A snapshot of recent news from sources around the world on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
The U.S. announced a $2.5 billion aid package for Ukraine Thursday that includes Stryker vehicles for the first time, as well as additional Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. The package includes 90 Strykers, 59 Bradleys, as well as air defense systems, artillery and mortar rounds, missiles, rockets, and other equipment.
Following criticism of Germany’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht has tended her resignation. Boris Pistorius has been tapped to become Germany’s next defense minister.
In Ukraine, Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, has stepped down over errors in war reporting on a Kh-22 missile strike that killed at least 44 .
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently chastised his minister of industry and trade for failing to keep up with orders of military equipment.
U.S. Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, traveled to Poland to visit with Ukraine’s top military officer for the first time. The meeting between Milley and Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi involved a discussion about Ukraine’s military requirements. Milley will deliver information to a meeting of NATO defense chiefs in Brussels this week that Zaluzhnyi is unable to attend.
Three members of Ukraine’s interior ministry, including Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, were killed in a helicopter crash in an eastern suburb of Kyiv. A total of 14 people died in the crash. Initial reports don’t suggest the aircraft was shot down, but the crash is under investigation.
Germany will send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine only if the U.S. is willing to do the same with its M1 Abrams. So far, the U.S. has been reluctant to commit the M1 in any of its aid packages to Ukraine. However, the U.S. administration approved Stryker armored vehicles for Ukraine.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with Germany’s new defense minister Thursday in an effort to convince Berlin to approve the Leopard 2 tank transfer.
Denmark is donating all of its 19 155mm CAESAR self-propelled artillery systems to Ukraine. The systems were originally ordered from France’s Nexter for the Danish military and will be replaced as quickly as possible in parallel with the donation.
The Pentagon has tasked forces stationed in South Korea to transfer some of its equipment to Ukraine. The U.S. has said the move will not impact U.S. operations in South Korea. An earlier report also indicated the U.S. would be diverting munitions in Israel as well.
Moscow is reportedly planning to launch a major offensive in the winter or early spring to reverse recent losses. A new offensive could see Russian forces push harder into the Donbas region, where the heaviest fighting has taken place.
The United Kingdom and Sweden plans to provide additional military aid to Ukraine. British officials say they plan to provide another 600 Brimstone missiles to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian government has made a new urgent request to the United States for delivery of the MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS). The Ukrainian armed forces are reportedly struggling on the frontlines in the east of the country.
The United States does not want to provide the ATACMS to Ukraine, but is offering an alternative. The U.S. could deliver the Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), which can be fired from HIMARS and M270 launchers.
The Netherlands has announced a plan to provide Patriot defense systems to Ukraine. If this proposal moves ahead, Ukraine could receive a single Patriot battery from the Netherlands.
Russia is facing a problem with its missiles in Ukraine. The use of the Kh-22 (AS-4 Kitchen) air-launched missile shows the dysfunction in Moscow’s long-range missile systems. Russia is facing a serious shortage of more modern precision strike weapons.
Russia has used the Kh-22 air-launched strike missile to hit targets in the city of Dnipro, Ukraine. The attack took place on January 14.
Fearing attacks by Ukraine, the Russian government has deployed additional air defense systems around Moscow. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials have said that testing has begun of long-range unmanned air vehicles (UAVs).
Data from the wreckage of 16 air-launched Kh-101 missiles used in Ukraine potentially points to an increase in annual production. This increase in the production rate occurred after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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