Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 331 of the invasion - The Guardian

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his authorities was expecting “strong decisions” from defence leaders of Nato and different countries gathering connected Friday to sermon boosting Ukraine’s quality to face Russian forces with modern conflict tanks.

A radical of 11 Nato countries person pledged a raft of caller subject assistance for Ukraine, up of a crunch gathering connected arms for Kyiv successful Germany connected Friday. The assistance from countries including Britain, Estonia, Latvia and Poland volition see tens of stinger aerial defence systems, S-60 anti-aircraft guns, instrumentality guns and training, according to a statement.

The US has announced $2.5bn successful caller weaponry and munitions for Ukraine. The bundle includes 90 Stryker armoured unit carriers, an further 59 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, Avenger aerial defence systems, and ample and tiny munitions, according to a Pentagon statement.

CIA Director William Burns precocious traveled successful concealed to Ukraine’s superior to conscionable President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a US authoritative told Reuters connected Thursday. “Director Burns traveled to Kyiv, wherever helium met with Ukrainian quality counterparts arsenic good arsenic President Zelenskiy and reinforced our continued enactment for Ukraine and its defence against Russian aggression,” the US official, who declined to beryllium identified oregon accidental erstwhile the sojourn took place.

Britain plans to send 600 Brimstone missiles to Ukraine to enactment the state successful its combat against Russia, defence curate Ben Wallace announced. Speaking astatine a gathering with different defence ministers astatine the Tapa service basal successful Estonia, Wallace outlined a antecedently announced bundle of subject enactment for Ukraine, including sending Challenger tanks. “We’re successful it for the agelong haul,” helium said.

Sweden’s authorities announced a caller bundle of subject assistance to Ukraine that volition see armoured infantry warring vehicles and the Archer artillery system. Poland said it was sending S-60 anti-aircraft guns with 70,000 rounds of ammunition and was acceptable to donate a institution of German-made Leopard 2 tanks, “pending (a) wider coalition” of Leopard donors.

Lithuania’s defence minister, Arvydas Anušauskas, has said respective countries volition denote sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine astatine Friday’s gathering of defence ministers astatine the Ramstein airbase successful Germany. The full fig of armoured vehicles pledged astatine tomorrow’s gathering would spell into hundreds, Anušauskas told Reuters.

Estonia’s defence minister, Hanno Pevkur, announced his state volition nonstop subject instrumentality to Ukraine worthy €113m successful its latest bundle of support.

Denmark announced it volition donate 19 French-made Caesar howitzer artillery systems to Kyiv.

The US and German defence ministers met connected Thursday arsenic Berlin faces unit to let the transportation of German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine. The meeting betwixt Lloyd Austin and Boris Pistorius came arsenic a German authorities source told Reuters that Berlin would let Leopard tanks to beryllium sent to Ukraine to assistance its defence against Russia if the US agreed to nonstop its ain tanks. But US officials person publically and privately insisted that Washington has nary plans to nonstop US-made tanks to Ukraine for now, arguing that they would beryllium excessively hard for Kyiv to support and would necessitate a immense logistical effort to simply run.

A German authorities spokesperson has said it has yet to receive a petition from immoderate state for support to re-export German-made tanks to Ukraine. Poland’s premier minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, has signalled that it could nonstop Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine arsenic portion of a wider conjugation even without Germany’s approval. “Consent is of secondary value here, we volition either get this consent quickly, oregon we volition bash what is needed ourselves,” Morawiecki said.

The Kremlin has said Russia volition execute its goals successful Ukraine “one mode oregon another” and the sooner Kyiv accepts its demands, the sooner the struggle volition end. The Kremlin has repeatedly said Russia is acceptable to halt subject operations if Ukraine meets its demands, but Moscow has not publically outlined details of its negotiating presumption oregon what it is seeking from Kyiv successful bid to extremity hostilities.

The caput of the UN’s atomic watchdog, Rafael Grossi, says helium worries the satellite is becoming complacent astir the dangers posed by the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia atomic powerfulness plant. Grossi, speaking to reporters successful Kyiv, said a atomic mishap could hap immoderate day and reiterated the concern astatine the works was precise precarious.

Moldova has requested aerial defence systems from its allies with the purpose of strengthening its capabilities arsenic the warfare successful neighbouring Ukraine continues, its president, Maia Sandu, said. Moldova’s spy chief, Alexandru Musteata, warned past period of a “very high” hazard of a caller Russian violative towards his country’s eastbound and said Moscow inactive aimed to unafraid a onshore corridor done Ukraine to the breakaway Moldovan portion of Transnistria.

A Swedish tribunal has sentenced 2 brothers to prison for spying for Russia and its subject quality work GRU for a decade. Iranian-born Peyman Kia, 42, was sentenced to life, portion his younger brother, Payam Kia, was sentenced to 9 years and 10 months.