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Moscow accuses US and Europe of being directly involved in the conflict
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Moment Zelensky told tanks would be delivered
Moscow has taken its invasion of Ukraine to a “different stage” with Russian President Vladimir Putin now considering it “a war against Nato and the West,” a senior EU official has said.
Stefano Sannino, secretary general of the European Union’s European External Action Service, said that thanks to Western provisions of military equipment to Ukraine – including pledges of tanks from Germany, the US and UK – Russia has “moved from a concept of special operation to a concept now of a war against Nato and the West.”.
“I think that this latest development in terms of armed supply is just an evolution of the situation and of the way Russia started moving the war into a different stage,” Mr Sannino said, referencing indiscriminate attacks on civilians and non-military targets.
In providing military equipment, the EU as a whole and other nations are “just giving the possibility of saving lives and allowing the Ukrainians to defend (themselves) from these barbaric attacks”, he added at a news conference in Tokyo.
The US and Germany announced on Wednesday that they would send advanced battle tanks to Ukraine in what one expert has described as an “armoured punching force.” The military equipment will help Kyiv to break through combat stalemates as the conflict enters its 12th month.
Meanwhile, UK defence minister Alex Chalk has confirmed that the UK will begin training Ukrainian soldiers on Monday.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said the situation at the front remained extremely acute, particularly in the eastern Donetsk region.
In a Friday evening address, Mr Zelensky said Russian forces were not just storming Ukrainian positions but also destroying the towns and villages around them.
A total of 321 heavy tanks have been promised to Kyiv by several countries, Ukraine’s ambassador to France has said.
“As of today, numerous countries have officially confirmed their agreement to deliver 321 heavy tanks to Ukraine,” Vadym Omelchenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to France, said in an interview with French TV station BFM.
“Delivery terms vary for each case and we need this help as soon as possible,” he added.
Omelchenko did not provide a breakdown of the number of tanks per country.
On Thursday, several Western nations led by Germany and the United States said they would send tanks to Ukraine.
Zelensky reported major battles for Vuhledar, to the southwest of Donetsk, and Bakhmut, to the northeast. Bakhmut has largely been pulverised by repeated Russian attacks.
“The occupiers are not just storming our positions, they are deliberately and methodically destroying the towns and villages around them, with artillery, air strikes, missiles,” he said in an evening video address. “The Russian army has no shortage of lethal means and can only be stopped by force.”
The area around Bakhmut, with a pre-war population of 70,000, has seen some of the most brutal fighting of the 11-month-old war.
The town has symbolic importance for both Russia and Ukraine, though Western military analysts say it has little strategic significance. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Mark Porter and Leslie Adler)
Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday said the situation at the front remained extremely acute, particularly in the eastern Donetsk region where Russia is stepping up an offensive.
The Ukrainian President said in his evening address Russian forces were not just storming Ukrainian positions but also destroying the towns and villages around them.
It comes after a week in which the US and Germany agreed to send tanks to the country to bolster Ukraine’s forces.
Spain’s National Court said Friday it had charged a 74-year-old retired man with terrorism for allegedly sending six letters containing explosive material to Spain’s prime minister and the U.S. and Ukrainian embassies in the country.
The as-yet-unidentified man appeared before a judge in Madrid on Friday and was detained without bail, the court said. The suspect, referred to only by the initials PGP, was charged with six separate terrorism offenses, it added, after being arrested in the northern city of Miranda de Ebro on Wednesday.
The man was charged with the manufacture and use of explosive devices for terrorist purposes, according to court documents. Two of the alleged offenses were classified as aggravated as they involved members of the government.
Spanish media reported that the suspect had links to Russia, was strongly active on social media and was purportedly a flight risk.
The six letter bombs were sent in November and December last year and required bomb squad disposal. An employee at the Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid was slightly injured while handling one of the letters, and another was destroyed after being dispatched by regular post to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
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Spain’s National Court says it has charged a 74-year-old retired man with terrorism for allegedly sending six letters containing explosive material to Spain’s prime minister and the U.S. and Ukrainian embassies in the country
Russian shelling killed at least 10 Ukrainian civilians and wounded 20 others in a day, the office of Ukraine’s president reported Friday as the country worked to recover from an earlier wave of Russian missile strikes and drone attacks.
The new casualties included the deaths of at least two civilians in the southern city of Kherson, which Ukrainian troops recaptured in November, and two more in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk province. The missiles and self-propelled drones Russian forces fired Thursday hit deeper into Ukrainian territory, killing at least 11 people.
The bombardment followed announcements by the United States and Germany of plans to ship powerful tanks to help Ukraine defend itself. Other Western countries said they also would share modern tanks from their stockpiles.
Moscow has bristled at the move, and accused Western nations of entering a new level of confrontation with Russia.
Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko of the eastern Donetsk region said the Russian military used phosphorus munitions in shelling the village of Zvanivka. The village is located about 20 kilometers north of Bakhmut, a city that has become the focus of a grueling battle in recent months. The shelling also damaged apartment buildings and two schools in the nearby town of Vuhledar, Kyrylenko said.
More here:
Russian shelling has killed at least 10 Ukrainian civilians and wounded 20 others in a day, according to the office of Ukraine’s president
Germany has announced it is sending its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine – and will allow other nations to do so too. Berlin will send 14 to begin with, with Poland also saying it will send 14 and Canada saying it will send four.
Norway has also said it will send Leopards, while Spain has said it is open to providing them.
Ukraine‘s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the tanks are crucial to replenish his nation’s military hardaware ahead of what he believes will be increased Russian offences in the spring – with intense fighting having already been taking place in eastern Ukraine for weeks. Kyiv also wants them to try and recapture territory taken by Moscow’s forces.
Chris Stevenson has more:
Kyiv says the tanks are vital to it pushing back Russia’s invasion and reclaiming territory thas has been taken
Poland has confirmed it will send an additional 60 tanks to Ukraine in addition to the 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks it has already pledged.
Poland has positioned itself as one of Kyiv’s staunchest allies, heavily pushing Germany to approve the provision of its Leopard 2 tanks ahead of Wednesday’s decision.
“Poland sent 250 tanks as the first country half a year ago or even more than that,” Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki told CTV News.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Mr Morawiecki via Twitter.
“Right now, we are ready to send 60 of our modernised tanks, 30 of them PT-91. And on top of those tanks, 14 tanks, Leopard 2 tanks, from in our possession,” he added.
The PT-91 is a Polish-made battle tank that has been used since the 1990s. It was developed from the Soviet-era T-72 range.
Russia has blocked the websites of both the CIA and FBI for “spreading false information.”
The country’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor confirmed that it has “restricted access to a number of resources belonging to state structures of hostile countries”.
According to Russian news agencies, it has justified this as a way to stop “disseminating material aimed at destabilising the social and political situation in Russia.”
Roskomnadzor claimed that the two US government websites had published inaccurate material that discredited the Russian armed forces.
In Russia, it is now a criminal offence to discredit the armed forces. Doing so can trigger a five-year jail sentence, whilst knowingly distributing “false information” about the military can carry a maximum sentence of 15 years.
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Ukrainian soldiers are seen on their way to the frontlines in the east of the country
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
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