Ukraine news – latest: Abrams tanks pose ‘no offensive threat’ to Russia, insists Biden

The United States will provide 31 new M1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine as part of America’s efforts to help bolster Ukraine’s defence against the nearly year-old war being waged by Russia, multiple Biden administration officials have said.

The 31 tanks will be accompanied by eight M88 recovery vehicles — heavily armoured tow trucks used to rescue tanks that have been disabled or damaged in battle — and will be enough to equip an entire Ukrainian tank battalion with the American-made beasts, which first gained worldwide recognition for their firepower and armour capability during engagements with Iraqi forces during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

Read this report from my colleague Andrew Feinberg to find out more about President Joe Biden’s commitments to Ukraine:

Dozens of Nato’s modern battle tanks are to be sent to Ukraine to bolster the fight against Vladimir Putin’s invasion, ending weeks of diplomatic deadlock over the supply of armour to the country.

German chancellor Olaf Scholz approved the supply of the Leopard 2 to Kyiv, which would also allow other allies operating the tanks to re-export them.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak said it was the “right decision”, and the move would bolster Ukraine’s “defensive firepower”.

The US confirmed it will send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to the warzone.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged a senior UN official to help find a way to resolve what Ukrainian authorities decry as a serious consequence of 11 months of war – the deportation to Russia of thousands of adults and children.

Ukraine has for months denounced reports of mass deportations to Russia, often to remote regions thousands of kilometres from Ukraine. Russia denies any suggestion of mistreatment or criminal intent, describing the mass movements as evacuations.

“The discussion focused above all on our people that the occupiers have deported to Russia,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address, referring to talks with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi earlier yesterday.

President Joe Biden said Abrams tanks pose “no offensive threat” to Russia as he announced plans to supply them to Ukraine.

He said that they were needed to help the Ukrainians “improve their ability to manoeuvre in open terrain”, a decision that Russia denounced as an “extremely dangerous” step.

President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the commitment and urged allies to provide large quantities of tanks quickly.

“The key now is speed and volumes. Speed in training our forces, speed in supplying tanks to Ukraine. The numbers in tank support,” he said in a nightly video address yesterday. “We have to form such a ‘tank fist’, such a ‘fist of freedom’.”

Ukraine has been seeking hundreds of modern tanks to give its troops the firepower to break Russian defensive lines and reclaim occupied territory in the south and east. Ukraine and Russia have been relying primarily on Soviet-era T-72 tanks.

The promise of tanks comes as both Ukraine and Russia are expected to launch new offensives in the war and as fighting has intensified in Bakhmut in Ukraine’s east, officials said.

Five top regional prosecutors were dismissed from their jobs on Wednesday, a day after president Volodymyr Zelensky launched Ukraine‘s largest political shakeup of the war.

The officials, who were the most senior prosecutors in their respective regions, were dismissed “voluntarily” by prosecutor general Andriy Kostin, his office said in a brief statement.

“Andriy Kostin signed orders on voluntary dismissal from administrative positions of the heads of the Zaporizhzhia, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Sumy and Chernihiv regional prosecutors’ offices,” it said on its website.

Over a dozen senior officials, including one of the prosecutor general’s deputies, were removed from their posts on Tuesday in what analysts said was a reaction to recent corruption and abuse of office scandals.

Ekkehard Brose, head of the German military’s Federal Academy for Security Policy, noted the deeper historical significance of Berlin’s decision to send its Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv’s frontlines.

“German-made tanks will face off against Russian tanks in Ukraine once more,” he said, adding that this was “not an easy thought” for Germany, which takes seriously its responsibility for the horrors of World War II.

“And yet it is the right decision,” Brose said, arguing that it was up to Western democracies to help Ukraine stop Russia’s military campaign.

A Russian warship has conducted a simulated hypersonic missile strike on a mock enemy ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Admiral Gorshkov frigate ran a “computer simulation” for the Zircon missile that Moscow said had “hit” a target around 500 miles away.

The Russian defence ministry said: “In accordance with the training situation, the frigate practised arranging [a] Tsirkon hypersonic missile strike against a maritime target at a distance over 900 kilometres away.

Read our report in full here:

The head of the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine‘s Donetsk region claims that units of the Wagner contract militia are advancing in the town of Bakhmut.

“The enemy is increasing pressure on the Bakhmut and Vuhledar areas,” Ukraine‘s Deputy Defence Minister, Hanna Maliar, said on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia, she said, was throwing a significant number of personnel and equipment into battle despite heavy losses.

“The intensity of the fighting is increasing.”

The key to providing tanks for Ukraine‘s defence against Russia was speed and sufficient numbers, president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday.

In his nightly video address, Mr Zelensky also said he had spoken to Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg and called for supplies of long-range missiles and aircraft to add to the commitments by the United States and Germany to provide advanced battle tanks.

“The key now is speed and volumes. Speed in training our forces, speed in supplying tanks to Ukraine. The numbers in tank support,” Zelensky said.

“We must form such a tank force, such a freedom force that after it strikes, tyranny will never again rise up.”