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The first US Abrams tanks have arrived in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, as Kyiv also claimed the commander of Russia’s Black Sea fleet had been killed.
In total, the United States had announced the handover of 31 of the battle tanks to Ukraine.
“The Abrams are already in Ukraine and are being prepared to reinforce our brigades,” Zelensky said on Telegram on Monday.
He did not provide details on the number of US tanks already in the country but thanked the allies for their arms assistance. The US is considered Kyiv’s most important military supporter.

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, US military aid to Ukraine has amounted to US$43.9 billion, according to government figures.
Most recently, weapons and equipment worth US$128 million were authorised from US military stocks.
But Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles with a range of up to 300km (about 185 miles), long requested by Kyiv, were not included.
Ukraine says Russian naval vessels badly damaged in Crimea attack
Ukraine launched a counteroffensive to retake Russian-occupied territories in June and has been making slow progress, but the attack on Russia’s prestigious Black Sea naval Fleet headquarters last week rattled Moscow.
The fleet’s commander, Viktor Sokolov, died in the attack, according to Kyiv.
“After the hit at the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, 34 officers died, including the commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet,” the press service of the special forces at the Ukrainian military announced on Telegram.
But the commander appeared in images distributed on Tuesday by Russia’s defence ministry.
Sokolov was pictured in military uniform attending via video link a meeting held on Tuesday and presided by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Last Friday, the Ukrainian military launched a combined attack of drones and cruise missiles on the Crimean Peninsula, which has been controlled by Russia since having been illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Videos showed that the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the port city of Sevastopol was hit several times. After the attack, however, Moscow spoke of only one person being missing.
Sokolov was appointed commander of the Black Sea Fleet in September 2022. According to media reports, his predecessor was removed from office after the sinking of the missile cruiser Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, a few months after Moscow’s war against Ukraine began.
It was not immediately clear how Ukraine counted the dead and wounded in Friday’s attack. Each side has at times exaggerated enemy losses in the war and says little about its own losses.
Ukraine claims to recapture Black Sea oil platforms from Russia
Ukraine has stepped up its attacks in the Black Sea and on the Crimean Peninsula and started using missiles in addition to assault drones.
Kyiv has said that destroying the Russian Black Sea fleet would significantly speed up the end of the war. Earlier this month, Russia’s defence ministry said that Ukraine attacked a Black Sea naval shipyard with 10 cruise missiles.
In a possible indication of how serious the recent Ukrainian attacks on Sevastopol have been, the Russian-installed governor of the city held a meeting on Monday to work out better defence and attack warning systems for the city.
“We understand that we have moved into a new situation that requires a systemic response,” Russian agencies cited the governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev, as telling its government.
“Earlier, we and our military faced attacks from unmanned vehicles … Now everything has changed and we must be prepared for this kind of threat.”
Additional reporting by Reuters, Agence France-Presse


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Ukraine war

Ukraine war: US Abrams tanks arrive amid uncertainty over Kyiv’s claims over Russian admiral’s death in missile strike

Ukraine’s special forces claimed Russian Admiral Viktor Sokolov was killed on Friday, though no supporting evidence was offered. Photo: Reuters

The moment a missile hits the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol. Photo: Crimean Telegram channel via AP

Satellite photo shows Sevastopol after a missile attack struck the headquarters of Moscow’s Black Sea fleet. Photo: Planet Labs PBC via AFP

Ukraine says Russian naval vessels badly damaged in Crimea attack

Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev speaks on the mobile phone next to a burning shipyard. Photo: Mikhail Razvozhaev via AP

A damaged Russian ship following a Ukrainian missile attack on Sevastopol, Crimea. Photo: social media image obtained by Reuters

Satellite pictures show the Sevastopol Shipyard (top right) on September 12, 2023 before a strike, and after a strike on September 13, 2023. Photo: BlackSky via AFP 

Ukraine claims to recapture Black Sea oil platforms from Russia

Ukrainian military members said to be on an oil and gas drilling platform in the Black Sea. Photo: Telegram / @DIUkraine via AFP

A Ukrainian sniper near Bakhmut, Ukraine. Photo: Reuters

Ukraine’s Black Sea drone attacks signal a rapidly expanding war with Russia

A sea drone shows the silhouette of Olenegorsky Gornyak ship near the port of Novorossiysk, Russia. Photo: AP

A seaborne drone approaches a Russian tanker in the Black Sea. Photo: AP

Russia’s Olenegorsky Gornyak warship, which was hit by a sea drone on Friday. File photo: AP

Russia warns of ‘tough retaliatory measures’ to Ukraine drone attacks

‘No serious damage’: a drone struck this high-rise building in Moscow, Russia. Photo: Reuters

The Moscow high-rise building that was struck by a drone. Photo: Reuters

Russia’s defence ministry branded the Moscow drone attack a ‘terrorist act’. Photo: Reuters

The Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa, Ukraine, which was damaged by Russian missile strike. Photo: Reuters

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Ukraine says Russia Black Sea fleet commander killed in missile strike on Sevastopol headquarters
But, Viktor Sokolov was pictured in military uniform attending via video link a meeting held on Tuesday and presided by Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu


Ukraine’s special forces said Russia’s Black Sea fleet commander was among 34 killed in a missile strike in Crimea, but he appeared in images distributed on Tuesday by Russia’s defence ministry.


Ukraine

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