January 25, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Two Ukrainian soldiers fighting in the eastern city of Bakhmut said Wednesday that they feared an attempted encirclement of the city by Russian forces, though they did not expect a dramatic change in the coming days.

“The situation in the city is very alarming, but we keep fighting,” one soldier, whom CNN is not identifying for security reasons, said. 

The unnamed soldier in Bakhmut, with whom CNN has been in constant contact for weeks, said that “there are intense street battles for every house in the east, northeast and southeast,” but said that, while the Russian threat continued to grow, he did not believe that the Russians were likely to make any significant progress in the coming days.

Ukraine’s deputy defense minister acknowledged that Russia is “intensifying their pressure” on the eastern city of Bakhmut.

“The enemy throws a significant number of personnel, weapons and military equipment into the battle, trying to break through our defense, suffers significant losses, but does not abandon its plans,” Hanna Maliar said on Telegram. “Now in Donbas, against their superiority in the number of soldiers and weapons, we have the advantage of professional military command and courage of soldiers.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked US President Joe Biden for the decision to send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, saying "it's an important step on the path to victory."

See his tweet:

The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called on allies in possession of German-made Leopard 2 tanks to send “as many of them as possible” now that Germany has said it will give Kyiv tanks from Berlin’s own inventory and approve their re-export from other countries to Ukraine.

An aide to Ukraine’s Presidential Administration Mykhailo Podolyak told CNN last week that Kyiv wanted “300 to 400 of these tanks,” which he said could, “sharply accelerate the tempo of the war and initiate the closing stages.”

CNN cannot confirm the total number of Leopard 2 tanks to be delivered, but pledges made by at least five countries mean the Ukrainian military is in line to receive dozens of the tanks.

It comes as the United States said it will send 31 of its M1 Abrams to Ukraine, President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday. The UK also previously announced it will send 14 of their Challenger 2 tanks.

Here’s a look at what countries have pledged so far:

Germany: Berlin has said it will provide 14 Leopard 2 tanks, which it described as “a first step." 

Poland: A top foreign policy adviser to the Polish President has told CNN that Warsaw wanted to send “one company” of tanks. Marcin Przydacz, Head of the President’s International Policy Bureau, would not specify exactly how many tanks Poland intended to send but said that a company of tanks was usually made up of “between 10 and 14 Leopard 2 vehicles.” 

The Netherlands: Prime Minister Mark Rutte told CNN affiliate RTL News on Wednesday that his government would “seriously consider” purchasing the 18 Leopard 2 tanks it leases from Germany and sending them to Ukraine. The Netherlands doesn’t own any of the tanks.

Norway: Two Oslo-based newspapers reported on Tuesday that the Norwegian government was considering whether to send some of its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, according to Reuters. Dagens Naeringsliv reported that Norway might contribute between 4 and 8 of the country’s 36 Leopard 2 tanks. The Norwegian defense minister told CNN: “We do not wish to comment on these deliberations or any ongoing or future contributions.” 

Spain: Defense Minister Margarita Robles has said Madrid is willing to send some of its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, Spanish state news agency EFE reported Wednesday. However Robles said it was not immediately possible to determine how many of the tanks might be sent.

Portugal: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that Portugal was among the countries “willing to provide” tanks to Ukraine. On Friday, the Portuguese Minister of Defense reiterated to Western officials at a meeting in Ramstein, Germany, Portugal’s “offer of training in this typology of fighting vehicle, and expressed the Portuguese government’s willingness to identify, in coordination with its partners, ways of endowing Ukraine with this capacity.”

CNN's Claudia Otto, Antonia Mortensen and Al Goodman contributed reporting to this post.

Ukraine will use Western main battle tanks as an “iron fist” to break through Russian lines and liberate occupied territory, Ukraine’s defense minister told CNN on Wednesday.

“We will use them as a kind of metal fist, or iron fist, to break through the defense line of our enemy,” Oleksii Reznikov said.

Ukraine must “continue our counteroffensive campaign in different directions for the liberation [of] our temporarily occupied territories,” he added.

Ukraine’s Western allies will send the country a total of around 80 Leopard 2 main battle tanks, Germany’s main governing party said on Wednesday.

“Two battalions (a total of around 80 main battle tanks) of the Leopard-2-A6 type are to be delivered quickly,” the Social Democratic Party (SPD) said on Twitter.

“14 of these come from Bundeswehr stocks. In addition, the German government gives other countries permission to supply Ukraine with their own Leopard tanks,” it added

In addition to the Leopard 2 tanks, the United States on Wednesday pledged to send 31 M1 Abrams tanks, and the United Kingdom has pledged 14 Challenger 2 tanks.

It will take two to three months before Western-donated Leopard 2 tanks are fully operational in Ukraine, the Portuguese foreign minister said on Wednesday.

“In the first place it’ll depend on the training of Ukrainian crews,” João Gomes Cravinho told Portuguese broadcaster SIC on the sidelines of an event in Castelo Branco.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that Portugal was among the countries “willing to provide” tanks to Ukraine.

The Portuguese Minister of Defense on Friday reiterated to Western officials at a meeting in Ramstein, Germany, Portugal’s “offer of training in this typology of fighting vehicle, and expressed the Portuguese government’s willingness to identify, in coordination with its partners, ways of endowing Ukraine with this capacity.”

Portugal’s foreign minister on Wednesday celebrated the Leopard 2 initiative. 

“What’s important is we have this commitment, it’s a very important paradigm shift,” he said. 

Cravinho did not go into detail about how many, if any, of Portugal’s 37 Leopard 2 tanks could be sent to Ukraine. 

In a call Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and four other world leaders agreed to provide continued military support for Ukraine in "close Euro-Atlantic coordination," according to a readout.

Scholz spoke with US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the readout said.

The French Elysée also released a readout, which said that the five leaders welcomed Germany's authorization to deliver Leopard tanks to Ukraine, "which complements and amplifies the AMX10-RC tank support announced by France on January 4th. President BIDEN informed his counterparts of the new American support measures announced today."

"The five leaders have decided to stay in close contact to respond as effectively as possible to the needs of Ukraine and its people," the French readout added.

Republican US Sen. Lindsey Graham, who just returned from Ukraine, told CNN’s Manu Raju that he believes the Germans and Americans sending tanks to Ukraine marks “a turning point in the war.”

He added that he “wanted to compliment President Biden,” on taking this step.

Graham said, “I just got back from Ukraine last week, the tanks will be outcome-determinative militarily. With the tanks, they've got a fighting chance to take back their land. Without the tanks, it would be a long drawn-out war."

Graham said that Germany's decision to provide tanks is a "recognition that we can't be bullied by Putin."

"It's an all-in approach to helping Ukraine with the weapons they need," he said.

He also noted that US lawmakers will need to pass another Ukraine supplemental soon, even as some Republicans have expressed opposition to sending more aid.

“We'll need one in the next few months,” he said, adding that there's “an element of Congress who echoes the sentiments of the isolationists of World War Two." However, Graham said, he senses "a bipartisan resolve that I haven't felt before, seen before."

"Our Democratic colleagues, quite frankly, have been terrific on Ukraine and I appreciate it,” he said.

Graham added, “Those who are opposed to sending more money, these need to tell me what happens if Putin wins. What's the cost of a Putin victory in Ukraine? Will China be more likely to invade Taiwan? And does that matter? So I will debate my colleagues.”

US President Joe Biden said that the Ukraine Defense Contact Group members are also sending additional military equipment following their eighth meeting last week.

Biden said the group of 50 nations are each making "significant contributions of their own to Ukraine's integrity."

"I want to thank every member of that coalition for continuing to step up," Biden added.

He said the following countries are sending military equipment and weapons:

Biden added, "France, Canada, the UK, Slovakia and Norway and others have all donated critical air defense systems to help secure Ukrainian skies and save the lives of innocent civilians who are literally the target — the target of Russia's aggression."