Ukraine-Russia updates: Military aid prompts Moscow warning
All the updates from January 19, as they happened.
This blog is now closed, thanks for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Thursday, January 19.
This blog is now closed, thanks for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Thursday, January 19.
- Russia warns the West against supplying Ukraine with longer-range weaponry, saying such a move would escalate the war.
- Moscow’s call comes as Kyiv’s Western allies prepare for a major meeting on military aid in Germany on Friday.
- Ukraine investigates Wednesday’s helicopter crash that killed the country’s interior minister and 13 other people.
- Russia’s former President Dmitry Medvedev says the country’s defeat in Ukraine may trigger a “nuclear war”.
Germany won’t go at it alone on tanks: Defence minister
Germany’s new defence minister, Boris Pistorius, has confirmed that Berlin will not take unilateral action when it comes to providing Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine.
“We’ll have to wait and see if that rolls along. We are in talks, especially with our transatlantic partner, the United States,” he told broadcaster RTL.
“Just as we have done in all other cases before, the point is not to go it alone.”
Repeating the line taken by German officials for months, he said this was about “concerted” action, just as it had been recently with the Marder infantry fighting vehicles.
Israeli foreign minister pledges humanitarian aid to Ukraine
Israel’s new Foreign Minister Eli Cohen promised Ukraine continued humanitarian aid with a focus on restoring energy infrastructure and providing medical equipment, he has said after a call with Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba.
Cohen also said he would fully reopen the Israeli embassy in Kyiv within the next 60 days, after the first conversation between the two since the new Israeli government was sworn in late last year.
Polish PM ‘pessimistic’ Germany will allow Leopard tank transfers
Poland’s prime minister said he was “moderately pessimistic” about Germany giving other countries permission to re-export Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
“I am moderately sceptical, moderately pessimistic because the Germans are defending themselves against this like a devil protects himself against holy water,” Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters.
Serbia to send Ukraine aid to support electricity system
Serbia’s government said it will send Ukraine “humanitarian aid” to support its power grid.
“The Government of Serbia has decided to send humanitarian aid in priority equipment to Ukraine in order to support the country’s electricity system,” it said after a session of parliament.
Serbia, which aspires to become a European Union member, has resisted implementing Western sanctions on Russia because of its war on Ukraine.
IAEA head worries world getting complacent about Zaporizhzhia plant
The head of the United Nations’s nuclear watchdog says he is worried the world is becoming complacent about the considerable dangers posed by the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia atomic plant in Ukraine.
Russian forces captured the plant, Europe’s largest, in March and it has repeatedly come under fire in recent months, raising fears of a nuclear disaster. Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is working to set up a safe zone around the facility.
Speaking to reporters in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Grossi said a nuclear accident could happen any day and reiterated that the situation at the plant was very precarious.
“I worry that this is becoming routine, that people may believe that nothing has happened so far, so is the director general of the IAEA crying wolf?” he said when addressing reporters during a visit to Ukraine.
“It [an accident] can happen any time and my duty is to do everything I can to prevent that from happening.”
Western tanks no ‘silver bullet’ for Kyiv: NATO commander
A senior NATO commander has warned that Western tanks will not be a “silver bullet” for Ukraine in its fight with Russia, despite Kyiv’s new arsenal outperforming Moscow’s weaponry.
“There is not a particular weapon system that is a silver bullet. A balance of all systems is needed,” said US General Christopher Cavoli, supreme allied commander in Europe, after a meeting of NATO military chiefs.
But he added that “it’s clearly the case that modern Western technology is outperforming Russian technology” on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Russian troops launch ‘local offensive’ in southern Ukraine
The Russian army has launched a “local offensive” near the town of Orikhiv in southern Ukraine, where the front has been largely stagnant for months, a Russian-installed official said.
“Our troops have gone into a local offensive around Orikhiv,” the head of Moscow’s installed authorities in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region, Vladimir Rogov said, according to Russian state media.
Rogov alleged the front had slightly shifted and that some Ukrainian troops had retreated.
“Our troops are holding their positions,” he said.
“The territory of the Zaporizhzhia region liberated from Ukrainian fighters is gradually increasing.”
Bulgarian arms went to Ukraine before official aid, says ex-premier
Weapons from Bulgaria reached Ukraine via intermediaries long before the first official military aid package was sent by the government in Sofia, media reported, citing Bulgaria’s former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov.
The exports did not run from government to government, but were moved through third-party companies in Bulgaria and abroad, according to Bulgarian news reports.
Petkov confirmed that “partners” from Poland, Romania, the United States and United Kingdom “bought weapons from Bulgarian industry”.
“Yes, some of these weapons went to the Ukrainian army,” he was quoted as saying.
Russia rebuffs Jewish group protesting comparison of US to Hitler
Russia has rejected objections by the European Jewish Congress (EJC) to Russia’s comparison of the United States to Adolf Hitler.
Russia’s foreign ministry said the congress discredited itself long ago when it ignored what it called manifestations of anti-Semitism and glorification of Nazi ideology in Ukraine.
“The opinion of an organisation that has ignored the catastrophic level of anti-Semitism in Ukraine for many years is not interesting.”
“The European Jewish Congress managed not to notice the symbols of the [Nazi] SS, swastikas, and glorification of Nazi collaborators by the Kyiv regime. The structure has discredited itself in this direction,” the ministry told Russia’s state-run TASS news agency.
Speaking earlier at a news conference in Moscow on Russia’s foreign policy in 2022, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Washington seeks “the final solution of the Russian question” – using a term referring to the Holocaust – just as Hitler wanted to solve what he called the “Jewish question”.
Countries to announce plans to send tanks to Ukraine: Lithuanian defence minister
Several countries will announce plans to send German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine on Friday at a meeting at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Lithuania’s defence minister has said.
“Some of the countries will definitely send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, that is for sure”, Arvydas Anusauskas told the Reuters news agency about the pledges, speaking after a preparatory meeting of 11 nations in Estonia.
The total number of armoured vehicles pledged at Ramstein will run into the hundreds, he added.
Group of nine nations pledges ‘unprecedented’ military support for Ukraine
A group of nine nations including the United Kingdom, Poland and the Netherlands has pledged to pursue providing Ukraine with an “unprecedented set of donations” including battle tanks to help it fight off Russia’s invasion.
“We commit to collectively pursuing delivery of an unprecedented set of donations including main battle tanks, heavy artillery, air defence, ammunition, and infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine’s defence,” the countries said in a joint statement.
The statement, published on the UK government’s website, was made by the defence ministers of Britain, Estonia, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, and representatives from Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Slovakia following a meeting in Estonia.
EU Council president says West ‘must’ deliver tanks to Ukraine
The president of the European Council has called for Ukraine’s Western allies to supply it with tanks as it faces down Russia’s offensive.
“I firmly believe that tanks must be delivered,” Charles Michel said in a post on Twitter following talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
“We want to support you because we are aware that the next few weeks may be decisive for what comes next,” he added.
We hear your message. You need more air defence and artillery systems, more ammunitions.
I firmly believe that tanks must be delivered.
We want to support you because we are aware that the next few weeks may be decisive for what comes next. @ZelenskyyUa pic.twitter.com/vc1MU0e7fI— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) January 19, 2023
Activists in Serbia file criminal complaint against Russia’s Wagner Group
Serbian and pro-Ukraine activists have filed criminal complaints against Russia’s private military Wagner Group and its supporters, accusing it of recruiting Serbs to fight in Ukraine.
Cedomir Stojkovic, a Belgrade-based lawyer who also leads the October civic group, said that those accused include Russia’s ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, and Aleksandar Vulin, head of Serbia’s state Security and Information Agency (BIA).
“We have reasonable suspicion that Vulin … gave orders, directives and guidelines that the activities of the Wagner Group in Serbia should not be prevented,” he said.
Stojkovic said that Botsan-Kharchenko, who enjoys diplomatic immunity, could not be prosecuted in Serbia, but that he should be ordered to leave the country. Once a criminal complaint is filed, it is up to the state prosecutor to decide whether or not to proceed.
Denmark to supply Kyiv with Caesar howitzer artillery systems
Denmark will donate 19 French-made Caesar howitzer artillery systems to Ukraine, the country’s defence minister has said.
“We have been in continuous contact with the Ukrainians about the Caesar artillery in particular and I am happy that we have now received broad support from the Danish parliament to donate it to Ukraine’s freedom struggle,” Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said in a statement.
His announcement came after fellow Nordic nation Sweden earlier on Thursday announced a new package of military aid to Ukraine worth 4.3 billion Swedish crowns ($419m).
The package includes armoured infantry fighting vehicles and the Archer artillery system as well as light, portable NLAW anti-tank weapons, mine-clearing equipment and assault rifles.
UK to send 600 Brimstone missiles to Ukraine
The United Kingdom will send 600 Brimstone missiles to Ukraine to support the country in its fight against Russia, defence secretary Ben Wallace has said.
“If [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin is banking on us getting bored this year, he’s wrong. We will plan for this year and next year and the year after and beyond,” Wallace said at a meeting with other European defence ministers at the Tapa army base in Estonia.
War in Ukraine ‘between phases’: US congressman
US Congressman Seth Moulton has told Al Jazeera the war in Ukraine is currently “in between phases” nearly 11 months after the conflict started.
“What’s happening behind the scenes is as important as what is happening on the front lines,” Moulton told Al Jazeera on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“Russia says it is getting more people to the front and gearing up for a new offensive, while Ukraine says it is gearing up for a Ukrainian counteroffensive,” he said. “So the question is, what happens next.”
Moulton warned the war would expand beyond Ukraine if Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offensive was not brought to an unsuccessful end.
“What we [the West] does in Ukraine also has important implications for the situation developing in the Pacific between China and Taiwan. We need to show Chinese President Xi Jinping that we are not going to accept aggression in the Pacific in the same way that we are so united in stopping agression in Europe.”
Who controls what?
Here are three maps that we update daily to chart the latest war developments:
Will the West deliver the tanks Ukraine is asking for?
Ukraine hopes battle tanks supplied by Western allies will become the backbone of a new fighting force as it seeks to push back invading Russian forces.
The United Kingdom has already pledged to deliver more than a dozen of its Challenger 2 units to Kyiv, while pressure is mounting on Germany to follow suit and deliver its own Leopard 2s.
Read more here.
Are the US and Europe uniting or drifting apart?
The war in Ukraine initially brought Europe and the United States closer together, but domestic realities may now be pulling them apart.
Find out more here.
Ukraine’s Kuleba welcomes EU parliament’s push for special tribunal
Ukraine’s foreign minister has welcome the European Parliament’s push for the creation of a special court to judge Russia “for the crime of aggression against Ukraine”.
Dmytro Kuleba hailed the move as an “important step toward a legal mechanism for putting [the] Russian leadership on trial and preventing such crimes in the future”.
I’m grateful to members of @Europarl_EN for passing the resolution on the establishment of a Special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. Important step toward a legal mechanism for putting Russian leadership on trial and preventing such crimes in the future.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) January 19, 2023
EU parliament backs special court for Russia’s war in Ukraine
The European Parliament has called on EU member states to back the creation of a special court to judge Russia “for the crime of aggression against Ukraine”.
The non-binding resolution was approved by a 472-19 vote with 33 abstentions.
The legislature called on the EU “to work in close cooperation with Ukraine to seek and build political support in the UN General Assembly and other international forums … for creating the special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine”.
The Hague-based International Criminal Court has launched an investigation into war crimes in Ukraine but can’t prosecute the crime of aggression – the act of invading another country – because the Russian Federation is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the court.
Kremlin warns Ukrainian attacks on Crimea would be ‘extremely dangerous’
The Kremlin has warned that any Ukrainian attacks on the Russian-annexed Crimea would be “extremely dangerous” after The New York Times reported that US officials were warming to the idea of helping Kyiv attack the Black Sea peninsula.
“The mere discussion of allowing Ukraine to be supplied with arms that would allow it to attack Russian territory … is extremely dangerous,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“It would mean taking the conflict to a new level, which would not bode well for global and pan-European security,” he added.
Crimea, which is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, was seized by Moscow in 2014. The peninsula is the historical base of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and a popular summer holiday destination.
Asked whether Washington would seek to bar Ukraine from using US weapons in Crimea, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Wednesday that the peninsula was part of Ukraine and that the US was providing Kyiv with the supplies it needed to defend its territory.
Former UK PM Johnson urges allies to double down on Ukraine support
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged Ukraine’s allies to double down on sending military equipment to support Kyiv and speed up an end to the war with Russia.
“There is nothing to be lost by doubling down on the material that we are sending to Ukraine and there is nothing to fear in escalation, and the best thing for the world is to get this thing done, and done fast,” Johnson said in an interview as part of the Reuters Impact Arctic Warning series at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“That is the cheapest solution. It’s the solution that has the lowest in human life and suffering.”
Johnson, who left office in September 2022 amid a wave of scandals, was leading the United Kingdom when Russia invaded Ukraine in February and in subsequent weeks sought to position his country as Kyiv’s number one ally in the West.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 330
Click here for a roundup of the key events from day 330 of the war.
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US defence secretary meets his new German counterpart
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said Berlin remains one of Washington’s most important allies at his first meeting with his new German counterpart before crunch talks on supplying German-made tanks to Ukraine.
“I’d like to thank the German government for all that it has done to strengthen Ukraine’s self-defence,” Austin said at the start of his talks with Boris Pistorius.
The pair’s meeting came as pressure mounts on Berlin to supply Ukraine with battle tanks. Kyiv’s Western allies are preparing to hold discussions on Friday on military aid for Ukraine at a US airbase in Germany.