We are stepping up our arming of Ukraine, Zelensky is pushing for even more help, and Putin is saying that lines have been crossed. The only way out of this situation is through God and prayer.
From Daily Mail. The Biden administration is sending an entire battalion of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, yielding to President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s push for heavy armor to counter Russia’s nearly yearlong invasion.
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President Joe Biden announced the latest tranche of lethal military aide at the White House, after a complicated diplomatic dance that has seen Germany announce its own decision to send 14 tanks to Kiev, with more on the way.
The US is also providing 500 armored vehicles as part of the package. …
The president … cautioned that the move was ‘going to take time’ – a reference to the complex training involved with the weapons system, which he described as ‘extremely complex to operate and maintain.’
And he thanked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for the German government’s contribution.
‘Germany has really stepped up,’ he said. …
Biden responded to a question about whether Germany forced him to change his mind on sending the tanks.
‘Germany didn’t force me to change my mind. We wanted to make sure we were all together. That’s what we were going to do all along, and that’s what we’re doing right now,’ the president said. …
Brigadier General Pat Ryer, the press secretary for the Pentagon, told CNN when asked if fighter jets will be made available to Zelensky, he said that nothing is off the table. …
The president spoke with President Macron of France, Chancellor Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Meloni of Italy, and Prime Minister Sunak of the United Kingdom ‘as part of our close coordination on support for Ukraine,’ according to the White House. …
But the decision would close a rift between the U.S., Germany and other European nations in how far to go in arming Ukraine ahead of what it is believed to be a key phase of the war, as Vladimir Putin plans major spring offensive. …
Ukraine says tanks are crucial for the next phase of the war, giving its ground troops the protection and firepower to move ahead.
‘We need tanks – not 10-20, but several hundred,’ President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram.
From Daily Mail. Ukrainian officials last night said they expect Western allies to provide their armed forces with long-range missiles after the UK, US, Germany and several other nations agreed to send battalions of tanks long-sought by Kyiv.
Presidential advisor Mikhailo Podolyak told The Daily Telegraph: ‘Right now we are seeing a sharp change in sentiment among the political elites of European countries… we will reach, I am sure, no doubt, an agreement on long-range missiles.’
In a devastating blow to the Kremlin, nine countries joined Britain yesterday in agreeing to send tanks to destroy Russia’s forces in eastern Ukraine. The coalition came together just 48 hours after Boris Johnson’s rallying cry in the Daily Mail, imploring the UK’s allies to end their dithering.
Germany will initially send 14 Leopard 2s to Ukraine, and aims to provide 80 tanks overall. On what Zelensky hailed as a ‘historic day’, the United States confirmed it will supply 31 Abrams M1 tanks. The UK has already said it will send 14 Challenger 2 tanks.
Podolyak’s bold claim came hours after his boss Volodymyr Zelensky openly urged NATO allies to send long-range missiles and jets to his war-torn country to help repel Russian troops.
In a nighttime address, Zelensky said: ‘I’ve spoken with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg today… We must also open deliveries of long-range missiles to Ukraine, it is important – we must expand our cooperation in artillery. This is a dream. And this is a task.’ …
Russia’s ambassador to Germany, Sergey Nechayev, called Berlin’s decision ‘extremely dangerous,’ saying it ‘shifts the conflict to a new level of confrontation and contradicts the statements of German politicians about their reluctance to get involved in it’. …
Russia branded the West’s provision of dozens of tanks to Ukraine a ‘blatant provocation’ and warned the new NATO supplies will ‘burn like all the rest’. …
From CNBC. Russia expressed mounting fury at the prospect of modern Western tanks being sent to Ukraine, calling it “extremely dangerous” and saying previous “red lines” were now a thing of the past.
Germany announced earlier Wednesday that it was ready to send 14 Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, and to allow other countries to send their own German-made tanks to Kyiv. The U.S. is also expected to announce its own intention to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine imminently.
The use of modern Western tanks by Ukraine is likely to add momentum to its efforts to push Russian forces out of occupied areas of the country, particularly the eastern Donbas region, but Russia sees the gift of tanks as further evidence that the West is fighting what it sees as a proxy war against it in Ukraine.
‘Extremely dangerous’
The Russian Embassy in Berlin called the German government’s decision “extremely dangerous” and said it “takes the conflict to a new level of confrontation.” …
The embassy said it was now convinced that Germany and its closest allies were “not interested in a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis” but were “set up for its permanent escalation and unlimited pumping of the Kyiv regime with more and more deadly weapons.”
Lastly, it warned that “red lines,” or limits, for both sides were now “a thing of the past,” echoing similar comments from Russia’s Foreign Ministry earlier Wednesday as it reacted to the prospect of U.S. Abrams tanks being sent to Ukraine, claiming Washington “has unequivocally stated its desire to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.” …
‘Absurd’ and a ‘failure’
Russia has repeatedly warned the West against sending tanks to Ukraine, saying they would be a legitimate target for Russia’s armed forces, like other NATO weaponry, and would make any prospect for talks to end the war an even more distant possibility.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov commented at a media briefing Wednesday that “now we can only state that there are currently no prospects for entering the diplomatic path.” …
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(Excerpts from Daily Mail, Daily Mail, and CNBC. Photo Credit: Getty Images)