Western allies have not made a decision to quickly send German Leopard-2 main battle tanks to Ukraine to increase its firepower ahead of a possible spring offensive against Russian forces. Senior U.S. officials are advising Ukraine not to launch a major offensive against Russian forces until the last shipment of U.S. weapons is ready and training is conducted.

The latest on the war in Ukraine, day 332:

13:04Kyiv fears that soon Russia will attack Ukraine simultaneously on three fronts, where it can gather an impressive number of troops, a confidant of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi told The Daily Beast.

12:06 pmThe Metropolitan Opera in New York has scheduled a concert for February 24, the anniversary of the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, dpa reports.

11:12The Ukrainian military will train on Leopard 2 battle tanks in Poland, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said, despite the fact that the allies have not reached an agreement on the supply of these German-made machines to Kyiv, The Guardian reports, citing news.ro.

10:50 in the morning Russia would have lost 188,000 soldiers since the invasion of Ukraine, according to US estimates, this figure was disclosed by The Sun at a summit at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, writes The Guardian.

The figures were attributed to “defence sources” after US General Mark Milley said Russia had suffered “massive casualties … over 100,000”. These numbers will include both Russian forces and Wagner’s mercenary group fighting on the Russian side.

09:10More than 300 wounded Russian soldiers are currently being treated in a hospital in the Russian-occupied Starobilsk of the Luhansk region, the Kyiv Independent reported at a morning briefing at the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

08:40A former American soldier, a member of an elite special forces unit who deserted in 2019, was killed in Ukraine this week, the US Navy said on Friday, writes AFP.

00:14Senior US officials are advising Ukraine to delay launching a major offensive against Russian forces until the country receives new weapons and Ukrainian soldiers are ready to use them, a senior Biden administration official said on Friday, according to Reuters.

23:58In the US, two men are accused of guarding the yacht of a Russian oligarch

The United States announced on Friday that it had indicted two men suspected of helping a Russian oligarch under US sanctions avoid the seizure of his superyacht, AFP reported.

A brief summary of recent events:

• Germany at a meeting at the US air base Ramstein in Germany refused to make a decision on the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Europe and the US had hoped that Germany would at least allow the re-export of Leopards, which are in countries such as Poland and Finland, but despite the request, the new minister defense of Berlin said that no final decision has been made.
• Berlin’s reluctance to act on sending German-made tanks to Ukraine caused disappointment in Kyiv and a warning from Poland about the possibility of casualties. Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said that he is still “convinced that the formation of the coalition will be successful.” But Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said that Ukrainian blood was “the price of hesitation” regarding the delivery of tanks to Ukraine.
• Representatives of the countries that have German-made Leopard 2 tanks met separately on the sidelines of the meeting at the German air base Ramstein, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) of Portugal reports, as the negotiations of the Ukraine Support Group did not end with any decision. about German-made tanks, reports CNN.
• Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleskyi Reznikov said he had a “frank discussion” with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Friday about the supply of Leopard tanks, adding that talks will continue, Reuters reports.
• Why Leopard 2 tanks are so important for the fate of the war in Ukraine. According to CNN, the Leopard 2 tanks are considered a vital modern military machine that will strengthen Kyiv’s forces as the anniversary of the war with Russia approaches.
• Russia on Friday described as a “provocation” and a “dangerous escalation” a meeting of Kyiv’s Western allies in Germany, dedicated to new military aid to Ukraine, while Russian troops say they are advancing in the east and southeast of Ukrainian territory, reports EFE
• American general: it will be difficult for Russia to get out of Ukraine. The head of the US General Staff said on Friday that it will be “very difficult” for Kyiv’s troops to withdraw the Russian army from the territory of Ukraine by the end of the year, AFP reports.
• Why Kramatorskul is a real strategic target in Donbas. Kramatorsk is a real nerve center of Ukrainian defense in Donbas. A city with approximately 159,000 inhabitants is important for the “closure” of Donbass. Therefore, the capture of Kramatorsk would make it possible to capture a key node of the road and railway system: lines to Donetsk, Kharkiv and central Ukraine begin from the city.
• A senior Russian politician released a photo on Friday of himself holding a sledgehammer sent by the head of Wagner’s PMK mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin, a weapon seen as a symbol of revenge after a similar sledgehammer was used to kill a Wagner defector last year, Reuters reports

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Events related to the 331-day war were broadcast live on HotNews.ro