Day 391 since the beginning of the war: Russia warns against the use of British uranium ammunition. NATO wants to convene a meeting, even against Hungary’s resistance. All information in the news blog.
The most important things at a glance
Lack of device? Russia apparently takes old tanks out of storage
8:43 p.m.: Russia is said to have taken mothballed Soviet-era tanks out of storage. This is reported by the “Conflict Intelligence Team”, an independent group from Russia that conducts investigative research. The corresponding report refers to photos that are said to have been leaked to the portal.
These should show that several Soviet tanks are being transported on a train from the east of the country. More precisely, these are the T-54 and T-55 models. According to the report, this would be the first time Russia has taken such old tanks from storage since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.
The T-54 was designed in the Soviet Union and built from 1947; later replaced by the T-55. The fact that these are now apparently being reactivated “indicates serious problems in supplying the Russian armed forces,” according to the report.
US offers Slovakia combat helicopters as compensation for combat aircraft
8:11 p.m.: The United States has offered Slovakia the discounted purchase of military helicopters as compensation for Soviet MiG-29 fighter jets promised to Ukraine. This was announced by Slovakian Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad on Facebook on Wednesday. A decision on whether to accept the offer has not yet been made. The government of the NATO state wants to hand over 13 MiG-29s to Ukraine.
The US offer includes 12 Bell AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters with accessories, pilot and technician training, and 500 AGM-114 Hellfire II missiles. Minister Nad promoted the offer on the grounds that the actual value would be more than one billion US dollars, but Slovakia can buy the package for around 340 million dollars (316 million euros) in installments.
Reactions from other parliamentary parties showed that parts of the opposition were also in favor of accepting the offer. According to the TASR news agency, former Social Democrat Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini said the offer was “economically beneficial” and would help to modernize Slovakia’s air force. Pellegrini’s Social Democrats, like other opposition parties, had previously criticized the fact that the minority government, which had been in office only on an interim basis since a vote of no confidence was lost in December, had decided to hand over the MiG-29 to Ukraine, bypassing parliament.
Sweden’s parliament votes to join NATO
5:17 p.m.: The Swedish parliament has given the green light for the country to join NATO. After a parliamentary debate in Stockholm, a clear majority of MPs voted to give up Sweden’s decades of non-alignment in favor of NATO membership.
However, Sweden can only become a NATO member once all 30 member states have ratified accession. 28 countries have already done so. Hungary and Turkey are still missing. Ankara is blocking Sweden’s admission to the alliance, however, on the grounds that Sweden is not acting consistently enough against “terrorist organizations”. To settle the dispute, Sweden recently presented a draft for tougher terrorism laws.
Against the background of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Sweden applied for NATO membership with its neighbor Finland in May 2022. The two countries wanted to join the alliance together. But now it looks like Finland could lead the way. Because Turkey wants to ratify the accession of the Finns. Hungary also wants to vote on this in March. The decision on Sweden’s accession, on the other hand, may not be taken by the Hungarian parliament until a later date.
“The city could fall faster than Bachmut”
4:09 p.m.: Putin’s troops have been fighting in vain near Bakhmut for months. Now they are trying to break through further south – Kiev is alarmed. Read more about it here.
