Dhe President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has held his military briefing with the general staff outside of the capital Kiev – according to his own statements for the first time. The briefing took place in the industrial city of Dnipro, where there are many armaments factories. Meanwhile, other weapons such as German Leopard tanks arrived in Ukraine from the west, which the country wants to use to recapture Russian-held areas.
“We discussed the general situation in the front areas, strengthening and protecting our borders along the entire front – from the Kherson region to the Kharkiv region,” Zelenskyy said in his daily video address on Monday. He did not provide details about the results of the meeting.
The 45-year-old also visited Zaporizhia and the cities of Nikopol and Marhanets in the Dnipropetrovsk region, which are often exposed to Russian rocket attacks. “Today Russian rockets hit residential buildings in Zaporizhia,” said Zelenskyy. These went up in flames and were partially destroyed. He again accused Moscow of targeted terror against the civilian population. “But our soldiers, whom we visited in Zaporizhia today, know exactly what they need to drive the enemy out of our country.”
Leopard main battle tanks are in Ukraine
In particular, weapons are needed, as Zelenskyy never tires of emphasizing. In the meantime, the Ukrainian armed forces have also received 18 modern Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks from Germany to ward off the Russian attack. “Yes, we delivered the Leopard tanks as announced,” said Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on Monday in Rotterdam. According to the Ministry of Defense in Berlin, ammunition and spare parts as well as two Buffalo-type armored recovery vehicles and the German-trained crews also arrived in Ukraine. In addition, 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles are already in the country.
“Our tanks, as promised, arrived on time in the hands of our Ukrainian friends. I’m sure that they can do something important at the front,” said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD). Together with Sweden and Portugal, the federal government has promised a battle group. Pistorius said: “To redeem that, Germany even delivered four more tanks than initially planned. You can rely on us!”
According to his ministry, the next step will be to deliver older Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks. These are currently being repaired by German industry. The tank repair is therefore financed by Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. The aim is to provide the first 25 tanks by the summer, around 80 by the end of the year and to increase to at least 100 Leopard 1A5s in the course of 2024.
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