Russia-Ukraine updates: Kyiv seeks Leopard tanks from Germany
All the updates from January 10 as they happened.
This live blog is now closed, thank you for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Tuesday, January 10:
This live blog is now closed, thank you for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Tuesday, January 10:
- Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has urged Berlin to supply his military with Leopard tanks during his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock’s visit to Kharkiv.
- Russia’s Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev says Moscow is in a “military confrontation” with NATO in Ukraine.
- Russian forces are stepping up their assault in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, forcing Kyiv’s troops to repel waves of attacks.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the eastern town of Soledar is destroyed but remains in Kyiv’s control, as well as the nearby city of Bakhmut.
Ukraine says its need for more weapons crucial
The need for the West to supply Ukraine with an increased number of modern weapons is critical because Russia is gathering forces for another escalation, according to Zelenskyy.
“The free world has everything necessary to stop Russian aggression and bring about a historic defeat for the terrorist state,” he said in a video address.
Ukraine says it still fights for Soledar amid Russian onslaught
Ukrainian forces have been holding out in the eastern mining town of Soledar despite a massive Russian onslaught, according to Ukraine’s deputy defence minister.
“Heavy fighting to hold on to Soledar continues. The enemy disregards the heavy losses of its personnel and continues to storm actively,” Hanna Maliar said in a statement.
The United Kingdom’s defence ministry had said earlier that Russia had probably captured most of the town after four days of advances, a rare success for Moscow’s troops after a string of humiliating retreats last year.
Pentagon confirms Ukraine forces to receive Patriot training in US
The United States will train Ukrainian personnel at a base in the state of Oklahoma on how to use and maintain the advanced Patriot air defence system Washington is giving Kyiv, the Pentagon has confirmed.
Washington promised Ukraine a Patriot battery at the end of last year to help counter Moscow’s relentless aerial attacks – a significant victory for Kyiv, which had repeatedly pushed the US for the system.
“Training for Ukrainian forces on the Patriot air defence system will begin as soon as next week at Fort Sill, Oklahoma,” Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder told journalists.
“The training will prepare approximately 90 to 100 Ukrainian soldiers to operate, maintain and sustain the defensive system over a training course expected to last several months,” Ryder said.
Canada to buy US-built surface-to-air missiles for Ukraine: Trudeau
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has told US President Joe Biden during a meeting in Mexico City that Canada would buy a US-manufactured National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System for Ukraine, according to a government source quoted by the Reuters news agency.
Trudeau and Biden are being hosted by Mexico for a North American leaders summit.
Ukraine FM says ‘people will die’ while Berlin weighs tank deliveries
Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has said Berlin needs to supply his military with Leopard tanks, during a visit from his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, to the war-battered eastern city of Kharkiv.
“The longer it takes to make the decision, the more people will die. The sooner this decision is made, the sooner this war will end with Ukraine’s victory and there will be no more war in Europe,” Kuleba told reporters during a news conference with Baerbock in Kharkiv.
Polish leaders meet, discuss further support for Ukraine
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda has met with some of his ministers, including the prime minister, to discuss security issues amid the war in neighbouring Ukraine, including Kyiv’s request for Western-made heavy battle tanks.
After the meeting, top national security official Jacek Siewiera said decisions were taken as to current and future support for Ukraine but he did not provide any details.
Earlier, a presidential aide said Kyiv’s request for German-made Leopard 2 tanks – which Poland, among other countries, uses – would be on the agenda.
Ukrainian troops to start training on Patriot system in US: Report
Ukrainian troops are expected to begin training on the Patriot missile defence system at a military base in the US in the coming weeks, a US official has been quoted as saying by the Reuters news agency.
The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the training would occur at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, Reuters reported.
Ukrainian troops have previously received some training in the US, including on Switchblade drones.
Armenia cancels military drills for Russian-led alliance
Armenia has refused to host military drills by the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, a Russian-led alliance of post-Soviet countries. The announcement reflects Yerevan’s growing tensions with Moscow.
Read more here.
German foreign minister makes surprise visit to Kharkiv
Germany’s foreign minister has made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, during which she promised more military support from Berlin.
In a statement in advance of a meeting with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, Annalena Baerbock expressed Germany’s support and solidarity with Ukrainians living through Russia’s invasion and harsh winter conditions.
“This city is a symbol of the absolute insanity of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and of the endless suffering that people, especially here in the east of the country, are confronted with every day,” Baerbock said.
After Germany last week pledged to send Marder fighting vehicles to Ukraine, Baerbock promised yet more military support and weapons for Kyiv, without specifying exactly which ones.
She also said it was important not to lose sight of Ukraine’s place in Europe and its desire to join the European Union, saying Germany’s government intended to make “concrete offers” to help the country’s accession to the bloc.
Sweden sees growing threat to telecoms, power network from Russia
Sweden’s security service, SAPO, has warned it expects Russia to increase activities threatening the country’s telecoms and power network.
SAPO head Charlotte von Essen said Moscow’s actions were “unpredictable” but that the agency expected “Russian security-threatening activities against Sweden will increase”.
The sectors “where there is reason to be particularly vigilant to counter-espionage and sabotage” are telecommunications, electricity supply and the transport of “critical material”, von Essen said.
She did not elaborate on what she meant by the latter.
Russia promises stronger military as Ukraine war drags on
Russia’s defence minister has pledged to build a deeper arsenal of weapons, bolster aviation technology to better evade air defences and improve drone production after a series of battlefield humiliations in Ukraine.
Since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, the once mighty army of a former superpower has been repeatedly outwitted and outmanoeuvred by the smaller Ukrainian army, which is supported by the US and its European allies.
The conflict has turned into a grinding war of attrition, which has killed and wounded tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides as well as Ukrainian civilians. The two countries are rearming as fast as they can as the war closes in on its first anniversary.
Read more here.
Who controls what?
Here are three maps that we update daily to chart the latest war developments:
Russian military appointment signals power struggle, analyst says
Moscow’s reported appointment of Alexander Lapin as its ground forces’ chief of staff is an example of a military power struggle, says Alexander Titov, a lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast who specialises in Russian foreign policy.
Lapin was previously commander of Russia’s central military district.
“Lapin was heavily criticised for Russian losses around Lyman in September and October and disappeared from the public view,” Titov told Al Jazeera. “But now he has been brought back and seemingly given a promotion.”
Titov said the move was evidence of “power games” playing out within the Russian Ministry of Defence and security forces.
He pointed to an apparent rivalry between Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group, and others.
“I don’t think it is settled that any faction is winning the games,” he said.
Soledar of ‘huge strategic importance’: AJ correspondent
Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford, reporting from Kyiv, says Soledar, the eastern Ukrainian town where battles are raging, is of “huge strategic importance” given its location and sprawling underground tunnels.
“Soledar is a salt-mining town … and it has a vast network of underground tunnels, around 200km [125 miles] of tunnels, in fact, some of which are as high as 30 metres [100 feet],” Stratford said.
“The Russians are saying that the Ukrainians are using those tunnels as defensive positions and to store ammunition.
“We can only speculate that the fighting there [in Soledar] is particularly intense because it is of such strategic and military importance, but whether we are going to start seeing such a thing as the siege we saw around the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol many months ago remains to be seen.”
NATO chief confident Nordic pair will join despite holdups
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said he believes Finland and Sweden will join the transatlantic military alliance, just days after the government in Stockholm said it had done all it could to satisfy Turkey’s reservations about its membership.
“I’m confident that the accession process will be finalised and that all NATO allies will ratify the accession protocols in their parliaments. That also goes for Turkey,” Stoltenberg told reporters at NATO’s Brussels headquarters.
Alarmed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland dropped their longstanding policies of military nonalignment and applied to join NATO in May.
All 30 member countries must agree to admit the two Nordic neighbours if they are to join but Turkey has refused to ratify their applications, citing security concerns. Hungary has also yet to approve their membership.
As battles rage, UK says Russia likely controls Ukraine’s Soledar
Russian forces now likely control the town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, having advanced for the past four days, according to the UK’s Ministry of Defence.
Read more here.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 321
Click here for a roundup of the key events from day 321 of the war.
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EU pledges new sanctions on Belarus over support for Russia
The EU will impose new sanctions on Belarus, a key Moscow ally, as the bloc keeps up the pressure on Russia to end its war in Ukraine, the head of the EU’s executive arm has said.
“We will keep pressure on the Kremlin for as long as it takes with a biting sanctions regime, we will extend these sanctions to those who militarily support Russia’s war such as Belarus or Iran,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a news conference.
“And we will be coming forward with new sanctions against Belarus answering their role in this Russian war in Ukraine,” she added.
US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and UK discuss supply chain issues
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has chaired a meeting of finance ministers from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK, the UK’s finance ministry said in a statement.
The statement said Yellen used the meeting to discuss the need for close collaboration and develop greater resilience against global supply chain issues caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The ministers shared perspectives on global economic challenges and reflected on the distinct challenges stemming from Russia’s illegal and unprovoked war against Ukraine,” it added.
Russian military bloggers blast new ground forces chief
Russia has appointed Colonel General Alexander Lapin as chief of staff of the country’s ground forces, the state-owned TASS news agency reports.
Lapin, previously commander of Russia’s central military district, was criticised by Putin’s allies in October after Russian forces were driven out of the town of Lyman in eastern Ukraine, a key logistics hub.
His promotion, widely reported across Russian media but neither confirmed nor denied by the Kremlin, drew mixed reactions from influential Russian war bloggers.
Igor Strelkov, a former leader of pro-Russian forces in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, questioned Lapin’s credentials as a commander and blamed him for Russian defeats.
His promotion was, “to put it mildly, a misunderstanding”, Strelkov wrote on Telegram.
Another prominent war blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky, said Strelkov was wrong to blame Lapin for the Kharkiv defeats, but he said the general’s new position was a “useless” role that would duplicate the function of the general staff.
NATO chief says alliance must strengthen support for Ukraine
NATO’s secretary general says the transatlantic military alliance must further strengthen its support for Ukraine.
Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at a news conference that Russian President Vladimir Putin had “failed” in his attempts to divide Western allies over the conflict.
NATO allies have supplied Ukraine with billions of dollars of military support since Moscow launched its invasion in February.
Russia will keep developing nuclear weapons: Defence minister
Russia’s defence minister says his country will continue developing its nuclear triad of ballistic missiles, submarines and strategic bombers because such weapons are the main guarantee of its sovereignty.
“We will continue to develop the nuclear triad and maintain its combat readiness since the nuclear shield has been and remains the main guarantor of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state,” Sergei Shoigu said.
“We will also increase the combat capabilities of the aerospace forces – both in terms of the work of fighters and bombers in areas where modern air defence systems are in operation, and in terms of improving unmanned aerial vehicles.”
The feminist community emerging from the war in Ukraine
Inside a shelter dubbed “FemApartment”, residents support one another as they help others affected by the Ukraine war.
Read more here.
Putin ally says Russia now fighting NATO in Ukraine
One of President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies has said Russia is now fighting the US-led NATO military alliance in Ukraine.
“The events in Ukraine are not a clash between Moscow and Kyiv – this is a military confrontation between Russia and NATO, and above all the United States and Britain,” Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said.
“The Westerners’ plans are to continue to pull Russia apart, and eventually just erase it from the political map of the world,” Patrushev told the Argumenti i Fakti newspaper.
The former Soviet spy, who has known Putin since the 1970s, is a hardline ally and is seen as one of the few people able to influence the Russian president.
Russia works on measures to curb discounts on its oil
The Russian energy ministry says it has been working on additional measures to limit discounts to international benchmarks on Russian oil prices after the West imposed price caps.
Putin last month signed a decree that banned the supply of crude oil and oil products to nations that abide by the cap for five months from February 1.
Russia is the world’s second-largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia, with oil and gas sales accounting for almost half of the country’s state budget revenue.