Ukraine war live updates: U.S., Berlin expected to give tanks to Ukraine; Russia says it would be a ‘blatant provocation’

A top Russian official has said that any delivery of American tanks to Ukraine would be seen as “another blatant provocation” by the West.

“If the United States decides to supply tanks, it will be impossible to justify such step using arguments about ‘defensive weapons’,” Russia’s Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said on Telegram Wednesday.

“This would be another blatant provocation against the Russian Federation. No one should have illusions about who is the real aggressor in the current conflict,” he claimed.

The U.S. is expected to announce soon that it will send a number of M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, with Germany expected to say Wednesday that it is ready to send Leopard 2 tanks. The decision to send tanks comes after months of requests from Kyiv, and as Russia is expected to launch new offensives in Ukraine in spring.

The Russian ambassador to the U.S. is a vocal critic of the West, claiming that “Washington is deliberately trying to inflict strategic defeat on us.” He said American tanks would be “destroyed as all other samples of NATO military equipment.”

Ukraine’s NATO allies have supported Ukraine throughout the war with billions of dollars’ worth of military and financial aid, fearing that a victory for Russia in Ukraine could only spur on Moscow’s apparently expansionist aims in other former Soviet republics like Georgia and Moldova.

— Holly Ellyatt

Two British aid workers have died in Ukraine as they attempted to evacute civilians from a fighting hot spot in eastern Ukraine.

Chris Parry, 28, and Andrew Bagshaw, 47, were reported missing on Jan. 7. They were last seen heading to the town of Soledar in Donetsk that was under intense attack by Russian forces and later captured.

A statement issued by Parry’s family Tuesday confirmed their deaths, saying the men had been killed “whilst attempting a humanitarian evacuation from Soledar, eastern Ukraine.” A statement issued by Bagshaw’s family, and reported by Sky News, said the pair’s car was hit by an artillery shell while they were attempting to rescue an elderly woman. Both families praised the men’s bravery and selflessness.

Concerns over the men’s safety were raised after the Russian private military company known as the Wagner Group said soon after the pair went missing that it had found the body of one of the aid workers and showed images of the men’s British passports on the messaging app Telegram.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russia is preparing for new offensives in Ukraine, with increased activity already seen in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday.

“Russia is preparing for a new wave of aggression – with the forces it can mobilize,” Zelenskyy warned in his nightly address. 

“Now the occupiers are already increasing the pressure around Bakhmut and Vuhledar and other directions. And they want to increase the pressure on a larger scale,” Zelenskyy said, adding that Russia wants to “throw more of their people and equipment into combat operations.”

There has been intense fighting around Bakhmut in Donetsk for months. Capturing the town is a strategic goal for Russian forces wanting to seize the entire Donetsk region and neighboring Luhansk, which together make up the Donbas. Russian forces have claimed several tactical advances in Donetsk in recent weeks, including the capture of Soledar.

— Holly Ellyatt

After more indecision from Ukraine’s allies regarding the delivery of tanks to Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that allies need to decide on whether they will deliver modern battle tanks to Ukraine.

“There is a lot of talk about tanks. About the modern tanks that we need. And about how this deficit can be filled. A lot of efforts, words, promises,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Tuesday.

“But it is important to see the reality: it is not about five, or ten, or fifteen tanks. The need is greater. We are doing what is necessary every day to fill the deficit … However, discussions must be concluded with decisions. Decisions on real strengthening of our defense against terrorists,” as Ukraine labels Russia’s leadership.

“Allies have the required number of tanks. When the weight of decisions is necessary, we will be happy to thank you for each weighty decision,” he said.

Germany’s defense minister said Tuesday morning that the country’s position had not changed regarding the sending of German-made tanks to Ukraine, but by the evening there were reports suggesting a U-turn in Berlin, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz expected to make a formal announcement Wednesday. In the U.S. too, reports suggested Washington was also ready to send M1 Abrams tanks.

Whether the number of tanks that are provided is enough is another matter, however. Ukraine previously said it needs hundreds of tanks to stave off Russia’s ongoing invasion “not 10-20,” as one presidential advisor said earlier this week.

— Holly Ellyatt

The Biden administration is preparing to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine, three senior U.S. officials tell NBC News.

The decision to equip Kyiv with the weapons platform could come as early as Wednesday, the officials said, adding that the exact number of tanks in the administration’s latest security package was still under deliberation.

What’s more, the mighty M1A1 tanks will not be available to the Ukrainians for several months due to the colossal logistics and training requirements.

Read the full story from NBC News here.

— Amanda Macias

The Biden administration reiterated its support for both Finland and Sweden joining NATO at the earliest opportunity, after Helsinki said a pause was needed in trilateral talks with Turkey on the Nordic countries’ application to join the military alliance.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price was repeatedly asked at a news briefing whether Washington would support Finland’s possible accession without Sweden, but declined to comment on what he called a “hypothetical” and not a “live question right now.”

“This has always been a discussion about Finland and Sweden… (about) moving from an alliance of 28 to an alliance of 30. That’s what we want to see happen,” Price said, adding that Finland joining NATO separately “is just a question that we’re not entertaining.”

Turkey’s president said Sweden should not expect his country’s support after a protest near the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm at the weekend, which included the burning of a copy of the Koran.

— Reuters

Replacing weapons and other equipment NATO countries sent to Ukraine could lead to nearly $22 billion in sales for the U.S. defense industry, according to a report from the think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

The FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power also said that restoring the NATO allies’ arsenals could also lower the Pentagon’s cost of obtaining weapons.

“It would also enhance the quality of the weapons U.S. warfighters wield and strengthen U.S. defense industrial base capacity,” the authors of the report added.

— Amanda Macias