April 13 (Reuters) – The U.S. said it would soon start training Ukrainian troops to use its Abrams tank and Germany announced a deal to establish a hub in Poland to repair tanks deployed in Ukraine.
TANKS, BATTLE
* The U.S. decision to provide Ukraine with 31 advanced M1A2 Abrams tanks will make a difference in the war but is no silver bullet, U.S. Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Friday.
* Six German-made Leopard 2A4 tanks destined for Ukraine left Spain by ship, according to a naval monitoring website.
* Ukraine pressed allies for long-range weapons, jets and ammunition as the U.S. hosted a meeting at the Ramstein air base in Germany on Friday to discuss stepped up support to repel the Russian invasion.
* Russia’s Defence Ministry said assault troops were fighting in western parts of Bakhmut, the last part of the embattled Ukrainian city still held by Kyiv’s forces.
* Ukraine said Russian forces had made some advances in their fight for Bakhmut but the situation was under control.
Reuters was not able to verify the battlefield accounts.
DIPLOMACY
[1/18] U.S. Army Abrams tank leaves ship during operation Atlantic Resolve rotation in Riga port, Latvia, October 16, 2019. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
* NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said NATO allies agreed Ukraine would eventually become a member and that Ukrainian President Zelenskiy had been invited to attend the Western military alliance’s summit in July.
* A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said NATO wanted to defeat Russia and was keeping Ukraine motivated by promising membership after the war ended. She described such statements as dangerous for Europe’s security.
* Waving flags and holding photographs depicting conflict atrocities, Ukrainians gathered outside the Brazilian embassy in Lisbon to protest recent remarks about the war made by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
LEGAL
* A Moscow court ordered the arrest in absentia of Bulgarian investigative journalist Christo Grozev, whose reporting for the Bellingcat news outlet has angered Russia, RIA news agency said.
* A Ukrainian former deputy defence minister and another ministry official have been served with “notices of suspicion” accusing them of wrongdoing over contracts for food purchases for the army, the state anti-corruption agency said.
ECONOMY
* Ukrainian state-owned gas company Naftogaz has held talks with Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), Halliburton (HAL.N) and Chevron (CVX.N) about projects in Ukraine as the Kyiv government tries to lure back foreign investment into its energy sector, the Financial Times reported.
* A deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain could start winding down next week after Russia said it will not approve any new vessels unless their operators guarantee the transits will be done by May 18.
* Ukraine’s prospects of unblocking grain shipments to eastern Europe improved as Romania opted against a unilateral ban on food imports.
Compiled by Reuters editors
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