Kyiv(AFP) According to state media, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday that Russian forces had captured Mykolaivka, a small village in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region. Russian forces are detaining Ukrainian forces fighting in the eastern Donbass region, but Moscow is gathering additional combat troops there for an expected offensive in the coming weeks, Ukrainian officials said on Monday.
According to the Ukrainian president’s office, heavy fighting continued for weeks in the city of Bakhmut and the neighbouring towns of Soledar and Vkhredal. You are in the Donetsk region. This region, together with the neighbouring Luhansk region, forms the Donbas region, an industrial zone bordering Russia.
The Ukrainian army will begin training German Leopard tanks in Europe on Monday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said ahead of their handover to the front lines. Kyiv awaits the delivery of tanks from its Western allies as Russian forces pin Ukrainian forces to fight in the eastern Donbass region.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said the Leopard tank will begin training in Europe on Monday ahead of its handover to Ukraine. So far, Canada, Poland, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States have announced plans to supply Ukraine with main battle tanks.
Amid mounting international pressure, the federal government last month announced plans to hand over the latest Leopard 2 tanks from Bundeswehr stocks. Canada’s Defense Minister Anita Anand tweeted late Sunday that the first German Leopard tanks donated to Ukraine by Canada had arrived in Poland. This is part of a broader tank effort to help Ukraine’s Western allies defeat Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Iraq’s foreign minister in Baghdad on Monday. The two discussed unpaid claims from Russian oil companies due to US sanctions in the Ukraine conflict.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said at a press conference in Baghdad that “sanctions should not be imposed on Iraq because of its continued cooperation with Russian companies.” Since the Ukraine war began almost a year ago, the US and EU have imposed sanctions on Russian officials, banks and financial institutions, fueling fears in third countries about their dealings with Russia.
Hussein said the Russian oil and gas company operating in Iraq was still awaiting payment without disclosing the amount.
He reiterated Baghdad’s support for a ceasefire and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
“We support a ceasefire between the two parties so that negotiations can begin to end this truly global crisis,” he said.
A Patriot missile battery that Poland acquired from the United States last year was deployed in the capital Warsaw as part of military exercises, according to the Polish Defense Ministry. Poland is taking additional steps to boost its defence capabilities as Russia’s war in neighbouring Ukraine enters its second year later this month. At least three of her surface-to-air missile launchers were spotted at Warsaw’s Bemowo airport on Monday.
Defense Minister Mariusz Braszczak said on Twitter over the weekend that the transfer of missile batteries from the base in Sohaczew in central Poland to Warsaw was “an important part of the training” of the 3rd Warsaw Air Missile Defense Brigade.
The replacement of Ukraine’s defense minister after the corruption scandal announced over the weekend will not take place this week, parliamentarians said on Monday.
On Sunday night, Alakamia said Ukraine’s head of military intelligence, Kirilo Budanov, would succeed Oleksiy Reznikov as defense minister.
The Norwegian government on Monday announced it was planning a five-year 75 billion kroner ($7.3 billion) aid package for Ukraine, as well as additional aid to other countries affected by the conflict.
