Boris Pistorius

Europe's efforts to boost arms production and help Ukraine to fend off Russia's invasion are facing an unexpected obstacle in a German local government.

The city council in Troisdorf, which has a population close to 80,000, has for the time being blocked plans put forward by a major arms company to expand production locally.

"Earlier I was against the abolition of compulsory military service," said FDP deputy leader Wolfgang Kubicki. Military service turned the Bundeswehr into a people's army, he said.

Germany has announced plans to station a permanent brigade comprising 4,800 troops in Lithuania near the Russian border by 2027. This significant decision marks the first time since World War II that German forces will be permanently deployed abroad.

Day 627 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

The United States will begin training Ukrainian forces on how to use and maintain Abrams tanks in the coming weeks, as it continues to speed up its effort to get them onto the battlefield as quickly as possible, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Friday.

Poland said Thursday it plans to give Ukraine about a dozen MiG-29 fighter jets, which would make it the first NATO member to fulfill Kiev's increasingly urgent requests for warplanes to defend itself against the Russian invasion.

Berlin was expected to announce a decision on Wednesday on the export of powerful German-made Leopard battle tanks long sought by Kiev, and encouraged allies to start training Ukrainian forces to use them.

Western nations have pledged ever-more sophisticated military hardware in recent weeks to help Ukraine repel Russia's invasion, with all eyes in Kiev on the battle tanks.

Poland has officially requested permission from Germany to transfer its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine where they can help fight Russia's invasion, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said Tuesday.

Berlin has received Warsaw's request, Błaszczak said in a tweet, though German officials did not immediately confirm that.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 20 there was "no alternative" but for the West to give Ukraine heavy tanks, as Germany failed to commit its sought-after Leopard vehicles to a possible spring offensive by Kiev.

Namely, as reported by CNN, the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, did not receive from the new German Minister of Defense, Boris Pistorius, the consent for the delivery of German tanks to Ukraine, and according to their sources, on the eve of today's meeting of the contact group for support of Ukraine at the American base Ramstein in Germany, the issue of the delivery of tanks is still unreso