British challengers arrive in Kiev as Paris offers more howitzers

Ukraine got a new boost with the arrival of this Tuesday early British Challenger 2 tanks, while the fight between the Russian and Ukrainian armies continues in the Donetsk region, the most militarized area of ​​the Ukrainian front. “These tanks, delivered by Great Britain, have just arrived in our country,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov announced on Twitter.

Reznikov, who posted a video showing at least six tanks flying Ukrainian flags, did not specify the total number of tanks involved in the game. This is the second delivery of European tanks this week, as Kyiv received 18 tanks on Monday Leopard 2 and 40 vehicles marder light infantry from Germany.

The Kremlin reacted to the arrival of German tanks by condemning that Berlin is “actively arming Ukraine”, therefore “Germany is increasing the level of participation in this conflict”. “Such actions and decisions do not bode well,” warned Dmitri Peskov, presidential spokesman, reports Efe.

Belarus, for its part, decided to be the host tactical nukes that, as President Vladimir Putin announced last weekend, Russia intends to deploy in a neighboring country. According to the statement of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was reported by the Russian agency Tass and collected by Colpis, Minsk was “forced” to accept Russian atomic bombs on its territory due to NATO “pressure” on Belarus.

France promises more ammunition

French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced in an interview with the daily le figaro that France will double deliveries to Ukraine from 155 mm artillery shells up to 2,000 units per month. These howitzers are used by the French Caesar cannon or the German Pzh 2000, and can hit targets up to 40 kilometers away.

Lecornu explained that Paris will also soon send a SAM/T air-to-air defense system to Kyiv that “makes it possible to guarantee the protection of both the battlefield and the civilian population in cities.”

Faced with this support for Ukraine, Moscow did not sit idly by. His defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, visited several military factories on Tuesday to oversee weapons production and demand an acceleration of the production rate.

According to the defense, Russian military industry Ammunition production has increased significantly, the volume of which will increase “7-8 times more” before the end of this year.

Meanwhile, in the Donbass, the pulse between the two sides is maintained, with no significant changes seen in recent days, although the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has recognized Russia’s “probable advance” in the Avdiivka and Bakhmut bastions.

The commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, admitted that Russian troops are not giving up their attempts to encircle Bakhmut, which they managed to maintain “thanks to the heroism and professionalism of our military actions, (…) and the effective use of maneuverability and weapons.

According to ISW, Russian forces, especially the group of Russian mercenaries Wagner, are trying to concentrate more and more on Avdiivka, near the regional capital of Donetsk.

Moscow would decide to mobilize Wagner’s most experienced assault units in the Avdiivka offensive. On the other hand, the leader of this Russian paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, categorically denied this statement by assuring that “there is no Wagner unit in Avdiivka.” “All tasks there are exclusively under the responsibility of the Army. And we wish them success in fulfilling this mission,” he concluded.

Ukraine holds Russia in the south

Meanwhile, in southern Ukraine, Russian forces lost momentum as the Ukrainian military destroyed part of its ammunition depots in the area, according to Natalia Humeniuk, spokeswoman for Ukraine’s Southern Operations Command.

“There was no Russian shelling in the area of ​​the confluence between the Dnieper-Bukh rivers. [70 kilómetros al oeste de la ciudad de Jersón] three days,” he said, attributing this situation to the inability of Russian forces “to obtain ammunition after their warehouses were destroyed.”

Meanwhile, in the north of the country, the Ukrainian president, Vladimir Zelensky, on Tuesday he inspected the units of the Ukrainian forces protecting the border with Russia in Suma provincewhich recently suffered massive bombings.

The president, who in recent days visited other parts of the country partially occupied by Russia, awarded soldiers and public officials from the region.