“In February and March, four warplanes will be available for the guarding of NATO airspace over eastern Europe, the so-called Air Policing,” the Dutch Defense Ministry said. Netherlands to send fighter jets to Poland: The Netherlands will send eight F-35 fighter jets to Poland at the end of this month, the country’s defense ministry said in a statement on Monday.More support for Ukraine: The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday outlined the bloc’s plans to continue supporting Ukraine, saying it reached an agreement to provide an additional 500 million euros ($543.03 million) and additional military training assistance worth 45 million euros ($48.87 million), dedicated to a military training mission for Ukrainian forces. That brings the EU’s total amount of military support for Ukraine, coming via the European Union’s intergovernmental fund, to 3.6 billion euros ($3.9 billion).“To say that this is dividing the alliance or somehow putting national security at risk in Ukraine because there’s a discussion over tanks is just way overblowing this thing,” the White House official told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. About the tank dispute: John Kirby, US national security council coordinator for strategic communications, on Monday downplayed the notion that Germany’s indecision on providing advanced military tanks to Ukraine is dividing NATO.The troops have made little difference in the conflict, the official said, arriving on the front lines “ill-equipped, ill-trained” and “rushed to the battlefield.” Russia has sent the troops in as replacements or reinforcements for existing units instead of newly organized and cohesive units. Troops on the front lines: Russia has sent tens of thousands of new troops to reinforce the front lines in Ukraine over the last few months, a senior US military official said Monday.If you’re just reading in now, here are the latest updates: Meanwhile, Russia has warned that Ukraine will bear the consequences if other countries supply it with tanks. Germany’s defense minister said there will be a decision soon on the tanks, and the country’s foreign minister said Sunday that it would not stop Poland from sending its Leopards if asked.

Poland said it will send the tanks if a “small coalition” of countries agrees to do the same, while Berlin claims it hasn’t yet received a request for permission to transfer the German-made tanks. Diplomatic tensions are simmering as Western allies continue to pressure Germany to authorize the delivery of its modern Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine.

Leopard 2 main battle tanks