After having appointed a new Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius, Germany is increasing pressure on Washington to send M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, a move the Biden administration has been hesitant to make for fear that Russia will view it as an escalation.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley visited a military base in Germany on Monday to inspect the expanded U.S. training of Ukrainian forces.
On Wednesday, a helicopter carrying 9 people, 3 of whom were top Ukrainian government officials, crashed in the city of Brovery near Kyiv in what is the worst aerial disaster since the start of the war. In total, 16 people died, including Ukraine’s Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky, First Deputy Minister Yevheniy Yenin, and State Secretary Yuriy Lubkoychis.
On Monday, Russia and Belarus launched joint aerial exercises in Belarusian airspace. The exercises are expected to last a full 2 weeks, ending on February 1. It is a worrisome sign for neighboring Ukraine as its war with Russia enters a full year next month.
The death toll from the Dnipro apartment strike that occurred Saturday in the latest Russian assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has now risen to 44. That figure includes 4 children with an additional 79 people injured, and reports that many residents are still unaccounted for.
After allegedly suffering numerous casualties, Russian forces have deployed units of the self-propelled 2S4 Tyulpan, or Tulip, mortar, also known as the “Sledgehammer,” to Ukraine. The weapon is the world’s largest mortar and is capable of using a nuclear warhead on the battlefield.
According to Inkerman, 5 of the border crossings between Moldova and Ukraine temporarily closed late Wednesday evening (local time), as reported by Moldovan authorities. The temporary closures are due to ongoing power outages on the Ukrainian side of the border.
Russia and its regional ally, Armenia, are struggling to maintain good relations after Armenia canceled planned military exercises with Russia, which were to be held under the countries’ Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
In a move that Russia is likely to interpret as an escalation, French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on Wednesday to provide French-made AMX-10 RC light tanks to Ukraine. Macron is the first Western leader to provide tanks to the war-torn country.
On Wednesday, Russian President, Vladimir Putin, announced that a Russian frigate armed with recently developed hypersonic Zircon cruise missiles will be deployed on a mission to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The mission could be seen as a warning to the West regarding its continued involvement in Ukraine.