Live Ukraine war: Kremlin says Western tanks won’t change anything on the ground

The bank accounts of RT France, the French branch of RT, a Russian channel suspended in the European Union, have been frozen. Percy noted that the chain’s assets were frozen in the application of the most recent European sanctions and not at the initiative of the French government.

“With this sanction, almost 100 employees and around fifty journalists will be out of a job,” condemned RT France’s unions FO and SNJ (Union of Journalists).

The United Nations has announced that the first humanitarian aid convoy has arrived near Soledor, one of the most disputed Ukrainian enclaves since Russia’s invasion.

Three trucks carry water, food and basic necessities for about 800 people. “They are being unloaded,” said Jens Lark, spokesman for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

According to the Bloomberg agency, Russian oil will be mixed with other quantities of oil to avoid sanctions. The demand for oil storage tanks in Singapore has been growing rapidly in recent times.

Ukrainian security services (SBU) said they had arrested “seven Russian agents” in the Dnipro region (east). They are suspected of spying for Moscow. These men would have given Russian forces indications of the location of energy infrastructure. After the blasts, they visited the site to give indications to adjust the firing to better target the infrastructure.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called a meeting of Western allies in Germany to “accelerate” arms supplies, including requests for tanks to repel a Russian invasion. Speaking via video link to participants gathered at the US Ramstein Air Base, President Zelensky said the allies “must not negotiate on different sizes of tanks, but start a massive supply of deterrence.”

At a time when Westerners are considering sending heavy tanks to Ukraine, the Kremlin believes the tanks will “change nothing” on the ground. At the same time, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrives in Germany to ask Western allies to increase their military aid to Ukraine at a critical juncture in the fight against Russian troops. “The Ukrainian people are watching us, the Kremlin is watching us, history is watching us,” he said.

The information is difficult to verify, but according to Ukrainian media, the Russians are working on installing air defense systems near buildings in Moscow and Vladimir Putin’s residence.

Finland has announced 400 million euros in military aid to Ukraine, its largest contribution to date, which includes artillery and ammunition but no Leopard heavy tanks. This is Finland’s 12th military aid program to Ukraine. The previous 11 represented a total value of 190 million euros.

“Over the past 11 months, the Russian Federation has attacked not only Ukraine, but also the fundamental principles and values ​​of the OSCE. Since April 2022, Russia has illegally detained three members of the OSCE SMM on dubious charges. Last weekend, more than 50 SMM armored vehicles were allegedly transferred from Russia to eastern Ukraine. “We received new reports where they could be used to support a war of aggression against Ukraine. This is unacceptable,” the OSCE statement said.

According to the British Ministry of Defence, Group Wagner will have around 50,000 fighters in Ukraine. These mercenaries have “become a key part of the Ukraine campaign”.

“At least 5 million people are receiving food aid,” Andriy Yermak, head of the presidential office, told the World Economic Forum in Davos, thanks to a grain program backed by the UN and the EU.

According to Polish radio RMF, Hungary has withheld about half a billion dollars in new aid to Ukraine from the European Peace Fund to buy weapons.

According to the US war agency, ISW, the Russian military could set the conditions for an attack on Ukraine from Belarus, which has so far been a backstop for Moscow. According to ISW, this hypothesis is not currently relevant, but is possible by the end of 2023.

Emmanuel Macron will publish the main orientations of the future military programming law 2024-2030, which is placed under the sign of “transformation of forces” against the background of the return of war in Europe. The law, which will be tabled in parliament in March, promises to continue the funding effort for conservation. “We’re moving from a logic of repair to a logic of replacing forces,” Elysee notes. Emmanuel Macron should mention the effort that will be dedicated to the next seven years. The war in Ukraine will change some priorities in purchasing drones or some equipment in the field of surface-to-air defense.

The Judiciary government plans to soon begin transferring assets seized from Russian oligarchs to Ukraine. According to Andrew Adams, director of the US Task Force KleptoCapture, in late December, Congress passed legislation authorizing the transfer. However, he emphasized that these sums are negligible compared to the cost of the catastrophe Russia has inflicted on the Ukrainian people.

This amount will be used to provide equipment and conduct training. It will be used specifically to “cleanse” the territories of the Mykolayiv region that are most affected by these explosive devices.

During a meeting between President Zelenskyi and International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Croci, President Zelenskyi welcomed the visit of IAEA inspectors to all of Ukraine’s nuclear sites.

CIA Director William J. Burns, according to the Washington Post, visited Kyiv. He told President Volodymyr Zelensky his predictions about Russia’s future military plans, according to a US official quoted in the newspaper.

“We are preparing for Ramstein tomorrow. We expect strong results. We expect strong military support from the United States,” Volodymyr Zelensky said in his Thursday evening video address.

The head of the Council of Europe, who visited Kyiv on Thursday, reaffirmed the need for allies to come to Ukraine’s aid by providing new tanks.

“We hear your message. You need more air defense systems and artillery, more ammunition,” he tweeted, adding that the West “knows” that the next few weeks will be decisive after the conflict.

Washington will release $2.5 billion in new military aid, including 59 Bradley armored vehicles, in addition to the 50 light armored vehicles and 90 Stryker armored personnel carriers promised on January 6, the Pentagon said.

The US military will provide Ukraine with 53 mine-resistant armored vehicles (MRAP) and 350 M998 transport vehicles, the popular Humvee. The new tranche brings total U.S. military aid to Ukraine to $26.7 billion since the Russian invasion began on February 24.

US President Zelensky thanked for this help.

Countries that militarily support Kiev will hold a meeting in Germany this Friday, from which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he awaits “firm decisions” such as sending heavy armored vehicles to help his country in key battles ahead. Against Russia

Hours before this meeting at Ramstein’s American base, the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark announced significant new arms deliveries to Ukraine.

Welcome to our live stream dedicated to the conflict in Ukraine. You can find the latest information on this subject throughout the day.