Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stepped up calls for the Ukrainian army to be supplied with heavy tanks and called for “determination and speed” of decision-making from Western allies. The President of Ukraine warned via video link before a crowded gathering at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday that “tyranny is outstripping democracy”.
NATO countries are expected to announce new “heavier weapons” for Ukraine, said the head of Allianz. Many of Ukraine’s allies will meet at the Ramstein military base in Germany on Friday, including all 30 NATO members. “The main message there will be more support and more advanced support, heavier weapons and more modern weapons,” said Jens Stoltenberg, the alliance’s secretary general. This month, Britain has pledged western heavy tanks and the US has promised to send its powerful Bradley armored fighting vehicles, while France offered its highly mobile AMX-10 RCs.
The EU leader also spoke out in favor of western Ukraine supplying tanks. “We, the EU, will support them for as long as it takes,” said European Council President Charles Michel on Wednesday. “The time is now – they urgently need more equipment and personally I’m in favor of supplying tanks to Ukraine.”
The German Chancellor has avoided committing to supplying Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Olaf Scholz made no mention of the Leopard tanks when a Ukrainian delegate asked him “why the hesitation” in signing their re-export at the Davos summit. The German leader said his country is “strategically intertwined” with the US, France and other “friends and partners” and that any decisions about weapons must be part of a joint effort to help Ukraine win the war. The Süddeutsche Zeitung later reported that Scholz had spoken to US President Joe Biden and “made it clear that Germany could only give in to the delivery pressure if the US delivered Abrams main battle tanks”. The US is unwilling to supply Ukraine with the advanced Abrams tanks, a senior Pentagon official said Wednesday, citing difficulties with maintenance and training.
Canada announced that it would donate 200 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine. The move came during a visit by Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand to Kyiv. Zelenskyy thanked the Canadian people and their Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “on this difficult day”.
Bulgaria helped Ukraine survive Russia’s early onslaught by secretly supplying it with large quantities of much-needed diesel and ammunition, say the responsible politicians. Former Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and Finance Minister Assen Vasilev said their country – one of the poorest EU members and long perceived as pro-Moscow – provided 30% of the Soviet ammunition needed by the Ukrainian army in a crucial three-month period Spring, and at times 40% of diesel.
Poland’s president has warned that Russia could be planning a new offensive in the coming months, which calls on countries to supply Ukraine with “arms, arms, arms”. Andrzej Duda told delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos that Russia is still strong and that more action is needed to support Ukraine, saying current support is insufficient.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has written a letter inviting Chinese President Xi Jinping to talks, which was handed over to the Chinese delegation in Davos, said the Ukrainian leader’s wife, Olena Zelenska. “It was a gesture and an invitation to dialogue, and I really hope that this invitation will be acted upon,” she told reporters on Wednesday. China has attempted to maintain a neutral stance on the war while deepening ties with Moscow.
Ukraine reported fierce fighting in the east of the country overnight. where both sides have suffered huge losses for little gain in intense trench warfare over the past two months. Ukrainian forces repelled attacks in the eastern town of Bakhmut and the nearby village of Klishchiivka, the Ukrainian military said. Russia has focused on Bakhmut in recent weeks and last week claimed to have captured the mining town of Soledar on its northern outskirts. “We are noticing a gradual increase in the number of shells and attempts by the occupying forces,” said Zelenskyy in his last speech.
Vladimir Putin said he had “no doubt” that Russia’s victory in Ukraine was “inevitable”. During a visit to a factory in St. Petersburg, he announced that Russia’s military-industrial complex was ramping up production. In a separate speech, the Russian president also claimed that Moscow’s actions in Ukraine are aimed at ending a “war” that has been raging in eastern Ukraine for many years. Ukraine and the West have rejected Putin’s stated goal of demilitarizing and “denazifying” Ukraine as a pretext for a war of choice and unprovoked aggression.
Four people were arrested by Moscow police at a makeshift memorial according to a report dedicated to the victims of the deadly rocket attack on a residential building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. People began laying flowers at the statue of Ukrainian writer Lesya Ukrainka in a “spontaneous commemoration of the victims of the rocket attack in Dnipro,” said Russian independent human rights monitor OVD-Info.