President Joe Biden has announced that the United States would be delivering 31 Abrams Tanks to Ukraine as the country heads into a new phase of its war against Russia.
“With spring approaching, the Ukrainian forces are working to defend the territory they hold and preparing for additional counter-offensive,” President Biden said. “To liberate their land, they need to be able to counter Russia’s evolving tactics and strategy on the battlefield in the very near term.”
Biden explained that the tanks are some of the “most capable in the world,” they would improve Ukraine’s ability to fight in open terrain, and give them “an enduring capability to deter and defend against Russian aggression.”
The announcement was accompanied by Germany’s decision to send 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks to the nation as well.
“Germany supports Ukraine in defending against Russia’s aggression,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday. “We are supplying Leopard 2 tanks in close cooperation with our international partners.”
Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to the Biden administration following Wednesday’s announcement.
“It’s an important step on the path to victory,” Zelenskyy said on Twitter. “Today the free world is united as never before for a common goal — liberation of Ukraine.”
However, it will likely be months before any tanks are delivered to the front and Ukrainian troops get fully trained to use the complex weapons.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday Jan. 15, 2019.
When William Barr, President Trump's nominee for attorney general, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday for his confirmation hearing, his views on executive privilege will be under the microscope. "Mr. Barr has expressed some very broad views of executive authority and he's also expressed a very strong view that a president cannot be criminally charged," Jennifer Daskal, Associate Professor of Law at American University, told Cheddar on Monday.
Weak economic data from China and the ongoing government shutdown appeared to drag down the major U.S. indexes on Monday morning. SpaceX is slashing its workforce by 10 percent in an effort to become "leaner." Plus, we sit down with Emmy-award winning actor and producer Yeardley Smith who is most famous for voicing the iconic cartoon character, Lisa Simpson.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, Jan. 14, 2019.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) warned President Trump not to mess with emergency funding for California on Friday after the commander-in-chief threatened to cut off disaster-relief in the fire-ravaged state. In a tweet on Wednesday, Trump suggested that California itself was to blame for the wildfires that killed 86 people and destroyed thousands of homes last year, and said he was considering pulling its FEMA funds.
The housing market is slowing down ー and that's not necessarily a bad thing. So says Tendayi Kapfidze, chief economist for LendingTree, who told Cheddar Friday what to expect from the housing market this year.
Is it time for the federal government to hire its own chief information officer? Rep. Will Hurd (R-Tex.) thinks so. He told Cheddar Friday that the recent spate of major data breaches warrant a federal czar to help protect consumers and potentially even levy penalties on companies that don't do enough to safeguard users' information.
As the government shutdown approaches the milestone of becoming the longest in history, Transportation Security Agency employees are feeling the strain ー and soon, so will travelers, Joe Shuker, a TSA union representative, told Cheddar.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Jan. 11, 2019.
