Chinanews.com, January 29th. Heavy tanks, fighter jets, long-range missiles... When the situation between Russia and Ukraine has been escalated for nearly a year, Ukraine is eagerly asking for more and more advanced weapons from its Western allies.
After the United States and Germany recently released aid for Ukraine's main battle tanks, Ukrainian diplomats claimed that they had "obtained" 321 heavy tanks from the West;
"321 heavy tanks have been ordered"
After Germany and the United States recently agreed to provide Ukraine with main battle tanks, Poland, Spain, Norway and other European countries that actively aid Ukraine have also been allowed to transfer many German-made tanks to Ukraine. Ukraine has thus received a considerable amount of heavy tank assistance.
Ukrainian ambassador to France Omerchenko said on the 27th, "Many countries have officially confirmed the supply of heavy tanks to Ukraine. As of today, there are a total of 321 vehicles."
Omerchenko did not say how many tanks individual countries would provide to Ukraine, and it was unclear when the tanks would arrive.
But Omerchenko said the delivery date would vary depending on the tank type and country of origin, and that the specific time would be adjusted during the next round of negotiations between Ukraine and Western countries.
"The delivery conditions of each country are different, and we need to get these tanks as soon as possible." Omerchenko said.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova previously responded that the West’s decision to provide tanks to Ukraine is very dangerous and will push the confrontation between the West and Russia to a new level.
"We need long-range missiles!"
On the other hand, after obtaining heavy tanks, Ukraine intends to send more assistance requests to the West for advanced weapons, including fighter jets and long-range missiles.
According to Reuters, on the 28th local time, Ukrainian President Zelensky's senior adviser Podolyak said that Kyiv and its allies are speeding up talks on Ukraine's request for long-range missiles.
"In order to significantly reduce the key weapons of the Russian army - such as the artillery they use on the front line today - we need (long-range) missiles that can destroy their weapons warehouses." Podolak said in an interview.
"First, negotiations are already underway. Second, negotiations are accelerating," Podoliak added.
But he gave no details about the talks.
Ukrainian President Zelensky also stated in a video speech earlier that "Ukraine needs long-range missiles..."
Zelensky said Ukraine needs the U.S. Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) with a range of 297 kilometers, but Washington has so far refused to provide Ukraine with this weapon.
In addition, US President Biden's deputy national security adviser Jon Fenner said on the 26th that the United States will "very cautiously" discuss the idea of providing fighter jets with Kyiv and its allies.
German Chancellor Scholz has recently "drawn a new red line" for Germany to provide military support to Ukraine: first, it will not provide fighter jets to Ukraine; second, it will not send ground troops.