The pro-Russian Donetsk People’s Republic has said that its forces have blown up a Ukrainian tank using artillery and anti-tank guided missiles, as these images purport to show.

The footage reportedly shows the Ukrainian tank being hit by anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) after it was immobilised by artillery.

The images were obtained from the People’s Militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) on Wednesday, 18th January, along with a statement claiming: “Artillery of the 11th regiment immobilised the enemy tank, which was then finished off by ATGMs.

“Artillerymen of the 11th regiment of the 1st Donetsk Army Corps covered the enemy tank with fire, depriving it of its course. To exclude the possibility of evacuating and repairing a damaged enemy vehicle, it was finished off by the operators of an anti-tank missile system with a well-aimed ATGM launch.”

We have not been able to independently verify the claims or the footage.

Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 330th day of the war.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 19th January 2023, Russia had lost about 118,530 personnel, 3,136 tanks, 6,235 armoured combat vehicles, 2,122 artillery units, 442 multiple launch rocket systems, 220 air defence systems, 287 warplanes, 277 helicopters, 1,882 drones, 749 cruise missiles, 17 warships, 4,896 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 190 units of special equipment.

Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.

Senior German officials said on Wednesday that Germany will not allow German-made tanks to be sent to Ukraine to help defend it against Russia unless the United States agrees to send American-made main battle tanks.

The United States has so far declined to send tanks such as the Abrams main battle tank to Ukraine, with a senior Pentagon official saying on Wednesday that it is difficult to train soldiers to use it and hard to maintain.

NATO allies have over 2,000 German-made Leopard tanks, which are widely considered to be among the world’s most sophisticated tanks, according to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

But Germany’s leader Olaf Scholz avoided committing to supplying Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine while attending the Davos World Economic Forum on Wednesday.

Scholz said instead that his country was “strategically interlocked” with the United States, France and other “friends and partners” and that such decisions need to be part of a collective effort.

Charles Michel, the European Council President, has said that he favours providing Ukraine with tanks. He said on Wednesday: “We, the EU, will continue to support them for as long as it takes.”

And he added: “The time is now – they urgently need more equipment and I am personally in favour of supplying tanks to Ukraine.”

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that members of the alliance are set to send new “heavier weapons” to Ukraine.

Stoltenberg said: “The main message there will be more support and more advanced support, heavier weapons and more modern weapons.”

Canada has announced that it will donate 200 armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine. The donation was revealed during a visit to Kyiv by the Canadian Minister of Defence, Anita Anand.

Bulgarian officials have said that they secretly supplied Ukraine with large amounts of diesel and ammunition during the early days of the Russian invasion.

Former Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and Finance Minister Assen Vassilev said that Bulgaria, one of the poorest countries in the European Union, at times provided 30 per cent of Ukraine’s soviet-calibre ammunition and 40 per cent of its diesel.

Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, speaking in Davos, warned that Russia may be planning a new major offensive in the next few months and has called on Ukraine’s allies to provide it with “weapons, weapons, weapons”. He also said that current levels of assistance to Ukraine were inadequate.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he has “no doubt” that a Russian victory in Ukraine is “inevitable”. During a visit to a factory in Saint Petersburg, Putin also announced that Russia’s military-industrial complex was increasing production.

Four people have reportedly been detained by the police in Moscow at a makeshift memorial in tribute to the victims of a deadly missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Saturday.