Kyiv decries Germany’s ‘disappointing signals’ on weapons

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Tuesday criticized Germany for not sending his nation Leopard tanks and Marder infantry combating autos.

“Disappointing signals from Germany while Ukraine needs Leopards and Marders now — to liberate people and save them from
genocide,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

“Not a single rational argument on why these weapons cannot be supplied, only abstract fears and excuses. What is Berlin afraid of that Kyiv is not?”

Germany has equipped Ukraine with army gear, ammunition and anti-aircraft tanks. But critics say Berlin’s help got here late because it was initially reluctant to provide weapons to a battle zone.

Berlin is now underneath stress once more as Ukraine presses forward with a counteroffensive that noticed Russia withdraw from key areas within the east.

Still, the German authorities insists that it could solely provide weapons in shut coordination with its allies.

Here’s a roundup of a few of the different key developments concerning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on September 13.

Russian forces ‘severely weakened’ as combating continues in Kharkiv.

Elements of the Russian military which have withdrawn from the northeastern Ukrainian area of Kharkiv had not been “fully reconstituted” since struggling casualties to start with of the invasion, the newest UK army intelligence report mentioned Tuesday.

According to the report, these parts have been the “most prestigious of Russia’s armies” and meant to defend Moscow and lead Russian forces within the case of conflict with NATO.

“Russia’s conventional force designed to counter NATO is severely weakened. It will likely take years for Russia to rebuild this capability,” the British Defense Ministry mentioned.

The report comes after Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in Kharkiv, with Russia asserting withdrawing its troops from key areas of Kharkiv, together with the strategically essential metropolis of Izium.

Fighting in Kharkiv continued on Tuesday, Ukraine’s deputy protection minister Hanna Malyar informed the Reuters information company.

“The aim is to liberate the Kharkiv region and beyond – all the territories occupied by the Russian Federation. Fighting is continuing [in Kharkiv]. It is still early to say full [Ukrainian] control has been established over Kharkiv region,” Malyar mentioned in an interview.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed his requires Western deliveries of weapons programs as he claimed his military had now recaptured roughly 6,000 sq. km (2,400 sq. miles) of territory.

Kyiv claims downing Iranian-made drone
A Ukrainian army official revealed on Telegram images of wreckage of a drone that he claimed was Iranian-made and utilized by Russian forces. The pictures implied that it was shot down however didn’t detonate, nevertheless, there have been no additional data launched by Kyiv.

The official, in addition to a pro-Ukrainian army web site, mentioned that Ukraine’s forces had encountered the suicide drone close to the town of Kupiansk in Kharkiv.

Tehran and Moscow have had robust ties, with their army partnership rising because the begin of a decade-old battle in Syria.

Iranian officers have additionally not too long ago boasted arming the world’s high powers.

In July, Washington warned that Iran was planning on sending bomb-carrying drones to Russia to help its conflict in Ukraine.