PressSplit
Ukraine is stepping up its actions against Russia and is launching an offensive in the border region of Kursk. German tanks are also being used in the attack.
Kursk – The offensive in Kursk is in full swing. Current drone footage also shows German Marder infantry fighting vehicles taking part in the offensive on Russian soil. According to reports from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), there are currently indications “that the Ukrainian armed forces have penetrated at least two Russian defense lines and a base.” Since Tuesday (August 6), Ukrainian troops have also been fighting against Vladimir Putin’s invasion on Russian soil.
Drone images also show the capture of more than 40 Russian soldiers by Ukrainian troops. Numerous suspected Russians are lying on the ground on a street, their hands tied behind their backs. In several towns on the Russian side, the Ukrainian army skirmished with Russian soldiers. According to Russian sources, as the ISW writes, a total of eleven settlements have been captured by the Ukrainian army.
The drone footage is said to show a Ukrainian tank in the Kursk border region. © IMAGO/Russian Ministry of Defense
German weapons against Russia in the Ukraine war: “They are Ukrainian weapons”
The fact that German weapons are also being used in the offensive has reignited the debate about the use of Western weapons against Russia. The chairman of the Bundestag’s Defence Committee, Marcus Faber (FDP), however, sees no problem if Ukraine uses weapons supplied by Germany for its current advance on Russian territory. “With the handover to Ukraine, they are Ukrainian weapons,” he told the newspapers of the Funke Media Group on Thursday (8 August). This applies “to all material,” including the Leopard 2 battle tank.
According to Moscow, “up to a thousand” Ukrainian soldiers as well as dozens of tanks and armored vehicles are involved in the attack. “With the Russian attack on Ukraine, the territory of both states is a war zone,” Faber explained his position. “The use of weapons is subject to the provisions of international law.”
Germany has provided Ukraine with 18 Leopard 2 main battle tank deliveredIn addition to air defence systems, drones and many other armaments, there are also 120 Marder infantry fighting vehicles and – together with Denmark – 58 Leopard 1.
EU spokesman supports Ukraine’s advance into Russian territory
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had only agreed to the delivery of battle tanks after months of hesitation in early 2023. For him, the prerequisite was that this would not be done by Germany alone, but that the USA in particular, as the most important Nato-Partners, for their part, provide Kiev with battle tanks.
