Ukraine Latest: France Says It Will Provide Armored Vehicles

(Bloomberg) -- French President Emmanuel Macron told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy that France would provide armored combat vehicles to Ukrainian troops, and President Joe Biden confirmed the US may send its Bradley Fighting Vehicles.

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Ukraine’s military intelligence chief predicted attacks “deeper and deeper” inside Russian territory as Germany’s top diplomat said there’s little sign that President Vladimir Putin plans to end the war any time soon.

Kyrylo Budanov, the intelligence chief, also told ABC News that he expects fighting to flare up in March as Ukraine pushes on with an offensive. Russia said 89 soldiers died in a Ukrainian rocket attack on New Year’s Day, raising the estimate for the number killed from 63 in what is the deadliest acknowledged Russian death toll of the war. Putin planned to hold talks Wednesday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has sought to play an intermediary role in the conflict.

(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)

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On the Ground

Russian forces focused on a push toward Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine and were attempting to improve their positions near Kupyansk, Avdiivka and Lyman, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook. Ukrainian troops repelled Russian attacks near 10 settlements mainly in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, it added. In the past 24 hours, Russian forces launched seven missile strikes, 18 air attacks and targeted civilian infrastructure in Donetsk and the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions with multiple-launch rocket systems, according to the statement.

(All times CET)

Biden Confirms He’s Weighing Bradley Vehicles for Ukraine (10:03 p.m.)

Biden said he’s considering sending Ukraine the US’s Bradley Fighting Vehicles to aid the country’s defense against Russia’s invasion.

Biden answered “yes” after he was asked by reporters traveling with him whether Bradleys were under consideration as the US prepares its next package of military aid to Kyiv. He didn’t elaborate.

France To Deliver Combat Vehicles To Ukraine, Elysee Official Says (6:20 p.m.)

Macron told Zelenskiy that France will provide Ukraine with French-made AMX-10RC armored vehicles used by the French Army, according to an Elysee official. The official declined to specify the number of vehicles or the timing of the deliveries.

Although the official described the weapons as tanks, they run on wheels, not tracks, and are heavily armed but lighter than tanks. Macron confirmed what he called the offer of “light combat tanks” in a tweet.

Poland Approves Purchase of 116 Abrams Battle Tanks (3 p.m.)

The Polish government approved the purchase of 116 M1A1 Abrams battle tanks with supporting vehicles for $ 1.4 billion, Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said in Warsaw.

The initial supplies of older-generation tanks are expected this year, with all tanks to be delivered by the end of 2024. The US will cover some $200 million of the purchase cost from grants earmarked for Poland.

Ukraine Plans Major Military Push in Spring, Budanov Says (2:29 p.m.)

Fighting is likely to be “hottest” in March as Ukraine plans a spring offensive into territory including the eastern Donbas region, controlled by Moscow before the Feb. 24 invasion, and Crimea, which was seized by Russia in 2014, the intelligence chief said. Strikes will take place “deeper and deeper” inside Russia, he said, without specifying who would be behind the attacks.

“I promise it will not take too long now, and every taxpayer in the US will be able to see where every cent went,” Budanov told ABC News in an interview from Kyiv.

Ukraine Plant Must Be Seized From Russia, Nuclear Chief Says (12:59 p.m.)

Ukraine must seize Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant back from Russia by force as efforts to establish a security zone around it evaporate, Kyiv’s top nuclear official said.

Petro Kotin, the president of Ukraine’s nuclear utility Energoatom, cast doubt on calls by the International Atomic Energy Agency for Ukrainian and Russian authorities to impose a security perimeter around the Zaporizhzhia plant in southern Ukraine.

“We do not think it is realistic,” Kotin said in an interview late Tuesday of the IAEA’s effort to establish a security buffer. “There is a new year and there is no creation of this zone.”

EU Backs Ukraine Farming Project (12:15 p.m.)

The European Union is backing a $15.5-million project to aid Ukraine’s war-torn farming sector, implemented by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

The funds will benefit rural households, smallholder farms and small-scale enterprises and center on western areas, according to an FAO statement. It aims to re-establish pre-war agricultural value chains and improve food supplies for displaced citizens in those regions.

Putin Deploys Frigate With Hypersonic Missiles (12 p.m.)

Putin put a frigate armed with Tsirkon hypersonic missiles on combat duty. The Admiral Gorshkov, part of the Northern Fleet, will be deployed in the Indian and Atlantic oceans and the Mediterranean, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told the Russian leader via video-link in televised footage.

Hypersonic missiles are difficult to repel as they combine the speed of ballistic missiles with the maneuverability of cruise missiles, leaving little time to react, according to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Kuleba Sees Fast Deployment of Patriots (11 a.m.)

Ukraine expects US-supplied Patriot air-defense systems to be deployed in the country “in the absolute short term” to help fend off Russian attacks, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said during a video briefing.

Preparations for the transfer of the systems have already begun, Kuleba said, without elaborating. The Patriot — which stands for Phased Array Tracking Radar for Intercept on Target — is manufactured by Raytheon Technologies Corp. Each system costs around $400 million, not including the Lockheed Martin Corp.-made missiles, according to the CSIS.

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