Zelensky asks for longer-range missiles
2023.01.29 13:36
Zelensky asks for longer-range missiles
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, has reiterated his call for the West to provide Ukraine with more potent weapons, such as the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, to assist Kyiv in defending against Russian attacks from locations away from the front line. In his nightly address, Zelensky stated, “The supply of weapons to protect against Russian terror cannot be taboo.”
Kyiv has long argued that it needs weapons made in the United States to attack Russian targets in places like Crimea, where missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities have been devastating. Washington has so far refused Kyiv’s requests because it is concerned that giving Ukraine a weapon that can hit Russian targets could escalate the nearly year-long conflict.
The most recent information on the war and its global repercussions can be found here.
Main events
As they rush to deliver spring supplies, Germany and Poland are scheduled to begin tank training programs for Ukrainian forces within days. A large-scale spring offensive, according to Ukraine, will require at least 300 tanks. Last week, Kyiv’s allies broke a deadlock after continuous negotiations for several days, opening the way for the delivery of German Leopard 2 tanks and, eventually, the US M1 Abrams.
According to a government readout of Olaf Scholz’s interview with Tagesspiegel, the German Chancellor defended the decision to provide tanks, but he stated that Germany would not send troops or involve NATO in a war with Russia.
Scholz said in the interview, which was published this weekend, that he should keep talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin because they show that the West won’t back down from its demand that Russian forces leave Ukraine. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, told RIA Novosti, a Russian state media outlet, that Putin is open to additional talks even though none have been scheduled.
According to the Defense Ministry of the United Kingdom, Ukrainian tank operators have arrived in the country to receive instruction on how to operate the Challenger 2 tanks that London recently promised to send to Kiev. The ministry shared pictures of more than a dozen people leaving a Royal Air Force plane with their faces blurred.
Western and Ukrainian officials and military analysts have warned that Moscow is likely preparing for a major spring offensive in an effort to regain the upper hand following a series of Ukrainian military successes. Intense fighting continues on the front lines in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine’s electric transmission operator issued a warning on Sunday that Russian attacks on Thursday “caused significant damage” to parts of the high-voltage network, indicating that the country’s energy system is still under significant strain. According to Ukrenergo, one of the country’s thermal power plants was shut down for technical maintenance, resulting in further supply disruptions. It added that work on repairs is ongoing.
According to the Telegram account for the region, Russian artillery struck a hospital, a school, residential buildings, and municipal facilities in Kherson on Sunday. According to the regional authority, there were six injuries and three deaths, and blood donations were needed to treat the wounded.
According to regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, overnight Russian attacks on Donetsk villages and towns left five dead and at least 15 wounded. He claimed that private residences and businesses were damaged.
According to the news agency Interfax, a television station affiliated with the Belarusian Defense Ministry, Russia and Belarus tested Kinzhal hypersonic missiles as part of a joint air drill that lasted for two weeks. Kinzhal missiles can travel at hypersonic speeds—five times faster than sound—follow low trajectories, are maneuverable, and are difficult to detect even by sophisticated air defense systems. In the past, Russia used them in Ukraine.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s claim that explosions are taking place “almost daily” outside the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was refuted by a Russian official. According to Russian news agency Tass, Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the head of Russia’s Rosenergoatom nuclear power engineering company, referred to the report from the United Nations nuclear agency as a “provocation.” With six nuclear reactors, the plant is Europe’s largest.
The British Defense Ministry stated that “the increasingly militarised atmosphere in wartime Russia” can be seen in the Russian Education Ministry’s decision to incorporate elements of basic military training into the country’s secondary school curriculum beginning in the upcoming academic year. Up until 1993, “shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union,” similar training was required in schools.
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