Ukraine: First US Abram tanks to arrive within weeks to fight Putin’s forces

The US has announced its first set of its Abram tanks will arrive in Ukraine by September.

Army acquisition chief Doug Bush said on Monday that the first shipment has been signed off – with the US having pledged in January it would send 31 Abrams to Ukraine.

Mr Bush said in a briefing: “They have to get to Europe, and then to Ukraine, along with all of the things that go with them.

“Ammunition, spare parts, fuel equipment, repair facilities. So you know, it’s not just the tanks, it’s the full package that goes with it. That’s still on track.”

Britain has said its 25 sanctions to Russian and Belarusian individuals will aim to stop Vladimir Putin accessing foreign military supplies.

Earlier on Tuesday, the foreign office said it was giving 19 Russian sanctions and six to Belarus in addition to those already in place.

The Foreign Office said those sanctioned include businesses based outside Russia but said to be supplying drones, microelectronics and attempting to supply arms to Russia.

Three Russian companies operating in the electronics sector have also been sanctioned, the department added.

British foreign secretary James Cleverly said: “Today’s landmark sanctions will further diminish Russia’s arsenal and close the net on supply chains propping up Putin’s now-struggling defence industry.

“There is nowhere for those sustaining Russia’s military machine to hide.”

Ukrainian authorities have said that the two explosions in Pokrovsk have now led to seven deaths and 88 injuries.

It had previously been reported by Ukrainian authorities that eight had died – but this figure had been widely downscaled by all reports to seven by Tuesday lunchtime.

Rescue efforts are continuing to be made.

Russia has reportedly signed a law to allow the Russian National Guard to be equipped with heavy weaponry.

British intelligence has stated on Tuesday that the decision was made following the aborted Wagner mutiny – although it is disputed as to what role the Russian guard played in that incident.

“President Putin signed into law a measure which will allow Rosgvardia, the Russian National Guard, to be equipped with heavy weaponry,” the UK Ministry of Defence said on Twitter.

“A sprawling organisation of up to 200,000 frontline personnel, Rosgvardia was created in its modern form in 2016 and is led by Putin’s former bodyguard Viktor Zolotov. The decision to strengthen the force follows the abortive Wagner mutiny of June 2023.

“Despite Zolotov’s claim that his force performed ‘excellently’ during the mutiny, there is no evidence that Rosgvardia carried out any effective action against Wagner: exactly the sort of internal security threat it was designed to repress.

“ With Zolotov previously suggesting that heavy equipment should include artillery and attack helicopters, the move suggests that the Kremlin is doubling down on resourcing Rosgvardia as one of the key organisations to ensure regime security.”

Western officials are reportedly braced for what they consider to be the “most difficult time of the war” for Ukraine.

US representative Mike Quigley said “our briefings are sobering,” and that they “remind us of the challenges we face”.

“This is the most difficult time of the war,” he told reporters.

“They’re still going to see, for the next couple of weeks, if there is a chance of making some progress,” an unnmaed diplomat told CNN.

“But for them to really make progress that would change the balance of this conflict, I think, it’s extremely, highly unlikely.”

Britain has reportedly added almost 20 designations to its Russia sanctions list and six to its Belarus sanctions regime.

The government said on Tuesday that it would be adding the 19 Russian firms to the list and it has also released a new map showing that Ukraine is trying to push back.

The graphic, released via Twitter, has shown that Kyiv forces are pushing back in Orikhiv and Vuhledar.

Russian students will be reading a coursebook that praises Valdimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on their national curriculum when they return to school next month – as the Kremlin seeks to control the historial narrative around its war provided to young people.

The Kremlin is said to have ordered the rapid writing of the coursebooks, which will be aimed at 17-year-olds, with Ukraine’s Western allies seeking to make Moscow a global pariah over the invasion of its neighbour.

Volodymyr Zelensky has shared a video message on the 15h anniversary of the Russo-Georgian War.

In the five day conflict in 2008, Russia was able to set up bases in South Ossetia and Abkhazia .

Mr Zelensky tweeted: “Every year on this day, the world remembers Russian aggression against Georgia.

“Fifteen years have passed. The Russian occupation remains – this wound on the body of the Georgian state remains. Many words have already been said that if the world had been decisive back in 2008, many things would have been different.

“Back then already Russia should have realised that the aggressor pays the highest price for aggression. It must definitely realise this now.”

Poland has committed to sendig additional troops to the border with Belarus, the country’s PAP news agency has reported on Tuesday.

Around 1,000 more personnel could be sent to counter attempts to cross the frontier illegally, the deputy interior minister told PAP.

“Due to the dynamic situation on the Polish-Belarusian border… the Minister of National Defence ordered that the request be implemented and that additional soldiers be assigned to patrol the Polish-Belarusian border,” a defence ministry statement read.

In recent weeks, soldiers from the Wagner mercenary group have appeared near the border.