No decision was made on the provision of Germany’s Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine at a key meeting on Friday, but the nation’s new defense minister said Berlin could move quickly if an agreement is reached. The US defense chief said he had no news to share on M1 Abrams tanks.
(Bloomberg) — No decision was made on the provision of Germany’s Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine at a key meeting on Friday, but the nation’s new defense minister said Berlin could move quickly if an agreement is reached. The US defense chief said he had no news to share on M1 Abrams tanks.
The US and its allies met at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to discuss assistance for Ukraine, including the provision of heavy weapons. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed the meeting by video, calling on allies not to “bargain about the different number of tanks, but to open a principle supply which will stop Russian evil.”
Russian authorities deployed air-defense installations in and around Moscow, including near President Vladimir Putin’s residence, after several recent drone attacks hit the country’s heartland.
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Key Developments
- Russian Billionaire Yacht Helpers Charged in US Sanction Scheme
- Germany Says It Could Move Quickly to Send Tanks to Ukraine
- Germany Allows Ukraine ‘Preparatory’ Training on Leopard Tanks
- Russia Boosts Air Defenses Around Moscow Amid Drone-Strike Fears
- Russia Seeks New Oil-Price Formula as Cap Hits Revenues
- Europe’s Need For Russian Gas Seems to be Dwindling
On the Ground
Russia continued its assaults, including by air, on the Bakhmut, Avdiyivka and Zaporizhzhia axis, Ukrainian General Staff reports on Facebook. Artillery strikes are across the whole front line. Settlements in Eastern Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well Southern Kherson region, are experiencing Russian artillery shelling.
Russia claimed Friday to have captured another small village, Klishchiivka, 7 km (4.3496 miles) southwest of Bakhmut. Over the past day, the Russian military conducted nine missile and 23 air strikes. Senior Kremlin officials continue holding high-level meetings with the Belarusian national leadership, the Institute for the Study of War said. A new Russian attack against Ukraine from Belarus in early 2023 seems less likely given current Russian military activity, although an attack from Belarus in late 2023 seems more plausible.
(All times CET)
US Charges Two Men in Yacht Sanctions Case (11:30 a.m.)
Two businessmen were charged by US authorities with helping operate Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg’s yacht in violation of sanctions imposed four years ago.
Vekselberg’s $90 million, 255-foot luxury yacht called Tango was seized by Spain at the behest of the US in April, marking a high-profile victory for the Justice Department’s KleptoCapture unit, formed to track down the assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs and others close to Putin.
Vladislav Osipov, 51, a Russian, and Richard Masters, 52, a Briton, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington, the department said Friday in a statement. They’re accused of facilitating a scheme of sanctions evasion and money laundering. Masters was arrested in Spain on Friday at the request of the US and a warrant for Osipov remains outstanding, according to the statement.
Austin Warns US Allies Time Is Short Before Russian Offensive (8:23 p.m.)
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said time is running out to give Ukraine the advanced weapons it needs before an expected Russian offensive in the spring, as both the US and Germany hold out against Kyiv’s requests for their most powerful battle tanks.
Austin said allied officials agreed at a meeting in Germany on Friday they would ensure that Ukraine gets the weapons it needs and the training to use them properly. He sought to play down any discord over whether to provide heavy tanks, which have been a key demand as Ukraine looks to blunt Russian forces in the east.
US Labels Wagner a Criminal Group in New Bid to Blunt Its Power (8:45 p.m.)
The US dubbed Russia’s Wagner Group a transnational criminal organization in a new effort to blunt the mercenary company’s powerful role on the battlefield in Ukraine and around the world.
New sanctions will be coming next week against the group, which the US now believes has about 50,000 personnel deployed in Ukraine, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. The Treasury Department designation will given the administration new authority to impose financial restrictions on Wagner and those who work for it.
The move marked the latest effort to disrupt the group, which has continued to gain prominence and power around the globe despite a raft of US, UK and European Union sanctions. The group’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is considered a major ally and supporter of President Vladimir Putin and his war effort in Ukraine.
North Korean Munitions Aiding Russian Effort (6:28 p.m.)
North Korean munitions and equipment have been delivered to the Wagner group to support their effort on behalf of Russia in Ukraine, according to a senior NATO official. While the amount of material that’s been delivered won’t change the battlefield dynamics in Ukraine, allies are concerned North Korea could deliver further military equipment.
The NATO official also noted changing tactics by Russia, including building up of more defensive infrastructure such as new trench lines in northern Crimea. In addition, the Russian military also appears to be attempting to maintain shorter logistics lines, though this will make them more dependent on Russian territory to enable logistics, the official said.
Zelenskiy, Erdogan Speak About Grain Export Expansion (5:30 p.m.)
Ukraine’s president spoke by phone with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, including about the possibility of expanding the safe-transit agreement for Black Sea grain exports to other ports.
Erdogan reiterated his readiness to “handle mediation” between Russia and Ukraine in pursuit of a peace agreement, according to a Turkish readout, although no such talks seem in the offing.
Poland to Donate T-72 Tanks, Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine (4:30 p.m.)
Poland will donate a brigade of T-72 tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine, as well as provide training on the equipment, said Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak.
The move comes as potential provision of German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine awaits a final decision following Friday’s meeting of allies at Ramstein Air Base.
The T-72 is a Soviet-designed tank also built in Poland and other countries.
Russia Can’t Currently Put Zaporizhzhia Plant Into Operation (4 p.m.)
Russia isn’t able to launch any of six units of the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as most of the personnel there has refused to cooperate with Russian authorities, the Ukrainian Nuclear Agency Energoatom said on Telegram.
According to the regulator, at least 1,500 workers at Zaporizhzhia have no access to the station as a result. “Russians are looking for ‘new’ nuclear workers all over Russia and are ready to resettle them in apartments, forcibly taken from those, who left the occupied city of Energodar,” Energoatom said.
Special equipment at the atomic plant, Europe’s largest, is subject to deterioration as the occupation drags on, Energoatom said.
Germany Says It Could Move Quickly to Send Tanks (2:20 p.m.)
Germany’s new defense minister said his government is evaluating options to supply Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine and could move quickly if an agreement is reached.
Boris Pistorius, speaking to reporters at Ramstein Air Base, said a resolution hasn’t yet been reached, but that the government in Berlin will make a decision as soon as possible. It’s wrong to conclude Germany alone is blocking the tanks, he said.
“We have of course also talked about the possible delivery of Leopard tanks,” Pistorius, who was appointed this week, said after the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. “I’m very sure there will be a decision in the short term, but I don’t know how the decision will look.”
Europe’s Need For Russian Gas Seems to be Dwindling (1:44 p.m.)
Europe’s appetite for natural gas from Russia appears to be diminishing after unseasonably mild weather and ample storage have brought costs down.
Pipeline flows via the Velke Kapusany pipeline have been down for two consecutive days at about half of their average December levels. While that initially sparked jitters over renewed Russian curtailment efforts on Thursday, it seems the lower shipments might actually be a signal that Gazprom’s clients in Europe don’t need their gas so much anymore.
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