The Russian Invasion

 

Abrams tank. Mindaugas Kulbis / Ap 

 

The Russian Invasion|The Battles 

Sophisticated tank in place - Kremlin: "Will burn" 

 

The first US-made M1 Abrams tanks have arrived in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirms. According to the Washington Post, the delivery is several months earlier than expected, and could thus theoretically be used in the ongoing counter-offensive.  

 

Two sources tell the newspaper that more tanks are on the way in the coming months. A total of 31 vehicles will be sent. The Kremlin downplays the delivery, according to AFP.  

 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says no weapon can change the "balance of power on the battlefield." 

 

- They will also burn, says Peskov. 

 

 The Wall Street Journal writes that the Abrams belongs to "the world's most sophisticated tanks", with technical advantages that few others can match.  

 

 

General Sergei Surovikin and Sergei Shoigu in December last year. Gavriil Grigorov / AP  

 

The Russian InvasionThe Battles  

Source: Putin gives Shoigu a month to achieve success  

 

The Ukrainian successes on the front line have not gone unnoticed by President Vladimir Putin. A source "close to the Kremlin" tells the American think tank ISW that President Vladimir Putin has given Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu a one-month deadline, until the beginning of October, to achieve significant successes in the war.  

 

According to the think tank, Shoigu must have accepted the demands, which include progress on the front line, that the Ukrainian counter-offensive be stopped and that the Russian forces regain the war initiative and launch an offensive "against a major city". 

 

If the claim is true, according to ISW, it could result in Russia ordering intensive counterattacks – even if this would mean a high price for the military capacity. Viktor Sokolov is said to be participating in a video meeting with the Minister of Defence. 

 

Image authenticity has not been verified. Wikipedia /  

 

The Russian InvasionThe Battles  

Kremlin: Sokolov alive - participated in video meeting with Shoigu  

 

Ukraine said Monday that the commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, Viktor Sokolov, was killed in last week's attack on the navy's headquarters in Sevastopol. Now the Kremlin refutes that statement by the Russian Ministry of Defense.  

 

The state-run Russian news agency RIA has published a video that is said to show Sokolov attending a video meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. The information has not been independently confirmed.

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