Ukraine Seeks Several Hundred Tanks, Russia Pegs New Military Plan To NATO Threat, Putin Woos Allies

Ukraine’s General Staff said that Russia lost around 50 troops during a combat clash in Zaporizhzhia on Jan. 23. Russia also claims that its forces killed over 30 Ukrainian troops in the Zaporizhzhia region on Jan. 23. Ukrainian official Andriy Yermak said that Ukraine needs "several hundred" tanks to push back Russian forces. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that about two million Ukrainians had been "forcibly taken to Russia". Zelensky announced that govt officials will no longer be allowed to travel abroad for non-governmental purposes. The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell has said Germany is not blocking the export of Leopard 2 tanks. He also outlined details of the EU’s newly approved military aid package to Ukraine. German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall said it is ready to send 139 Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Kremlin said the hesitancy over whether to provide the tanks shows increasing “nervousness” within the NATO. Russia’s Military Chief Valery Gerasimov said that the country’s new military plan is a response to possible NATO expansion. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan threatened to derail Sweden's NATO membership bid over far-right Kurdish protests in Stockholm.