ukraine: Scholz supplies Leopard tanks

Kiev – Germany has delivered 18 modern Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks to the Ukrainian armed forces to repel the Russian attack.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) confirmed the delivery of the tanks to Ukraine on Monday in Rotterdam at a press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

"We delivered as announced," said Scholz.

The German government also condemned President Vladimir Putin's nuclear weapons plans.     

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) announced that the federal government had promised a battle group together with Sweden and Portugal.

Pistorius explained: "In order to redeem this, Germany even delivered four more tanks than initially planned." His Ukrainian counterpart Oleksiy Resnikov also confirmed receipt of the German Marder infantry fighting vehicle.

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Ukraine War: Scholz confirms delivery of Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

© Sven Eckelkamp/imago

In mid-March, the tank crews had completed their training on the Leopard with combat shooting.

The transport of the tanks was initially not disclosed publicly for reasons of secrecy and security.

Experts assume that the Leopard 2 is clearly superior in combat against Russian armored troops.

The Leopard tank can also fire while moving, the T-72, which is often used by Russia, is not able to do this.

Ukraine war: Federal government criticizes Putin's stationing of nuclear weapons

The German government considers Putin's rhetoric regarding nuclear weapons to be "irresponsible".

A spokeswoman for the Federal Foreign Office said on Monday at the federal press conference in Berlin.

"Of course, we will not let this deter us from our course of supporting Ukraine in its self-defense." A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Defense added that Putin's announcement did not change the assessment of the situation.

Putin announced the stationing of nuclear weapons in Belarus on Saturday.

According to them, Belarus already has 10 converted aircraft capable of carrying these weapons.

In addition, the country will receive Iskander missiles that can be equipped with nuclear warheads.

The Russian President had also stressed that Moscow would stick to its commitments to non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

You would only be accused in Belarus that Russia is not giving up control and is doing nothing different than the USA in EU countries.

War in Ukraine: Kremlin sticks to plans despite threat of sanctions

Moscow does not want to be deterred by the threat of sanctions from the West.

That could "of course have no influence on Russia's plans," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on possible punitive measures.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had previously called on Belarus to give up nuclear weapons and otherwise threatened sanctions in response.

He criticized the Russian plans as "irresponsible escalation" and a threat to European security.

A Year of Ukraine War: The Origins of the Conflict with Russia

A Year of Ukraine War: The Origins of the Conflict with Russia

Ukraine war: Zelenskyj accuses Russia of terrorism

Meanwhile, tension between Ukraine and the Kremlin continues to grow.

After a Russian rocket attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj again accused Moscow of terrorizing the Ukrainian civilian population.

"Ukraine will not forgive mistreatment of our people, these dead and injured," the 45-year-old wrote on social networks on Monday.

He announced that all "Russian terrorists" will be held accountable.

Several rockets had hit Sloviansk and Druzhkivka in the Donetsk region to the south.

Several administrative and office buildings and residential buildings were destroyed.

According to authorities, at least two people were killed and another 29 were injured.

List of rubrics: © Imago