Ukraine Russia Conflict: No taboos on weaponry for Ukraine, says Germany

German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock on Thursday said that there are no taboos for Germany when it comes to providing Ukraine with weapons. Ms Baerbock said Germany was looking into what extra maintenance Marder and Leopard tanks would need before they would be able to be used on the ground in Ukraine.

"German army itself faces kit shortages for its current missions and Germany was backfilling donations of old Soviet kits made by allies" she added.

Meanwhile, Russia on 24th February launched the war on Ukraine. And, according to the latest updates, Volodymyr Zelensky has said the situation in Mariupol is deteriorating with roughly 1,000 civilians remaining trapped in the Azovstal steel plant with the remaining fighters who are heavily outnumbered. However, Ramzan Kadyrov, an ally of Vladimir Putin, said he believed Russian forces would be in complete control of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol “before lunchtime, or after lunch” on Thursday. Also, Ukraine is working to convince western allies to shift Russia’s shipments of natural gas from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Ukraine’s pipeline, increasing Kyiv’s leverage, energy officials told Reuters. And US President Joe Biden is set to announce plans on Thursday to send additional military aid to help Ukraine fight back against the Russian invasion, according to a US official.