What has happened in the last few hours
On the 331st day of the war against Ukraine started by Russia, these are the key data at 8:00 p.m. this Friday, January 20th:
There is no consensus to send tanks to Ukraine. Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak has announced that no agreement was reached on the supply of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine at the allies’ meeting held this morning at Ramstein airbase in Germany. Blaszczak is optimistic that efforts to deploy these main battle tanks will be successful.
Zelenskyy: “We will have to keep fighting to get modern tanks”. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked the countries that have opted for immediate delivery and acknowledged that “we must keep fighting to receive them”. “Every day we make it clearer that there is no alternative but to make a decision.”
US on German reluctance to send tanks: “It doesn’t depend on any particular military team, it’s a joint effort.” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has commented on German reluctance to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, defending that Kiev’s advance in the war “does not depend on any particular military team, it is a combined military effort”. When asked if the Allies had made a decision about sending in German tanks, Austin said that “Germany hasn’t made a decision yet”.
Robles says the “political decision” on sending main battle tanks to Ukraine will be made in February. Defense Minister Margarita Robles has confirmed that the “political decision” on sending the main battle tanks to Kyiv will be made in February and has insisted that the meeting of the countries of the Contact Group for Ukraine be held at the Ramstein military base in Germany a technical appointment. Robles has handed in that it’s limited to one of the usual dates, which happen monthly.
The Russian Foreign Ministry accuses the West of “provocation” by supplying more weapons. Russia’s foreign ministry on Friday said Western countries’ decision to supply more arms to Ukraine was an “open provocation,” meaning “upping the stakes” in the conflict. “This will inevitably lead to an increase in casualties and a dangerous escalation,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman María Zajárova said in a statement.
NATO requests ammunition and spare parts for Ukraine. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday that countries supporting Ukraine should focus not only on sending new weapons to Ukraine but also on finding ammunition for older systems and helping to maintain them. “We also need to remember that we not only need to focus on new platforms, but also make sure that any platforms that are already in place can work as they should,” Stoltenberg said.
Macron announces a military budget increase of more than a third for the period 2024-2030. French President Emmanuel Macron announced this Friday that his country’s defense budget will increase by more than a third for the period 2024-2030 to reshape the army with a clear European dimension and prepare it to face multiple threats Speaking at the Mont-de-Marsan airbase (south-west of the country), has stated that he will ask Parliament for a budget of 400,000 million euros over the next seven years, which will cover the needs of 413,000 million, compared to the 295,000 million earmarked for 2019-2025 in the previous military programming law.
In the photo by Lisi Nieser for Portal, a banner at a pro-Ukrainian demonstration in Berlin calls on the government to supply Leopard tanks to Kyiv.