“Without the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops and personnel from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and adjacent territory, any initiatives to restore nuclear safety and security are doomed to failure,” Zelensky told Grossi, according to a statement from the presidency. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday told the visiting head of the International Atomic Energy Agency that it was not possible to restore safety at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant with Russia still in control, ahead of Rafael Grossi‘s visit to the site. Speaking in a televised interview two days earlier, Putin said Moscow would station the tactical nuclear weapons “without violating our international agreements on nuclear non-proliferation.” In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Western criticism of Putin’s tactical nuclear weapon announcement “cannot influence Russian plans.” “A year ago, no one would have thought that our partners’ support would be so strong,” Reznikov said on Facebook. Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov had said earlier that he inspected a “new addition” to the country’s forces - Challenger tanks as well as Germany’s Marder infantry fighting vehicles, plus Cougar armored trucks and Stryker armored personnel carriers from the United States. They are joined by Challenger tanks from Britain, a spokeswoman for the defense ministry in Kyiv said. “Our tanks have made it into the hands of our Ukrainian friends as promised and on time,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in a statement. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told journalists on Monday that Berlin had provided “very modern” Leopard battle tanks to Kyiv, with the defense ministry later saying 18 were delivered. The tanks - long an item on Ukraine’s military equipment wish list - were promised to Kyiv earlier this year and have arrived in time for an expected spring offensive by Ukraine’s forces.Īs Ukraine gains conventional firepower, the Kremlin vowed to follow through on a plan announced by President Vladimir Putin to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, an initiative which has drawn widespread criticism. Germany and Britain have delivered Western heavy tanks to Ukraine, officials said Monday, providing a key infusion of armored firepower that will aid Kyiv’s battle against invading Russian troops.
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