Ugo Pascolo, with AFP 11:47 a.m., January 25, 2023, modified at 11:49 a.m., January 25, 2023
As announced by several German media, Berlin has authorized the delivery of German Leopard 2 tanks to kyiv.
For its part, the Kremlin has already warned that all Western tanks would "burn".
On the ground the Russians took over the town of Soledar.
Follow the situation live.
Leopard heavy tanks to help kyiv.
As expected, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has validated the deliveries of Leopard heavy tanks to Ukraine, which insistently demands them to defend itself against the Russian invasion.
For its part, the Kremlin has already warned that these tanks were going to "burn".
On the ground, the Ukrainian army admitted to having ceded the town of Soledar to the Russians.
Follow the situation live.
The main information to remember:
Germany Should Allow Leopard 2 Tanks to Help kyiv
Moscow has already warned that Western tanks will "burn"
Ukrainian military admits ceding Soledar to Russian forces
Leopard 2s for kyiv...
Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks Wednesday in front of the German Parliament with, in the key, a possible announcement on the deliveries of heavy Leopard tanks to Ukraine, which demands them insistently to defend against the Russian invasion.
Two German media have assured that the Chancellor, who will speak at 12:00 GMT in front of the lower house of Parliament, will probably give the green light on this occasion to countries, including Poland and Finland, which wish to deliver to kyiv German-made Leopard 2 tanks.
Countries that have purchased Leopard 2 tanks from Germany for their armed forces must obtain permission from Berlin to re-export them.
Warsaw, which wants to create a “coalition of countries supporting Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks”, officially sent a request to this effect to Berlin on Tuesday.
A spokesman for the German government promised to respond "with the urgency required".
... and M1 Abrams?
The UK has already announced the delivery to Ukraine of 14 Challenger 2 heavy tanks. And according to the Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, the US is finally planning to deliver Abrams M1 tanks to kyiv , which they have so far refused to do, citing maintenance and training issues.
"If the United States decides to deliver tanks, it will be impossible to justify such an act by arguments related to 'defensive weapons'. This would be a new blatant provocation against the Russian Federation" , warned on Facebook the Russian ambassador in Washington, Anatoly Antonov.
For Ukraine, the military and financial support of Western allies is crucial.
She says she needs hundreds of modern tanks and
The Kremlin's response
Faced with a situation that seems to be tending towards a shipment of Western tanks, the Kremlin insisted that they were going to "burn".
The West “overestimates the potential that (tanks) could give to the Ukrainian army,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"These tanks will burn like all the others," he added.
Soledar in Russian hands
On the ground, the Ukrainian army admitted on Wednesday that it had ceded the town of Soledar, in the east of the country, to the Russians, two weeks after the announcement of its capture by Moscow.
"After months of difficult fighting (...) the Ukrainian armed forces left it" to "retreat to prepared positions", military spokesman for the eastern zone Serguiï Tcherevaty told AFP, refusing however, to specify when this retreat took place.