A Polish Leopard 2A5 tank fires at its target during the Strong Europe Tank Challenge (SETC), at the 7th Army Training Command Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany, May 9, 2017. – U.S. Army
A snapshot of recent news from sources around the world on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
The U.S. is sending a battalion of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. The White House previously objected to sending the tanks because of the complicated logistics of operating them. The Abrams tanks require jet fuel instead of diesel, and they are difficult to maintain.
Germany announced it will send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, and Berlin will also allow other countries to donate the German-made tanks from their own inventories.
Now that Ukraine has secured modern tanks from the U.S. and Germany, Kyiv now appears to be turning its focus to receiving Western fighter jets like the F-16.
Russia fired a volley of missiles into Kyiv and Vinnytsia a day after the U.S. and Germany pledged to provide tanks to Kyiv. The Kremlin has said it sees the donation of tanks as a signal of more “direct involvement” in the conflict.
Moscow is sending tens of thousands of troops into the Donbas region of Ukraine to fortify positions after recent counteroffensives from Ukrainian forces.
The U.K. says it has taken possession of Russian military equipment captured by Ukrainian forces and will begin studying the equipment to develop improved countermeasures.
Western nations are pledging additional military aid to Ukraine. Among the equipment Ukraine will receive are additional AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles and FIM-92 Stinger man-portable surface-to-air missiles.
In collaboration with France, Italy is finalizing plans to deliver the SAMP/T surface-to-air missile (SAM) system to the Ukrainian military. Italian officials said the country has already delivered five defense aid packages worth around EUR1 billion.
The United Kingdom has yet to deliver anti-ship missiles to Ukraine, but London has not ruled out delivering such missiles.
The Netherlands is training Ukrainian soldiers in the operation of the Patriot air defense system. The U.S. and Germany are also promising to provide Patriot systems to Ukraine.
Russia continues its missile attacks on targets inside Ukraine. Moscow used the Kh-47 Kinzhal hypersonic missile in one of these operations.
Ukraine claims its air defenses shot down 24 Shahed drones. These drones were launched by Russian forces from the Sea of Azov.
Ukraine could receive MIM-23 HAWK medium-range SAMs from Israel. The United States is asking Israel to provide surplus HAWK missiles to Ukraine.
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