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Kremlin Says US Abrams Tanks, ATACMS Missiles for Ukraine Can't Change Battlefield Situation

(FILES) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting of Russian president and Armenian prime minister at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 25, 2023. (Photo by Ilya PITALEV / SPUTNIK / AFP)
(FILES) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting of Russian president and Armenian prime minister at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 25, 2023. (Photo by Ilya PITALEV / SPUTNIK / AFP)
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Kremlin Says US Abrams Tanks, ATACMS Missiles for Ukraine Can't Change Battlefield Situation

(FILES) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting of Russian president and Armenian prime minister at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 25, 2023. (Photo by Ilya PITALEV / SPUTNIK / AFP)
(FILES) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting of Russian president and Armenian prime minister at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 25, 2023. (Photo by Ilya PITALEV / SPUTNIK / AFP)

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that US supplies of long-range ATACMS missiles and Abrams tanks to Ukraine would not change the situation on the battlefield.
Asked about the issue at a regular news briefing, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian armed forces were constantly adapting to the use of new types of weapons in what Moscow calls its special military operation (SVO) in Ukraine, Reuters said.
"All this can in no way affect the essence of the SVO and its outcome. There is no panacea and no one type of weapon that can change the balance of power on the battlefield," he said.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that US-made Abrams tanks had arrived in his country. The jet-powered tanks were a top demand of Kyiv until Washington finally offered more than 30 of them in January.
"Abrams tanks are serious weapons, but remember what the president said about other tanks made in another country," Peskov said, referring to other Western tanks supplied to Kyiv, which include German-made Leopards and British Challengers.
"Well, these (Abrams) too will burn," he said.
Kyiv has also repeatedly asked the Biden administration for Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to help attack and disrupt supply lines, air bases and rail networks in Russian-occupied territory.
Last Friday, NBC News, citing US officials, reported that President Joe Biden had informed Zelenskiy that Washington would also provide Kyiv with ATACMS long-range missiles.
The White House and Pentagon declined to comment on the NBC report. The Pentagon also declined to say whether any promises of ATACMS were given to Zelenskiy during his meetings last Thursday at the Pentagon.
"The Americans continue to increase their... direct involvement in this conflict, but of course, every time our military improves its skills and technical capabilities to counter these missiles," Peskov said.

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Dutch Appeals Court Rejects Bid to Stop Arms Exports to Israel

An Israeli tank stands on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza, in Israel, October 19, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
An Israeli tank stands on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza, in Israel, October 19, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
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Dutch Appeals Court Rejects Bid to Stop Arms Exports to Israel

An Israeli tank stands on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza, in Israel, October 19, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
An Israeli tank stands on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza, in Israel, October 19, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

A Dutch appeals court on Thursday confirmed a decision to throw out a case brought by pro-Palestinian groups to stop the Netherlands exporting weapons to Israel and trading with Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.

The court said it was up to the state to decide what actions to take and not judges, Reuters reported.

In a written ruling, the court said it could not order a blanket ban because the pro-Palestinian groups had not shown that the government was routinely failing to consider whether exported arms or dual-use goods would be used to violate rights.

The court in The Hague added that the Dutch government already did enough to discourage companies from working in the occupied territories.

The plaintiffs, citing high civilian casualties in Israel's war in the Gaza Strip, had argued that the Dutch state, as a signatory to the 1948 Genocide Convention, has a duty to take all reasonable measures at its disposal to prevent genocide. Israel has repeatedly dismissed accusations of genocide and said its Gaza campaign was focused solely on fighting Hamas.

The court said the Netherlands did have that obligation under the Genocide Convention and that there was "a grave risk" that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.

But it backed a decision by a lower court in December last year. In that case, the judges sided with the Dutch state which had said it continually assesses the risk around exported arms, and that it has refused some exports.

The pro-Palestinian NGOs had said the Netherlands had exported radar systems, parts for F-16 fighter jets and warships, police dogs and cameras and software for surveillance systems.

The Dutch government says that it has halted most arms exports to Israel and only allows parts for defence systems such as the Iron Dome.

World

Shooting at Start of Bangladesh Election Campaign Kills One

Bangladesh Awami League supporters during a general election campaign procession in Dhaka on Monday. (AFP)
Bangladesh Awami League supporters during a general election campaign procession in Dhaka on Monday. (AFP)
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Shooting at Start of Bangladesh Election Campaign Kills One

Bangladesh Awami League supporters during a general election campaign procession in Dhaka on Monday. (AFP)
Bangladesh Awami League supporters during a general election campaign procession in Dhaka on Monday. (AFP)

Gunmen on motorbikes attacked a Bangladesh political rally, killing one person and wounding two others, including a candidate, officials said on Thursday, after parties began campaigning for landmark elections.

Major parties opened their campaigns on Wednesday for the elections slated for February 2026, the first since a deadly uprising last year toppled the autocratic government of former ruler Sheikh Hasina.

Campaigning turned violent almost immediately, AFP said.

The shooting took place at a rally on Wednesday for the powerful Bangladesh National Party (BNP) attended by hundreds in the port city of Chattogram on Wednesday, police said.

Senior BNP leader Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said "it was an attempt to destabilize politics and disrupt the election".

The BNP are widely seen as the frontrunner in the polls.

Police said the gunmen opened fire quickly on a crowd of hundreds at the rally but insisted that the BNP candidate was not the target.

"The miscreants... shot their target, and fled in a flash," senior police officer Hasib Aziz told reporters late on Wednesday.

Candidate Ershad Ullah was shot and wounded, along with a supporter. A third man was killed.

"We would urge candidates to inform the police station at least 24 hours prior to any election campaign, so that more police can be deployed," Aziz said.

The South Asian nation of about 170 million people has been in political turmoil since Hasina was overthrown by a student-led uprising in August 2024.

Campaigning is technically unofficial because the election commission is not expected to announce the voting day until December.

Interim leader Muhammad Yunus, the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner serving as chief adviser, has repeatedly promised the elections will be held in February.

Yunus has ordered an investigation into the shooting, his media team said in a statement.

The interim government "calls on all political actors and their supporters to uphold calm, show restraint, and ensure that the February general election takes place in an atmosphere of peace, dignity, and fairness", it said on Thursday.

Bangladesh police offered cash rewards on Wednesday for the surrender of more than 1,300 machine guns, rifles and pistols looted during last year's uprising.

World

Attackers Board Ship Off the Coast of Somalia after Firing Rocket-propelled Grenades

Piracy off the Somali coast peaked in 2011 but has resumed at a greater pace in the past year. Photo: AP PHOTO
Piracy off the Somali coast peaked in 2011 but has resumed at a greater pace in the past year. Photo: AP PHOTO
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Attackers Board Ship Off the Coast of Somalia after Firing Rocket-propelled Grenades

Piracy off the Somali coast peaked in 2011 but has resumed at a greater pace in the past year. Photo: AP PHOTO
Piracy off the Somali coast peaked in 2011 but has resumed at a greater pace in the past year. Photo: AP PHOTO

Attackers firing machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades boarded a ship off the coast of Somalia on Thursday, British officials said, likely the latest attack by resurgent Somali pirates operating in the area.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center issued an alert over the attack, warning ships in the area, The Associated Press said.

The private security firm Ambrey also reported that an attack was underway, saying it targeted a Malta-flagged tanker heading from Sikka, India, to Durban, South Africa. Ambrey added that it appeared to be an assault by Somali pirates, who have been reported as operating in the area in recent days and who reportedly seized an Iranian fishing boat to use as a base of operations.

Iran has not acknowledged the fishing boat's seizure.

Piracy off the Somali coast peaked in 2011, when 237 attacks were reported. Somali piracy in the region at the time cost the world’s economy some $7 billion, with $160 million paid out in ransoms, according to the Oceans Beyond Piracy monitoring group.

The threat was diminished by increased international naval patrols, a strengthening central government in Somalia, and other efforts.

However, Somali pirate attacks have resumed at a greater pace over the last year, in part due to the insecurity caused by Yemen’s Houthi launching attacks in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

In 2024, there were seven reported incidents off Somalia, according to the International Maritime Bureau. So far this year, multiple fishing boats have been seized by Somali pirates.