1. NATO announced 26.1.23 it will send, for the first time,...

1. NATO announced 26.1.23 it will send, for the first time, Western-made Main Battle Tanks (mainly German Leopards) to Ukraine.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64422568

Although these are not NATO's most modern tanks, they are generally far more deadly than the Soviet-era Battle tanks (T62's, to T 80's- many captured from Russia) that Ukraine (& Russia) operates. They are superior to Russia's modern T90 (not sure about Russia's Armata tank, which has only been produced in small nos.- not yet in Ukraine)

The exact no. of tanks to be delivered has not been announced, & over what time frame- some analysts have said it will be 200+ tanks, small nos. arriving by late Feb.. Most may not be delivered (Ukrainians must be trained on them, minimum 1 month +) until April to June.




2. NATO announced 2 days ago it will send NATO GLSDB artillery rockets to Ukraine, capable of hitting targets, very accurately, 150kms away.
Ukraine has the current NATO HIMARS (c .25?), range is only c. 80 kms, but extremely accurate. Both guided by GPS & drone surveillance.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64518532

Ukraine announced today it expects Russia to launch a new offensive in the East (Donbas) & South, later this month, possibly using 500k invasion troops.
I am surprised at this figure, as Ukraine announced 1 week ago that Russia had only c. 320,000 tropps in Ukraine.
Russia began its second invasion on 24.2.22 with c. 200,000 troops (It first invaded the east, & Crimea in the south, in 2014).

Russia did a major conscription drive, to send more invaders to Ukraine, from September 2022- it claimed it only mobilised c.300K troops.

Legal investigations are under way in the EU & UK, gathering evidence by UN Investigators etc. from inside Ukraine, of multiple war crimes by Russia- torture/rape/execution of civilians & captured Ukrainian troops; & also of Genocide claims against Russia.
("Genocide" has a strict legal definition- if proven, the legal, diplomatic, economic etc. sanctions against Russia will be more severe, & more long-lasting).

Ukrainians are mounting a very strong resistance to Russia (which is backed by China, Iran, & North Korea), & have won back significant amounts of territory. Many experts predict the war will continue for at least another year.