Ukraine welcomes the French radar system and Israel’s more arms shipments while Russia criticise it and claims the partial control of Bakhmut

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Kyiv (AFP) Ukraine’s defense minister said Ukrainians’ lives were being saved by advanced air defense radars supplied by France. The radar is powerful enough to detect incoming missiles and exploding drones over the Ukrainian capital and surrounding areas.

Ukraine’s top lawmakers on Wednesday urged the US to impose secondary sanctions if China and India continue to buy Russian energy, and called for full solidarity against Moscow’s aggression.

Russia warned Israel not to ship weapons to Ukraine after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was considering military aid to Kyiv and was ready to mediate the dispute.


Ukrainian officials said  that at least two people were killed when a Russian missile hit an apartment building in the eastern city of Kramatorsk.Ukraine has enough gas reserves to survive the winter, with 11 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas stored as of Feb. 1, the energy minister said Wednesday. The country also has about 1.2 million tons of coal for power plants, Garshchenko of Germany said in a statement.

Russia has criticized statements by French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron this week refused to rule out the delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine, but also warned of the risk of escalation.

The country also has about 1.2 million tons of coal for power plants, Garshchenko of Germany said in a statement. “These are more than enough to get us through and complete this very difficult hot period for our country,” the minister said.

Prime Minister Denis Shmichal said last month that the situation in the energy sector remains difficult but under control after a months-long campaign of Russian drone and missile attacks on critical infrastructure that damaged about 40% of the energy system. said to be in A senior ruling party official confirmed Wednesday that security officials had searched the home of one of Ukraine’s richest men and a former interior minister, saying the country would change during the war with Russia.

Belarus on Wednesday announced that it had commissioned the Russian Iskander ballistic missile system after the operator underwent training in Russia.

According to the Minsk Ministry of Defense, the missile can hit targets at a range of up to 500 km (310 miles).

Japan is preparing to host an online G7 summit to mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Russian forces have surrounded Bakhmut and are struggling to control the highway that connects Bakhmut to the nearby town of Chasivyar, a senior Russian military official in eastern Ukraine said Wednesday. Russia claims to control several locations around Bakhmut, where Wagner Group troops and mercenaries have been attritional with Ukrainian forces for months.

Spain plans to send four to six Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine, El Pais reported Wednesday, citing an unidentified government source.

The actual number will depend on the state of the stockpiled tanks and the number of other countries that will eventually supply Ukraine, El Pai sources said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a broadcast interview on Tuesday that he was considering military aid to Ukraine and was willing to act as a mediator after the United States called for a more active engagement.