Free Republic

Western countries agreed to supply tanks for use against the Russian invasion this week, prompting the Ukrainian government to push the envelope further, with discussions about more major military equipment advancing. Talk of NATO nations supplying long-range missiles, warships, submarines, and fighter jets is evident, with Ukrainian government figures seemingly tasked with acquiring new equipment wasting absolutely no time to push new ideas immediately after the dam burst on tank supply.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected the prospect of peace talks with Vladimir Putin while dismissing his Russian counterpart Thursday as a “nobody.” Zelensky used an interview with Britain’s Sky News to declare Putin “doesn’t want negotiations because he doesn’t want peace.” The Ukrainian leader said he was “convinced” Ukraine was “just the first step” for Putin, who has his eye on “other countries” as he seeks Eastern European domination.

Ukraine is finally getting the Western-made tanks that it wants, but there's still a few big items on its wishlist. Kyiv says the next thing it wants is fighter jets. "We have new tasks ahead: Western-type fighter jets, sanctions, Peace Formula implementation," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said after Germany announced on Wednesday it would send Leopard 2 main battle tanks, a decision that followed weeks of mounting pressure by European countries. Yuriy Sak, an advisor to the Ukrainian defense minister, concurred, telling Reuters that "the next big hurdle will now be the fighter jets." Some others, however, have pointed...

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz formally announced Wednesday that after weeks of stalling and frustrating negotiations Berlin has agreed to send two battalions of Leopard 2 A6 tanks to Ukraine. In a statement the government said it would initially send one company of 14 tanks to Kyiv, though its aim is to send up to 88 tanks from its own stockpiles. Scholz said, "This decision follows our well-known line of supporting Ukraine to the best of our ability. We are acting in a closely coordinated manner internationally." Some 15 other EU nations that possess the German-made tanks in their own stocks...