American tanks will arrive in the Ukraine sooner than expected….
Ukraine troops are getting training in weeks….
The Ukraine is not happy will the speed of more weapon resupplies from the West….
(This is the latest stuff Ok’d)….
NATO is stronger because of Russain President Putin…He messed up…..
A Russian bommbers bombs its own city on the Ukraine/Russian border….
Some American lawmakers want more American aid tied to settlement strategy ….
The 31 M1 Abrams tanks promised by Washington could reach Ukraine by the fall, far sooner than expected, American officials say. Here is what we’re covering:
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The arrival of Abrams tanks would be a major step in arming Ukraine.
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Three people are injured after Russia says it accidentally bombed its own city.
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U.S. tanks might arrive soon, but Ukraine’s allies are struggling to meet other weapons pledges.
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Shocked by Russian atrocities, NATO is becoming the war-fighting alliance it was during the Cold War….
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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Friday that Washington and its allies “will not allow anything to fracture our unity,” following the leak of classified intelligence documents that detailed U.S. spying against friendly countries as well as enemies. Speaking at the opening of the 11th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany, he thanked allies for their “commitment to reject efforts to divide us.”
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
- The blast in Belgorod created a “huge crater” about 20 meters wide, the regional governor said in a Telegram post Friday, adding that several cars were also damaged. He described the situation as an “emergency” and a “difficult ordeal” for residents. Belgorod is about 20 miles from the Ukrainian border.
- All NATO allies have agreed that Ukraine will eventually join the alliance, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday, but he emphasized that “the main focus now is, of course, on how to ensure that Ukraine prevails.” In remarks ahead of the meeting in Germany, Stoltenberg stressed the need to ensure that Kyiv will have “the deterrence to prevent new attacks” once the war is over, and also said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had accepted an invitation to the NATO summer in Vilnius in July. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that the developments showed “the correctness” of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch the “military operation” — the term Russia uses to describe its invasion of Ukraine.
- Russian officials sought to build up antiwar sentiment in Germany to dampen Europe’s support for Ukraine, according to a trove of sensitive Russian documents largely dated from July to November that were obtained by a European intelligence service and reviewed by The Washington Post. As part of that goal, the Kremlin sought to unite Germany’s political extremes from the left and right.
- Ukraine continues to hold Bakhmut’s western edge,despite suggestions from Washington months ago that Kyiv cut its losses and let the city go, according to a leaked classified U.S. assessment obtained by The Post. The document, marked “top secret,” cautioned that steady Russian advances since November “had jeopardized Ukraine’s ability to hold the city” and that Ukrainian forces would probably be “at risk of encirclement, unless they withdraw within the next month.”
- Ukraine’s military intelligence agency developed plans to conduct covert attacks on Russian forces in Syria using secret Kurdish help, according to a leaked top secret U.S. intelligence document. The plan appeared to be aimed at imposing costs on Russia and its Wagner mercenary group, which is active in Syria. The introduction of a new battlefield also could have forced Moscow to redeploy resources from Ukraine. Zelensky directed an end to the planning in December.
- Russian forces used about 10 drones to carry out overnight attacks on Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian military in its daily update published Friday on Facebook. The General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces claimed to have shot down several of the drones.
- Severe mud is likely to be hampering operations for both Russia and Ukraine, the British Defense Ministry said Friday. It added that conditions are expected to improve in the coming weeks, however. The ministry wrote on Twitterthat “Russian online outlets are likely exaggerating the overall impact of mud on Ukrainian forces” as part of their efforts to improve Russian morale as Ukraine is expected to launch a counteroffensive.
- Denmark and the Netherlands will donate 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, according to the Danish Foreign Ministry. “Denmark will continue support for Ukraine’s fight for freedom now and in the long-term,” the ministry tweetedThursday, citing Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen.Germany, which developed the Leopard, said in January that it would deliver tanks to Ukraine and authorized other countries to export its Leopards to Kyiv….