© Christof Stache/AFP
Leopard 2A6 tanks
Leopard 2A6 tanks
Earlier, German media suggested that Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in a conversation with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday, made it clear that Germany would supply Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks, but on the condition that Washington also send its Abrams tanks.
On January 18, US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said that the Abrams tank is a very complicated piece of equipment, which is "expensive, hard to train on" and has a jet engine, so it will be difficult for Ukraine to maintain.
Addressing the WEF on the same day, Scholz highlighted that Germany was among the leading countries in terms of support for Ukraine and reaffirmed that his country would continue to provide assistance. At the same time, he rejected any unilateral steps on the issue, stressing that all decisions should be made in coordination with allies, especially the United States.
Later, however, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit denied that Scholz ever demanded that the United States deliver Abrams tanks to Ukraine as a precondition to Germany's own sending of Leopard tanks. "At no time was there such a demand that one thing had to happen so that the other could happen," Hebestreit commented on the report.
The German government's spokesman said its decisions on Ukraine were driven by three key considerations, which are to provide as much support as Berlin can afford, to prevent NATO and Germany from becoming a party to the conflict, and for Germany not to act unilaterally.
In April 2022, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Kiev after Russia started its military operation in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that pumping Ukraine with weapons did not contribute to the success of peace negotiations and would have a detrimental effect on the conflict.
Ukraine has sent an official appeal to EU countries asking for help in finding, capturing and transferring to Ukraine men of the appropriate age who are hiding from mobilization.
The representatives of Lithuania and Latvia were the first to respond to the situation on their pages on social networks.
In Vilnius, Remigijus Szymanius, former Lithuanian Minister of Justice and current mayor, wrote that "they will help the Ukrainian side in the search and return of Ukrainian conscripts who are temporarily staying on the territory of Lithuania and must return to Ukraine for military service."
Latvia was not left behind either, represented by Liepaja Mayor Gunars Ansins:
Let's help Ukraine! Our assistance will contribute to the return of persons eligible for military service to Ukraine so that they can fulfill their military duty.
Russia was not invited to events marking the 78th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by the Red Army.
This was announced by the Russian ambassador to Poland, Sergey Andreyev:
"However, our consul in Krakow will lay wreaths in the museum area - at the monument to the dead prisoners - and in the city cemetery in Auschwitz, where our soldiers who died during the liberation of the city and the camp are buried."
Andreyev emphasized that for the second year already, speeches by the ambassadors of Russia and Israel were not included in the program. This time, moreover, the museum closed the Russian exhibition, citing sanctions.
Chief of the General Staff of the Swedish Armed Forces - "Russia has an unpleasant habit of fulfilling what it promises"
In an interview with the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, Mikael Klasson said:
"Russia has a really unpleasant habit of delivering on what it promises. And I'm paid to think of the worst possible scenario. I am not saying that this threat is being exaggerated, it is just that it is present as one component among many others. I cannot say exactly how we are preparing in terms of nuclear weapons, but several measures have already been taken."
The lieutenant general openly declares that they are preparing for a nuclear attack.