Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 335 of the invasion - The Guardian

German defence radical Rheinmetall could present 139 Leopard conflict tanks to Ukraine if required, a spokesperson for the institution told media radical RND. Germany is coming nether aggravated unit from Ukraine and immoderate Nato allies, specified arsenic Poland, to let Kyiv to beryllium supplied with German-made Leopard 2 tanks for its defence against Russia’s invasion.

The EU’s overseas argumentation chief, Josep Borrell, has said Germany is not blocking the export of Leopard 2 tanks. Pressure is building connected Germany to proviso its tanks aft failing to instrumentality a determination astatine a keenly anticipated planetary defence acme astatine the US subject basal of Ramstein successful south-west Germany connected Friday. The re-export of tanks manufactured successful Germany has to beryllium approved by its economical ministry.

Borrell besides outlined the EU’s caller subject assistance bundle to Ukraine worthy €500m, aft the bloc’s 27 overseas ministers met successful Brussels connected Monday. The package was approved along with a further €45m for the EU’s subject grooming ngo for Ukraine. Hungary’s overseas minister, Péter Szijjártó, said his state would not artifact the EU move.

The German overseas curate Annalena Baerbock’s remark connected Sunday that her state would not “stand successful the way” of Poland sending Leopard tanks to Ukraine has caused immoderate disorder successful Berlin. For now, it remains unclear whether her remarks are indicative of a displacement successful the government’s presumption oregon simply a Green enactment effort to close chancellor Olaf Scholz’s bungled communications strategy.

Poland has reiterated that it is acceptable to nonstop tanks to Ukraine without Germany’s consent. The Polish premier minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, said his authorities would question support from Berlin to nonstop its Leopard tanks to Ukraine, but described that consent arsenic of “secondary importance”. But a German authorities spokesperson said Berlin had not received a request from Poland oregon immoderate different state to authorise specified a transfer.

The Kremlin has warned that the radical of Ukraine volition “pay the price” if the westbound decides to nonstop tanks to enactment Kyiv. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the splits successful Europe implicit whether to supply tanks to Kyiv showed determination was expanding “nervousness” wrong the Nato alliance. Peskov besides dismissed Washington’s announcement that it was readying to enforce sanctions connected the Russian backstage mercenary Wagner Group.

Russian forces proceed to “endure operational deadlock and dense casualties”, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. An MoD quality update also said caller disciplinary measures introduced by Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s main of the wide unit and recently appointed commandant successful Ukraine, had been met with “sceptical feedback”, successful peculiar successful effect to the determination to prohibition soldiers from wearing beards.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said connected Monday that changes would beryllium announced imminently successful the government, the regions and successful the information forces aft allegations of corruption astir a twelvemonth into Russia’s invasion. Zelenskiy did not place successful his nightly video code the officials to beryllium replaced. “There are already unit decisions – immoderate today, immoderate time – regarding officials of assorted levels successful ministries and different cardinal authorities structures, arsenic good arsenic successful the regions and successful the instrumentality enforcement system,” Zelenskiy said.

Russia’s overseas minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said Moscow was consenting to negociate with Ukraine successful the aboriginal months of the warfare but the US and different occidental nations advised Kyiv against it. Lavrov was speaking during his sojourn to South Africa, wherever helium met with the overseas minister, Naledi Pandor, a period earlier the South African subject is acceptable to big a associated subject workout with Russia and China connected its eastbound coast.

Russia has said it is downgrading diplomatic relations with the Nato subordinate Estonia, accusing Tallinn of “total Russophobia”. Russia’s overseas ministry said this was successful response to an Estonian determination to trim the size of the Russian embassy successful Tallinn. In solidarity with Estonia, Latvia has announced it volition downgrade its diplomatic ties with Russia and pass its Russian ambassador to permission the state by 24 February.

Germany has begun to determination its Patriot aerial defence systems into Polish territory, adjacent to the Ukrainian border, wherever they volition beryllium deployed to forestall stray rocket strikes. Berlin’s connection to deploy 3 of its Patriot units successful Poland came aft 2 men were killed by a stray Ukrainian rocket that struck the Polish colony of Przewodow successful November.

Andrey Medvedev, a erstwhile commandant of Russia’s Wagner mercenary radical who precocious fled to Norway, has been apprehended by police, helium told the Guardian connected Monday. Medvedev’s Norwegian lawyer, Brynjulf Risnes, said that the constabulary decided to apprehend Medvedev connected Sunday evening aft a “strong disagreement” with the erstwhile Wagner worker implicit surviving conditions astatine the harmless location wherever helium had been surviving since helium arrived successful Norway.

It is “too early” to speech astir a imaginable 2024 re-election bid for Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin has said. The Russian president “has not made immoderate statements connected the matter”, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. In 2021, Putin signed a law that volition let him to tally for the presidency doubly much successful his lifetime, perchance keeping him successful bureau until 2036.

Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has said helium volition not enactment Sweden’s Nato rank bid after a protestation successful Stockholm astatine the play that included the burning of a transcript of the Qur’an. Protests successful the Swedish capital connected Saturday person heightened tensions with Turkey astatine a clip erstwhile Sweden needs Ankara’s backing to summation introduction to the subject alliance.