US finalizing plans to send approximately 30 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, two US officials say:
Nicolas Armer/dpa/Getty Images
The US is finalizing plans to send approximately 30 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. The Biden administration announcement to send the US-made tanks could come as early as this week, according to CNN on Tuesday. The timing around the actual delivery of the tanks is still unclear and it normally takes several months to train troops to use the tanks effectively, officials said. The US will also send a small number of recovery vehicles, which are tracked vehicles used to assist in the repair of tanks on the battlefield or the removal from the battlefield for service and maintenance in a different location. The pending announcement appears to break a diplomatic impasse with Germany. German officials had openly stated that they would only send their Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine if the US sent the M-1 Abrams tank, a system US officials had repeatedly stated was overly complex and difficult to maintain. The German government announced on Wednesday it will send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, following weeks of diplomatic pressure to make the move.
Iran says drone attack targeted a defense factory in city of Isfahan:
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. Photo by Lisi Niesner/REUTERS
Bomb-carrying drones targeted an Iranian defense factory in the central city of Isfahan overnight, authorities said early Sunday. The bombing caused some damage at the plant amid heightened regional and international tensions engulfing the Islamic Republic. The Iranian Defense Ministry offered no information on who it suspected carried out the attack. A Defense Ministry statement described three drones being launched at the facility, with two of them successfully shot down while a third made it through to strike the building, causing “minor damage” to its roof and wounding no one, the ministry said. Iranian defense and nuclear sites increasingly find themselves surrounded by commercial properties and residential neighborhoods as the country’s cities sprawl ever outward. Some locations as well remain incredibly opaque about what they produce, with only a sign bearing a Defense Ministry or paramilitary Revolutionary Guard logo.
Pavel leads ahead of Czech vote; opponent plays on war fears:
Czech presidential candidate Petr Pavel attends the last radio debate before the country's direct presidential election in Prague, Czech Republic, January 13, 2023. REUTERS/David W Cerny/File Photo/File Photo
Czech election polls showed on Monday that retired general and former NATO official Petr Pavel is leading billionaire ex-prime minister Andrej Babis by a double-digit margin ahead of a Czech presidential election run-off vote. Pavel, an independent backed by the center-right government, has projected a clear pro-Western policy stance and support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression. Babis, heading the largest opposition political party, won the backing of retiring President Milos Zeman as well as figures from the extreme fringes of the political scene, including the pro-Russian former ruling Communist Party. Zeman had favored closer ties with China and Russia, until Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year. In a television debate on Sunday night, Babis caused a stir by saying he would refuse to send troops to defend NATO allies Poland and the Baltics in case they were attacked, but he later backtracked on those comments to say he would respect NATO's mutual defense commitments.
Sources:
Iran says drone attack targeted a defense factory in city of Isfahan | PBS News
Pavel leads ahead of Czech vote; opponent plays on war fears | Reuters