Kyiv Attacked as British, German Tanks Arrive in Ukraine

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Facts

  • A drone attack was launched on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv early on Tuesday. However, the country's air force said its pilots and missile defenses destroyed all 13 of Russia's Shahed drones, intercepting them before they could reach their intended targets.1
  • A further two drones were reported shot down in the Dnipropetrovsk region. However, one drone was able to evade air defenses and reportedly struck the premises of a private business, causing a fire that reports suggest spread over 4K square meters.2
  • In further Russian attacks, the border region of Sumy was extensively shelled with artillery and other weaponry, injuring one civilian. The Kherson region also continued to be targeted — no civilian injuries were recorded, but the premises of a hospital were reportedly severely damaged.3
  • Heavy fighting also continued over the Donetsk city of Bakhmut, where Russia has continued to make marginal gains. Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, stated: 'Our main task is to deplete the enemy's superior forces and inflict heavy losses on them. This will make it possible to create the necessary conditions to facilitate Ukrainian land's liberation and bring our victory closer.'4
  • Meanwhile, British and German deliveries of battle tanks have arrived in Ukraine this week. On Monday, German defense minister Boris Pistorius said his country had delivered 18 Leopard 2 tanks — four more than initially promised. Germany is additionally finalizing negotiations to deliver the older Leopard 1 tank, officials said.5
  • On Tuesday, Ukraine's defense minister Oleksii Reznikov confirmed the arrival of British-supplied Challenger 2 tanks in the nation after the UK promised to deliver 14 of the vehicles to Ukraine. Ukrainian tank crews also returned home on Monday after receiving several weeks of training on Challenger 2 tanks at a UK military base.6
  • Elsewhere, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was 'regretful' after a UN Security Council resolution on launching an independent inquiry into who perpetrated the Nord Stream pipeline blasts failed to garner enough votes at a meeting of the council on Monday. Only Russia, China and Brazil voted for, while all remaining 12 participants abstained.7

Sources: 1Ukrainska pravda (a), 2Ukrainska pravda (b), 3Ukrainska pravda (c), 4Ukrainska pravda (d), 5Ukrinform, 6Independent and 7Tass.

Narratives

  • Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by Business Insider. Western tanks — even many of the older models — have a great track record of defeating the Soviet-era armored vehicles that Russia keeps sending into battle. The delivery of British and German tanks, along with the arrival of US Abrams tanks set to take place soon, could provide Kyiv with a formidable and invaluable asset in the ongoing fight against invading Russian forces.
  • Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by Tass. The delivery of western-made tanks to Ukraine risks backfiring against the country's allies. Russian forces in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) are currently waiting for the vehicles to appear on the battlefield so that they can capture and study them, thereby improving Russia's ability to fight the tanks more effectively in the future. This move will give Russia's military great insight into the technology being used by NATO and go a long way to aiding Moscow's military intelligence.

Predictions