Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark have announced the upcoming shipment of “at least 100 Leopard 1 A5 tanks” to kyiv.
Military aid announcements. Tuesday, February 7, several countries mentioned shipments of weapons or tanks to Ukraine or its neighbors. kyiv will receive “at least 100 Leopard 1 A5 tanks (…) in the coming months”, announced the defense ministers of Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark in a joint press release. The French Senate, for its part, very broadly adopted a resolution reaffirming its support for Ukraine and calling on the government to strengthen the aid provided, “especially arms deliveries”. Franceinfo summarizes the main developments of the day in the war in Ukraine.
At least 100 Leopard 1 tanks soon to be delivered to kyiv
Ukraine will receive “at least 100 Leopard 1 A5 tanks (…) in the coming months”, the defense ministers of Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark announced in a joint statement on Tuesday. These Leopard 1s, older than the Leopard 2s – of which Berlin has also promised kyiv 14 copies donated by the Bundeswehr – come from industrial stocks and will be refurbished. This announcement comes as German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius makes a surprise visit to kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has “thanked” in the evening the three countries of “their relevant support”following an interview with Boris Pistorius.
Moscow claims “success”
On Tuesday, Russia claimed the “hit” of its recent offensive in eastern Ukraine. Since January, his army, supported by the paramilitaries of the Wagner group and reinforced by hundreds of thousands of mobilized civilians, has gone back on the offensive, in particular in the Donbass, the eastern region of which Moscow claims the annexation. “Currently, the fights are progressing successfully in the zones” of Bakhmout and Vougledar, said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, according to a statement issued after a meeting with army officials and his ministry. He cited the recent conquests of seven localities including Soledar, a small town near Bakhmout that the Ukrainian forces ceded in January after deadly fighting for both sides.
The Senate calls for increased aid to Ukraine
The right-wing French Senate overwhelmingly passed a resolution on Tuesday reaffirming its support for Ukraine and calling on the government to step up aid, “especially arms deliveries”. Less than a week after a speech delivered in the hemicycle of the Palais du Luxembourg by the speaker of the parliament of Ukraine Rouslan Stefantchouk, the vote was won by 324 votes against 16. Only the majority communist group CRCE voted against . This non-binding text, proposed by the president of the Les Indépendants group Claude Malhuret, was placed on the agenda at the request of the president LR of the Senate Gérard Larcher. “Now is the time to deliver tanks, missiles, surface-to-air defenses and planes if we want, as the President of the Republic promised in his vows, ‘to accompany Ukraine to the final victory'”affirmed in the hemicycle Claude Malhuret.
Washington approves sale of Himars rocket launchers to Poland
The United States announced on Tuesday that it had approved the sale of 18 Himars rocket launcher systems to Poland, a NATO member country bordering Ukraine, for 10 billion dollars. “The planned sale will enhance Poland’s military objectives in terms of renewing its capabilities while enhancing interoperability with the United States and other allies”the US Defense and Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement. “Poland intends to use this defense equipment to modernize its armed forces and expand its ability to strengthen its internal security and deter regional threats”she added.
The Himars system (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System), manufactured by the American giant Lockheed Martin, is a rocket launcher mounted on light armored vehicles, with which the American army has equipped the Ukrainian forces in particular. It can be equipped with six missiles with a range of about 80 km, or a single tactical missile with a range of 300 km called ATACMS (Army tactical missile system). Washington has so far refused to supply ATACMS missiles to kyiv to prevent a US weapon from reaching Russian territory, but the transaction approved for Warsaw includes the supply of 45 ATACMS missiles.