Ukraine, US army chiefs discuss more weapons

Ukraine's top general and the top US Army commander discussed further military aid for Kyiv on Monday in Europe, as allies began training Ukrainian troops on the Leopard 2 and other modern battle tanks that are to boost the country's defense.

Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander in chief of Ukraine's armed forces, spoke to United States General Christopher Cavoli, commander in chief of Europe's combined NATO forces, before the US-led meeting of defense heads from several NATO countries on Tuesday.

"We discussed the issue of supplying international military aid to Ukraine and training our units on the territory of partner countries," Zaluzhnyi was quoted by Ukraine's defense ministry as saying.

Tuesday's meeting follows a conference last month at Ramstein Air Base in Germany that was key to decisions to send Kyiv scores of modern battle tanks, including the US M1 Abrams, German Leopard 2 and British Challenger 2.

Germany started training Ukrainian soldiers on the Leopard 2 tanks on Monday at an army base in the northern town of Munster, where Ukrainian troops are already exercising on Marder infantry fighting vehicles that will also be handed over to Kyiv.

The move came on the same day that Polish President Andrzej Duda watched a Leopard 2 training demonstration at a military base in Swietoszow, southwestern Poland, where Ukrainian troops are being trained by Polish, Canadian and Norwegian instructors.

According to The New York Times, Ukraine's leaders and their NATO backers expected the German-made tanks to be a crucial part of a campaign to push Russian forces out of the cities and towns where fighting has been centered in recent weeks.

The Kremlin has not issued a response regarding the Leopard 2 tank training, but a senior Russian diplomat said Washington is not really going to deliver Abrams tanks to Kyiv, and they are unlikely to appear in Ukraine.

"The Americans skillfully sucked Germany into this adventure by promising to deliver the Abrams and now they are basically forcing the Germans to deliver the tanks. And they are not really going to supply their Abrams and, I think, we are unlikely to ever see them in Ukraine," Konstantin Gavrilov, head of the Russian delegation to the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, told Rossiya-24 TV on Monday.

Fresh attacks

On the battlefield, the city of Bakhmut was facing heavy artillery fire as the NATO chief backed reports from Ukrainian officials in the area that Russia had launched a major new offensive, days before the first anniversary of the conflict.

Ukrainian militants in the eastern city, who have held out for months, were defending new ground attacks under heavy shelling, Ukrainian military officials said.

Positions in Bakhmut have been fortified and only people with a military role were being allowed in, a deputy battalion commander said on Monday.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reaffirmed on Tuesday that NATO had to ensure Ukraine got the weapons it needed to win this battle.

Agencies contributed to this story.

renqi@chinadaily.com.cn