An adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that caution and slow decision-making The question of sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine will cost lives. Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted on Saturday, expressing frustration at “global indecisiveness” over arms sales to Ukraine: “Today’s indecisiveness is killing more of our people. Every day of delay is the death of Ukrainians. Think faster.”
The Baltic states have asked Germany to send the tanks “now”. to the Ukraine after the government in Berlin was left behind. Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs tweeted that they were “necessary to stop Russian aggression”. The same tweet was published by his colleagues in Estonia and Lithuania.
Joe Biden told reporters after an event Friday night that “Ukraine will get all the help it needs.” in answer to a question about the tanks.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistoriusm said that despite increased expectations “we still cannot say when a decision will be made, and what will be the decision when it comes to the Leopard tank”. Germany has announced that it will take stock of its current tank numbers before making a possible decision.
Around 50 nations agreed on Friday to supply Kyiv with billions of dollars worth of military equipmentincluding armored vehicles and ammunition needed to push back Russian forces.
A tearful Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended a memorial service on Saturday to commemorate seven senior Interior Ministry officials who were killed in a helicopter crash on Wednesday, Portal reported. Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, his deputy and five others were killed when their helicopter crashed into a children’s room on the eastern outskirts of Kyiv in fog. Including those on the ground, a total of 14 people were killed.
Agence France-Presse has reported that the Russian army said its troops had launched an offensive in the Zaporizhia region in south-east Ukraine. Russian forces claimed to have taken “more advantageous lines and positions” during the attack.
A 17-year-old boy was injured by Russian shelling Sumy Oblast, Ukraine.
Russian attacks on Friday killed one person in Kharkiv, three people in Donetsk and one person in Zaporizhia. According to Zelenskyi’s office, four people were also injured in Kherson.
The war in Ukraine has reached an impasse, according to the British Ministry of Defense. An intelligence update said there was a possibility of Russian advances around the heavily contested town of Bakhmut in the Donbass region, but otherwise little movement.
Ukrainian forces have made small advances near Kremina to the north-east and defended against Russian counterattacks.