The Russian and Ukrainian armies exchanged talk of victories in Zaporizhia, while the German Foreign Minister said that Berlin would not oppose Poland sending "Leopard" tanks to the Ukrainians if it decided to do so, in return Russia hinted at retaliatory measures in response to providing Ukraine with offensive weapons.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that its forces had taken control of important sites in the Zaporizhia axis (south).
A spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense, Igor Konashenkov, said that the Russian forces are advancing on the axes of Donetsk (east) and Zaporizhia (south), and added that they killed about 300 Ukrainian soldiers on the Kobyansk, Luhansk and Liman fronts.
The Russian army also took control of important sites and destroyed a weapons depot in Zaporizhia, in addition to destroying an American-made anti-tank radar station in Kherson Province, and shooting down a Ukrainian warplane in Donetsk Province.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian army described the Russian talk of penetrating its defenses there as a false claim.
The Ukrainian army stated that its forces had regained all their control positions during the past hours, and pushed the Russian forces back to their previous positions in Zaporizhia.
The Ukrainian General Staff broadcasted pictures that it said was of its forces bombing Russian sites in Zaporizhia, which led to the killing of 30 Russian soldiers, stressing that its forces continue to target Russian equipment and personnel positions in Zaporizhia.
German conflict
In a related context, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that his country would soon take a decision on sending Leopard tanks to Ukraine. On the other hand, the German Foreign Minister said that Berlin would not oppose Poland sending tanks to the Ukrainians if it decided to do so.
However, the final decision in this matter is up to German Chancellor Olaf Schultz, who has so far refused to comment on the issue of indirect deliveries of these tanks.
Nor did he comment on the issue of sending Leopard tanks directly from the German inventory.
The German government is under increasing pressure to supply Ukraine with Leopard tanks that could have a significant impact on the battlefield against Russian forces.
Poland and Finland have offered to hand over their Leopard tanks, but they need formal approval from Berlin to re-export them.
Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andrei Yusov said that his country will receive Leopard 2 tanks, and that negotiations are currently underway in this regard.
He added that his country had achieved what he called a major breakthrough in obtaining this type of military assistance.
Yusov said that while there was no public decision on the transfer of the tanks, Ukraine would get them.
French German position
In the same context, a joint German-French statement stressed the continuation of support for Ukraine's political, military and economic assistance, no matter how long it takes.
The statement indicated, after a summit between French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Schultz, that support for Ukraine will focus on the military and economic aspects, and that the provision of the necessary military equipment will remain present as long as it is needed.
The two countries also renewed their support for efforts to bring to justice those responsible for war crimes in Ukraine.
The Franco-German statement indicated that there is an urgent need to accelerate the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the European Union.
NATO guarantee
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the best guarantee for his country is its accession to NATO.
Zelensky stressed, during his meeting with former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Kyiv, that Ukraine will do everything for victory and safety.
He added that he discussed the practical steps that Britain could take to help Ukraine, as well as the preparation for the peace summit to be held in order to implement the peace formula presented by Zelensky to the leaders of the Group of 20 last year.
Moscow revenge
On the other hand, the Speaker of the Russian State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, said that supplying Ukraine with offensive weapons would lead to a global catastrophe.
The Russian official warned Western countries, led by the United States, that this approach would lead to retaliatory measures with stronger weapons, as he put it.
In turn, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, said, "The issue of providing Kyiv with heavy weapons leaves no room for doubt that Russia's enemies will continue the process of exhausting it indefinitely, and would prefer to destroy it."
Medvedev suggested the possibility of the emergence of a new military alliance if the conflict in Ukraine is prolonged, including what he called the countries that are tired of the Americans.
American expansion
For its part, the US Department of Defense (The Pentagon) said that it will extend the mission of thousands of its forces in southeastern Romania for at least another 9 months, in implementation of President Joe Biden's commitment to strengthening the US presence in Europe in the wake of the Russian war on Ukraine.
The Pentagon considered that this step would ensure the continuation of the good position of the United States to provide a strong deterrent and defensive position alongside its allies in Europe.
Russia's war on Ukraine accelerated the pace of the US military deployment in what is known as the eastern front of NATO, as the number of US forces increased from about 80,000 soldiers before the Russian war on Ukraine, to more than 100,000 soldiers.