Ukraine-Russia war latest: Ukraine moves US tanks away from frontlines after 'hunter-killer drone' attacks (2024)

Key points
  • Russia would struggle in Ukraine without China's help, US says
  • Ukraine sidelines US Abrams tanks after drone attacks
  • US expected to announce $6bn of long-term military aid to Ukraine
  • Russia would target NATO nuclear weapons if deployed in Poland
  • Explained:Why has Ukraine aid bill passed now, after months of delay?
  • Your questions answered:How long will it take for any aid to turn the tide militarily?
  • Listen to the Sky News Daily above andtap hereto follow wherever you get your podcasts
  • Live reporting by Andy Hayes

14:01:32

Russia has used 9,000 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine this year, Zelenskyy says

Russian jets have already used more than9,000guided aerial bombs against Ukraine this year, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

The recent pause in US funding helped Moscow to seize the initiative, the Ukrainian president added.

He is asking for additional Patriot air defence systems to be supplied, saying at least seven are required.

"We urgently need Patriot systems and missiles for them," he said.

"This is what can and should save lives right now."

He added: "We need the ability toshoot down the air combat aircraft so that they do not approachour positions and borders," Mr Zelenskyy said at the start of avirtual meeting led by the United States.

Lloyd Austin, theUS defence secretary, said the meeting of theUkraine Defence Contact Group -a coalition of about 50 countries - would focus onUkraine's air defence capabilities.

As we have been reporting, the US has finally passed a new $61bn (£49bn) programme of funding for Kyiv into law.

13:43:07

Your questions answered: Will Ukraine launch another spring offensive?

Over the past couple of weeks we've been asking for your questions on the war for our military analysts and international correspondents.

Every week we're picking one or two to answer - here is this week's...

Will the Ukrainians have another spring offensive or wait again until the summer?
Declan

Military analyst Sean Bell answers this one...

Thank you for this interesting question, Declan.

For the past few months, the tide of the war in Ukraine has been in Russia's favour as shortages of weapons have limited Ukraine's strategic options.

Russia has been attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure and major cities with barrages of missile and drones, leaving Ukraine with critical shortages of aid defence missiles.

The Russian air force has also been more active in support of its frontline forces, capitalising on Ukraine's growing shortage of defensive missile capability.

Despite the broad spectrum of military action from both sides, the primary metric of success in this conflict is territory gained/liberated, and Russia has been focusing its ground forces on the Donbas region.

Putin's long game

Despite suffering huge casualties, Russian forces have clearly been capitalising on Ukraine's dwindling stocks of artillery shells and bullets to gain momentum on the front line.

Vladimir Putin is evidently playing the long game here, as he always anticipated that the West's enthusiasm to support Ukraine would wane, leaving Russia to achieve its invasion objectives.

Although the recent announcement of a new package of $60bn military aid from the US will be welcome news for Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the immediate challenge will be to translate the commitment of cash into weapons and ammunition in the hands of the Ukrainian fighters - and swiftly.

Momentum is invaluable in military operations, and reversing Russian progress across the frontline will be one of Ukraine's main priorities this spring/summer.

Having stabilised the frontline, Ukraine's attention can then turn to the wider strategy of "what next".

Last year's much anticipated "spring offensive" failed to make significant territorial gains, so Ukraine will need to reconsider its wider strategy to focus its limited resources most effectively.

Feast-famine approach won't work

Longer-term, the West needs to agree its strategic approach to the conflict.

Large-scale conflicts consume munitions and weapons at a rate well beyond the capacity of peacetime stockpiles, and require an industrialisation of national defence industries to produce the huge volumes required.

Russia has grown its defence industrial base to three times its pre-war levels, and is also using oil revenues to fund munitions imports from North Korea and Iran.

The West has yet to match this capacity.

If Ukraine is to prevail in the war with Russia, it will need a predictable and sustainable supply of weapons - not the feast/famine approach that has characterised the past two years.

The West has the defence industrial capability to over-match Russia, but has yet to demonstrate the political resolve to fulfil that potential.

West's political will is key

In the meantime, Russia knows that a more direct engagement by the West in support of Ukraine would be decisive - Russia could not achieve its war aims.

That is why President Putin and Russian foreign minister Lavrov use threatening rhetoric whenever the West considers increasing support for Ukraine, with regular threats that such support would increase the risk of nuclear war.

However, it is Russia that invaded Ukraine, and it is Russia's military action that is causing such devastation to Ukrainian communities across the frontline.

Ultimately, the West can halt Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine - by providing weapons, boots on the ground and/or establishing a no-fly-zone - if it has the political resolve to do so.

If not, this latest round of military aid to Ukraine risks being seen as a short-term palliative, without a long-term strategy.

13:32:04

US sending weapons to Ukraine 'this week' after funding boost, Biden says

The United States is sending weapons and equipment to Ukraine "this week", Joe Biden has said.

Referring to a $61bn (£49bn) programme of funding for Kyiv that has finally been passed byCongress following a long delay, the president said he had signed it quickly into law.

It arrived on his desk early on Wednesday, he said, and he approved it before midday.

The new items will help to defend Ukraine from "Russian bombardment", he said.

Earlier (06.54) we reported that the US is expected to announce about $6bn (£4.8bn) in military aid to Ukraine today.

12:52:30

British man charged with conducting hostile activity in UK to benefit Russia

A British man has been charged with conducting hostile state activity to benefit Russia, prosecutors have said.

Dylan Earl, 20, is alleged to have targeted businesses linked to Ukraine to benefit the Russian state.

Nick Price, head of the CPS's special crime and counterterrorism division, said: "Included in the alleged activity was involvement in the planning of an arson attack on a Ukrainian-linked commercial property in March 2024."

Four others have also been charged in connection with the investigation, the CPS said, after reporting restrictions were lifted today.

Read more on this breaking story here.

12:24:37

China assisting Russia as much as it can 'without invoking sanctions'

China is "frightened" of evoking US sanctions but is still getting "right up to the line" in assisting the Russian war effort, Professor Michael Clarke has said.

Analysing remarks by the US secretary of state (see previous post) that Washington has serious concerns about China providing weapons components to Russia, our military analyst said China is carefully calibrating its actions.

Those components - while not particularly sophisticated - are needed for missiles and high-tech weapons, Prof Clarke said.

He explained: "It's been known for a long time that the Chinese are supplying these.

"They're not supplying Russia with weapons because they're frightened of American sanctions.

"They're certainly frightened of secondary sanctions, whereby the Americans can sanction a company dealing with a company that supplies to Russia."

Despite that fear, however, Prof Clarke said the Chinese have "gone right up to the line in assisting Russia without obviously sending them weapons".

In addition, they are facilitating the supply of weapons from North Korea to Russia, he added.

11:55:02

Russia would struggle in Ukraine without China's help, Blinken says

Russia would struggle to sustain its invasion of Ukraine without China's help, the US secretary of state has said.

Antony Blinken - speaking in Beijing following talks withChina's top diplomat, Wang Yi - said he had "reiterated" serious concerns about China providing components that are "powering Russia's brutal war of aggression against Ukraine".

He added: "China is the top supplier of machine tools, microelectronics and nitrocellulose, which is critical to making munitions and rocket propellants and other dual-use items that Moscow is using to ramp its defence industrial base," he said during a news conference.

That industrial base is "churning out rockets, drones, tanks and other weapons that President Putin is using to invade a sovereign country", he added.

Those weapons are being used to "demolish a power grid and other civilian infrastructure and to kill innocent children, women and men", Mr Blinken said.

He went on: "Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China's support.

"In my meetings with NATO's allies earlier this month and with our G7 partners just last week, I heard that same message: fuelling Russia's defence industrial base not only threatens Ukrainian security, it threatens European security.

"Beijing cannot achieve better relations with Europe while supporting the greatest threat to European security since the end of the Cold War.

"As we've told China for some time, ensuring transatlantic security is a core US interest.

"In our discussions today, I made it clear that if China does not address this problem, we will."

11:29:27

At least four people wounded after reported Russian bomb attack

At least four people were injured after Russia bombed an industrial site and a residential building in northeastern Ukraine, local officials have said.

Three children and a woman were hurt when munitions hit acentral part of the town of Derhachi in the Kharkiv region,governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram.

In the Sumy region, two bombs struck an industrial facility, regional authorities said.

The neighbouring regions, which border Russia, have undergone frequent aerial attacks.

In recent weeks, more intensive strikes have hitcivilian and energy infrastructure.

10:46:04

Detained journalist accused of spreading 'fake news' about Russian army

A journalist working for the Russian edition of Forbes magazine hasbeendetained on suspicion of spreading "fake news" about the Russianarmy, the magazine has said on its website.

Sergei Mingazov is being held in adetention centre in the far eastern city of Khabarovsk, according to his lawyer,Konstantin Bubon.

There has been no contact with the journalist, Forbes reported.

Forbes is an American business magazine.

10:31:40

Is Russia evading sanctions? The luxury car market suggests it might be....

By Ed Conway, economics and data editor

The extraordinary, unprecedented and largely unexplained flows of millions of pounds of British luxury cars into states neighbouring Russia continued in February, according to new official data.

Some £26m worth of British cars were exported to Azerbaijan, according to HM Revenue & Customs.

In the latest quarter this former Soviet state - which has developing economy status - was the 17th largest destination for UK cars, and bigger than long-established export markets such as Ireland, Portugal and Qatar, the numbers show.

Read more below...

10:00:14

Russia able to 'continuously target Ukrainian positions' north of Donetsk

Russian forces have accelerated their advance west ofAvdiivka, the UK defence ministry has said.

Russia took control of the city, which is north of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, in mid-February.

It has now entered the town of Ocheretyne, about 15km north of central Avdiivka, the MoD added in its latest intelligence update.

The area is one of the "primary areas of Russian operations", it said.

"Despite sustaining continued high losses, it is highly likely that Russian ground forces are able to continuously target Ukrainian positions in the area and have taken control of several small settlements."

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Ukraine moves US tanks away from frontlines after 'hunter-killer drone' attacks (2024)

FAQs

Has Russia captured any Abrams tanks? ›

Russia is displaying its war 'trophies' — an array of captured Western hardware like Abrams and Leopard tanks — saying 'victory is inevitable'

Did Ukraine pull back Abrams tanks? ›

Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv pulls back Abrams tanks due to drone raids and losses, says US. Ukraine has taken American Abrams M1A1 battle tanks off the frontline, partly because of Russian drone tactics, Pentagon officials have said. The US agreed to send 31 Abrams to Ukraine in January 2023.

How many Abrams tanks does the United States have? ›

The M1A1 was revealed in 1985 with production commencing the same year. It entered service with US Army in 1986. Production ended in 1992 and approximately 4 800 M1A1 Abrams tanks were built. Currently, US Army operates nearly 4 400 of these tanks, and US Marine Corps just over 400.

How many Abrams tanks does Ukraine have? ›

Main battle tanks
ModelOriginNumber
Leopard 1West Germany Germany Norway Denmark Netherlands>270
Leopard 2West Germany Germany Poland Sweden Finland Portugal Spain Norway Canada Netherlands Denmark>130
Challenger 2United Kingdom14
M1 AbramsUnited States31
8 more rows

Has the US ever lost an Abrams tank? ›

Of the nine Abrams tanks destroyed, seven were destroyed by friendly fire and two intentionally destroyed to prevent capture by the Iraqi Army. No M1s were lost to enemy tank fire. Some others took minor combat damage, with little effect on their operational readiness.

Are Russian tanks better than the Abrams? ›

Looking at the weight, speed, armored protection, sighting technology and accuracy, to name just a few, the M1 Abrams outclasses the T-72 variants, Clarke added. There are several iterations of the M1 Abrams, which can be fitted with 105 mm or 120 mm armaments, plus . 50-caliber M2 and 7.62 mm machine guns.

How many leopards has Ukraine lost? ›

To date, ~ 37 Leopards are known to have been DDA (destroyed, damaged, or abandoned) in the Russian invasion of the Ukraine. That includes all the variants: 2A6 (11), 2A4 (18), 1A5 (1), and Stridsvagn 122 (7).

How many tanks does Ukraine have? ›

Ukraine's tank strength

Ukraine's Armed Forces possessed less than 1,800 tanks as of 2024, which was more than eight times less than Russia's. To support Ukraine during the Russian invasion, several Western countries made commitments to deliver tanks to Ukraine, including Leopard 2, Challenger 2, and M1 Abrams.

Is the Leopard 2 better than the Abrams? ›

The main difference between the Abrams and Leopards is the engine. The Leopard 2 has a diesel-powered MTU MB 873 engine, which is much easier to maintain and more widely used across Europe, while the Abrams uses a more powerful and more complex turbine engine.

Does the US still build Abrams tanks? ›

The U.S. has not built new Abrams tanks since the early 1990s. With the Cold War over, thousands of Abrams that were built to fight the Soviet Union were put into storage, according to Dean Lockwood, a military vehicle analyst with Forecast International.

How thick is the armor on the Abrams tank? ›

On all Abrams models up to the M1A2C, the frontal hull armor is 700mm thick. I have measured this myself, using the weldlines as a guide. From the front to the weld is 600mm and then behind the weld is a 101mm steel plate, giving a total thickness of about 100mm.

Did the Ukrainian lose the M1 Abrams? ›

In early March, press reports of the battle at Berdychi, five miles northwest of Avdiivka, asserted that the Ukrainian 47th Mechanized Brigade lost three M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks, at least four M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and two Assault Breacher Vehicles in combat there.

How many Bradleys have been destroyed in Ukraine? ›

According to data from the open-source military intelligence site Oryx, 69 Bradley fighting vehicles have been either destroyed, damaged, abandoned, or captured in the conflict so far — over a third of the 186 that have been delivered to Ukraine by the US.

How many himars does Ukraine have? ›

So Far Russia Hasn't Destroyed Even One Of Ukraine's 39 HIMARS Rocket-Launchers—And Not For A Lack Of Trying. David Axe writes about ships, planes, tanks, drones and missiles. A Ukrainian HIMARS after launching its rockets. The United States donated to Ukraine 39 High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS.

Can Russian tanks penetrate Abrams? ›

It's possible a 2A46M gun could penetrate the frontal turret armor of an M1A1 Abrams; although classified, one estimate for the frontal arc of the M1A1's turret armor is the equivalent of 600 millimeters of rolled homogeneous steel armor (RHA), while the Svinets-1 depleted uranium tank round can reportedly penetrate ...

Was the first Abrams tank destroyed in Ukraine? ›

On 26 February, Russian forces west of Avdiivka destroyed the first M1A1 Abrams tank of the war.

How many tanks did the Soviets lose? ›

Of the total of 20 500 Soviet tanks lost in 1941, approximately 2 300 were T-34s and over 900 were mostly KV heavy tanks.

How many military tanks did Russia have? ›

Russia reportedly has about 12,000 tanks to Ukraine's 2500.

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