Kyiv says battles ongoing in Soledar and denies Russians have taken town – as it happened

Spokesperson for Ukraine army says statements from Russia that it has captured Soledar ‘are not true’. This live blog is closed

Ukraine’s security council chair Oleksiy Danilov tweeted about the plea for German tanks yesterday, and as the Economist’s Oliver Carroll points out – it’s not particularly subtle.

In light of today’s move from France to send light combat tanks to Ukraine, The New York Times’ Lara Jakes and Steven Erlanger have also examined the possibility that other countries in the West will also break a taboo that was seen as too provocative earlier in the conflict.

Western officials increasingly fear that Ukraine has only a narrow window to prepare to repel an anticipated Russian springtime offensive, and are moving fast to give the Ukrainians sophisticated weapons they had earlier refused to send for fear of provoking Moscow.

Over the last few weeks, one barrier after another has fallen, starting with an agreement by the United States in late December to send a Patriot air-defense system. That was followed by a German commitment last week to provide a Patriot missile battery, and in the span of hours, France, Germany and the United States each promised to send armored fighting vehicles to Ukraine’s battlefields for the first time.