Closing summary
It’s 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
Britain will send a squadron of Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine to help push back Russia’s invasion, the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has confirmed. Outlining details to the UK’s parliament, Wallace described the military support as “the most significant package of combat power to date to accelerate Ukrainian success”. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, thanked Wallace, Rishi Sunak and the people of Britain for the “powerful contribution to our common victory over tyrany”, adding that tanks, APCs and artillery are “exactly what Ukraine needs to restore its territorial integrity”. The Kremlin said the tanks Britain plans to send to Ukraine “will burn”, warning the west that supplying a new round of more advanced weapons to Ukraine would not change the course of the war.
The announcement makes the UK the first western power to supply the Ukrainians with main battle tanks, which would be used to help train Ukrainian troops, and will heap further pressure on Germany to approve a wider delivery of the vehicles this week. Britain’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace, urged Germany to permit the supply of Leopard tanks to Ukraine, adding that the move could unlock support from other nations.
Germany should take “decisive actions” and send “all sorts of weapons” to Ukraine to help its troops defend themselves against Russia’s invasion, Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, has said. Morawiecki, speaking in parliament, implicitly criticised the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, for his reluctance to supply Kyiv with heavier weaponry.
Ukraine expects to receive the first €3bn of an €18bn macro-financial assistance package from the EU this week, its prime minister Denys Shmyhal said. Matti Maasikas, the EU’s top representative to Ukraine, said the package “brings much needed predictability and relief to Ukraine’s state budget”.
Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, and her Dutch counterpart, Wopke Hoekstra, condemned the deportation by Russians of thousands of Ukrainian children. Russia “must account for the whereabouts of these children”, Baerbock said at a joint news conference with Hoekstra, who said this “deliberate Russian policy” is “tearing families apart and traumatising children”.
Russia carried out two mass rocket strikes on Ukraine on Saturday, devastating an apartment block in the south-central city of Dnipro, where at least 40 people have died and scores were injured. Dozens are still missing, city official Gennadiy Korban wrote on Telegram on Monday. 75 people were wounded in the strike, including 14 children, he said. The victims from the attack included a 15-year-old girl, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his latest nightly address.
Russia and Belarus began joint air force drills this morning, triggering fears in Kyiv and the west that Moscow could use its ally to launch a new ground offensive in Ukraine. According to a statement published to the Telegram account of the Belarus ministry of defence, units from Russia’s aerospace forces arrived at the airfields of Belarus late on Sunday night. Shortly after 8am local time the ministry said the planned combat training tasks had begun.
Russia launched an attack on Ukraine’s south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia overnight, wounding civilians and destroying residential infrastructure, according to regional officials. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the office of the president of Ukraine, said “The occupiers launched a rocket attack on the regional centre. The rocket hit next to a five-story building. Five people, including two children aged nine and 15, were injured by glass fragments. The children were hospitalised.”
Ukraine’s forces have “almost certainly” maintained positions in Soledar, north of Bakhmut, according to the UK’s ministry of defence’s latest intelligence update. Over the weekend, intense fighting continued in both the Kremina and Bakhmut sectors of the Donbas front, the ministry added.
President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke by phone on Monday where they discussed the conflict in Ukraine, according to readouts of the call from both sides. The pair discussed the question of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine, the Kremlin said, as well as the export of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports and ways to unblock fertiliser and food exports from Russia.
The UN’s nuclear watchdog is expanding its presence in Ukraine to “help prevent a nuclear accident” during the ongoing conflict, the agency’s head, Rafael Grossi, has said. Grossi is in Ukraine this week to establish the “continuous presence” of nuclear safety and security experts at all the country’s nuclear power facilities, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in its latest update on Ukraine on Friday.
Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said Ukraine could expect more deliveries of heavy weapons from western countries soon. Western allies will consider sending battle tanks to Kyiv ahead of a meeting in Ramstein in Germany on Friday, where governments are expected to announce their latest pledges of military support.
Germany’s defence minister, Christine Lambrecht, has announced her resignation following a series of blunders and a growing impression that she has struggled to deal with the challenges of overseeing the country’s military since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Lambrecht’s resignation comes at a crucial moment with Germany expected to deliver battle tanks to Ukraine, in a huge decision for the country as it changes the longstanding direction of its defence policy.
A Russian man who reportedly fought for the private mercenary Wagner group has crossed into Norway and requested political asylum, according to Norwegian authorities. Andrey Medvedev, who reportedly served as a high-ranking Wagner group member, has sought shelter in Norway, authorities confirmed to the Associated Press.
Zelenskiy thanks UK for 'powerful contribution to our common victory over tyranny'
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has thanked Britain and its prime minister and defence secretary after the announcement that UK will supply 14 Challenger 2 tanks as part of a new military support package for Kyiv.
Tanks, APCs and artillery are “exactly what Ukraine needs to restore its territorial integrity”, Zelenskiy wrote on Twitter.
Tanks, APCs and artillery are exactly what Ukraine needs to restore its territorial integrity. Thank you @RishiSunak, thank you @BWallaceMP, thank you British people for this powerful contribution to our common victory over tyranny.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 16, 2023
Updated
The UK will send a squadron of Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine to help push back Russia’s invasion, the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has confirmed.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Wallace announced what he described as “the most significant package of combat to date to accelerate Ukrainian success”.
The announcement makes the UK the first western power to supply the Ukrainians with main battle tanks, which would be used to help train Ukrainian troops, and will heap further pressure on Germany to approve a wider delivery of the vehicles this week.
German and Dutch foreign ministers condemn 'deliberate Russian policy' of abducting Ukrainian children
Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, has called for the establishment of a special international tribunal to prosecute Russian leaders over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Baerbock and her Dutch counterpart, Wopke Hoekstra, also condemned the deportation by Russians of thousands of Ukrainian children, calling it a deliberate policy of cruel and inhumane abductions that is tearing families apart.
A tribunal must be created to “investigate the Russian leadership and put them on trial”, the German minister said in a speech at the Academy of International Law in The Hague, where the international criminal court is based.
It could be supplemented with international elements, “at a location outside Ukraine, with financial support from partners and with international prosecutors and judges, so that impartiality and legitimacy are guaranteed”, she continued.
Ukraine and the EU have publicly backed the idea of a special tribunal. Russia has denied accusations of war crimes, including the deliberate targeting of Ukrainian civilians.
During a news conference later today, Baerbock addressed Ukrainian reports of children being deported to Russia and given up for adoption there. Russia “must account for the whereabouts of these children”, she said.
Baerbock added:
Their parents, families, caregivers must no longer be in uncertainty and fear. These children have their homes with their families in Ukraine. These children did not leave their homes voluntarily. These children have been abducted.
At least 1,000 children were seized from schools and orphanages in the Kherson region during Russia’s eight-month occupation of the area, according to local authorities. Their whereabouts are still unknown.
Her Dutch counterpart, also speaking at the press conference, said:
This deliberate Russian policy is tearing families apart and traumatising children. It is cruel and it is inhumane. And let me be clear that children abducted by Russia must be returned to their own country as soon as possible.
Updated
UK urges Germany to permit supply of Leopard tanks to Ukraine
Britain’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has urged Germany to permit the supply of Leopard tanks to Ukraine, adding that the move could unlock support from other nations.
Berlin is under pressure to approve an increase in international military support for Kyiv by allowing the export of German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine.
Germany has resisted the move so far, saying western tanks should only be supplied to Ukraine if there is agreement among Kyiv’s main allies, particularly the US.
Speaking in parliament today, Wallace said:
It has been reported that obviously Poland is very keen to donate some Leopards, as is Finland. All of this currently relies on the German government’s decisions - not only whether the Germans will supply their own Leopards, but whether or not they’ll give permissions to others. I would urge my German colleagues to do that.
Finland’s defence minister, Mikko Savola, said today that Finland’s stance on giving Leopard tanks to Ukraine depends on Germany’s lead, after President Sauli Niinisto said Finland could donate a small number of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine if a wider group of European nations also decided to do so.
Savola told Reuters:
It depends very much on Germany’s lead how we act with these Leopard tanks. These require a German export permit and in addition to that, the German defence industry has a very strong role in this, in how substitutive equipment can be obtained.
On Thursday, Germany’s vice-chancellor, Robert Habeck, said Berlin should not stand in the way of countries that want to send Leopards to Ukraine. That would give the green light to countries such as Poland, which has said it wants to take such a step as part of a coalition.
Updated
Ukraine expects to receive the first €3bn of an €18bn macro-financial assistance package from the EU this week, its prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, said.
Ukraine and the EU have just signed a Memorandum of Understanding to provide €18bn in macro-financial assistance. We expect to receive a tranche of €3bn this week. Many thanks to @vonderleyen & @VDombrovskis. This will help maintain macroeconomic stability going forward.
— Denys Shmyhal (@Denys_Shmyhal) January 16, 2023
Matti Maasikas, the EU’s top representative to Ukraine, said the package “brings much needed predictability and relief to Ukraine’s state budget”.
When disbursed later this week, will be the first international financial support for Ukraine in 2023. The agreement over the 18 billion of support for this year brings much needed predictability and relief to Ukraine's state budget. https://t.co/39EkyIWeRp
— Matti Maasikas (@MattiMaasikas) January 16, 2023
Updated
Britain’s shadow defence secretary, John Healey, said the government’s first package of UK military assistance for 2023 “has Labour’s fullest support”.
Ukraine needs more combined military firepower “to break the battlefield deadlock”, Healey said, adding that 2023 would be a “decisive year” in the war in Ukraine.
He added:
That’s why this first package of UK military assistance for 2023 with tanks, artillery, infantry vehicles, ammunition and missiles has Labour’s fullest support. Challenger 2 is a world-class tank and it can help Ukraine retake lost ground and limit the cost in Ukrainian lives.
The death of dozens of Russian soldiers in a new year missile strike on a building in occupied eastern Ukraine has not dented Moscow’s resolve almost a year after it first launched its invasion, according to a report.
The strike in Makiivka killed 89 people, Russia’s defence ministry has so far conceded. It is the biggest loss of life from a single attack that Moscow has acknowledged since it began its invasion in February.
Yet the strike provoked little more than murmurs of discontent in the region of Samara in southwestern Russia, where many of the dead were from, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Few people in the region are openly resisting Russia’s war in Ukraine, which the paper writes “highlights an advantage for the Kremlin as it digs in for a long war”. It says:
Mr Putin faces little domestic pressure over its costs, even as the body count rises. His decision to mobilise 300,000 men appears to have shored up Russian lines, which were wobbling late last year after a series of defeats, and allowed them to advance for the first time since July, claiming the town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine.
Russian state-run polling on the war suggests public support for what Moscow calls its special military operation dropped after President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilisation of troops to fight in Ukraine, before soaring again in November once the mobilisation was declared order.
The polling suggests Russians will tolerate another round of mobilisation, according to a former Kremlin official.
Updated
The UK’s defence ministry has confirmed the announcement by its minister, Ben Wallace, that Britain will send a squadron of Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine.
The Ministry of Defence shared a video of the battle tank “doing what it does best”.
As part of a package of significant combat power to accelerate Ukrainian success, the UK will send a squadron of Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) January 16, 2023
Here’s a minute of the Challenger 2 doing what it does best.
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/LOGHZpeDRf
Updated
Wallace: UK package will 'accelerate the conclusion of Putin's brutality'
The UK’s decision to send Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine is a “calibrated response to Russia’s growing aggression and indiscriminate bombing”, Wallace continues.
He says none of the international support for Ukraine is “an attack on Russia, or Nato-orchestrated aggression, let alone a proxy war”.
From the outset, President Putin believed his forces would be welcomed with open arms, that Ukrainians wouldn’t fight and that western support would crumble. He has been proved wrong on all counts.
Today’s package will help accelerate the conclusion of Putin’s occupation and all its brutality and ensure that in 2023 and beyond, if necessary, Ukraine retains its momentum supported by the international community that is determined more than ever, that Putin’s illegal and unprovoked invasion will fail.
Updated
Wallace: UK weapons package 'means Ukrainians can go from existing to expelling Russian forces'
Wallace welcomed the decision by the French government to send AMX 10-RC light combat tanks to Ukraine as well as the US’s new weapons package that will include about 50 Bradley fighting vehicles.
These contributions are “important in and of themselves” but they represent part of an international effort that “collectively conveys a force multiplier effect”, he said.
Wallace says:
In December, I told the house that I was developing options to respond to Russia’s continued aggression in a calibrated and determined manner.
Today, I can announce the most significant package of combat power to date to accelerate Ukrainian success. This includes a squadron of Challenger 2 tanks with armoured recovery and repair vehicles. We will donate AS-90 guns to Ukraine. This comprises a battery of eight guns of high readiness and two further batteries at varying stages of readiness.
Today’s package is an “important increase to Ukrainian capabilities”, he continues.
It means they can go from existing to expelling Russian forces from Ukrainian soil. President Putin cannot win, but he’s equally certain he can continue inflicting this wanton violence and human suffering until his forces are ejected from their defensive positions and expelled from the country.
Updated
Britain’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace, says it is “notable” that Russia is using forced labour of convicts to manufacture weaponry.
Moscow’s appointment of Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, as its overall commander for the war in Ukraine, in the latest of several major shake-ups of Moscow’s military leadership is a “visible tip of an iceberg of factionalism within the Russian command”, Wallace tells MPs.
He says there is no loss of momentum from the international community in its support of Ukraine in 2023, he said. Wallace adds:
Quite the opposite. President Putin believed the west would get tired, bored and fragment. Ukraine is continuing to fight. Far from fragmenting, the west is accelerating its efforts.
Updated
UK confirms it will send squadron of Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine
Britain will send a squadron of Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine to help push back Russia’s invasion, the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has confirmed.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Wallace said Russia had “singularly failed to break the will of the Ukrainian people” and had “managed to lose significant numbers of generals and commanding officers”.
He said:
We now would expect a trend back towards a Russian offensive, no matter how much loss of life accompanies it.
Ukraine’s allies must “accelerate our collective efforts to dramatically, economically and militarily to keep the pressure” on Vladimir Putin, Wallace said.
Announcing what he described as “the most significant package of combat to date to accelerate Ukrainian success”, Wallace said the UK would send a squadron of Challenge 2 tanks with armoured recovery and repair vehicles.
The announcement makes the UK the first western power to supply the Ukrainians with main battle tanks, which would be used to help train Ukrainian troops, and will heap further pressure on Germany to approve a wider delivery of the vehicles this week.
In a call with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on Saturday, the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, confirmed for the first time that it was Britain’s intention to provide a small number of Challenger 2 tanks to Kyiv.
After the phone call, a spokesperson for the prime minister said the offer of Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems was a sign of the UK’s “ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine”.
In response, the Kremlin said today that the Challenger 2s “will burn” on the battlefield, and claimed the supplies were an attempt to draw out the conflict.
Updated
Summary of the day so far
It’s 6pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
Russia has carried out two mass rocket strikes on Ukraine on Saturday, devastating an apartment block in the south-central city of Dnipro, where at least 40 people have died and scores were injured. Dozens are still missing, city official Gennadiy Korban wrote on Telegram on Monday. 75 people were wounded in the strike, including 14 children, he said. The victims from the attack included a 15-year-old girl, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his latest nightly address.
Russia and Belarus have begun joint air force drills this morning, triggering fears in Kyiv and the west that Moscow could use its ally to launch a new ground offensive in Ukraine. According to a statement published to the Telegram account of the Belarus ministry of defence, units from Russia’s aerospace forces arrived at the airfields of Belarus late on Sunday night. Shortly after 8am local time the ministry said the planned combat training tasks had begun.
Russia launched an attack on Ukraine’s south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia overnight, wounding civilians and destroying residential infrastructure, according to regional officials. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the office of the president of Ukraine, said “The occupiers launched a rocket attack on the regional centre. The rocket hit next to a five-story building. Five people, including two children aged nine and 15, were injured by glass fragments. The children were hospitalised.”
Ukraine’s forces have “almost certainly” maintained positions in Soledar, north of Bakhmut, according to the UK’s ministry of defence’s latest intelligence update. Over the weekend, intense fighting continued in both the Kremina and Bakhmut sectors of the Donbas front, the ministry added.
President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke by phone on Monday where they discussed the conflict in Ukraine, according to readouts of the call from both sides. The pair discussed the question of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine, the Kremlin said, as well as the export of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports and ways to unblock fertiliser and food exports from Russia.
The UN’s nuclear watchdog is expanding its presence in Ukraine to “help prevent a nuclear accident” during the ongoing conflict, the agency’s head, Rafael Grossi, has said. Grossi is in Ukraine this week to establish the “continuous presence” of nuclear safety and security experts at all the country’s nuclear power facilities, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in its latest update on Ukraine on Friday.
Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said Ukraine could expect more deliveries of heavy weapons from western countries soon. Western allies will consider sending battle tanks to Kyiv ahead of a meeting in Ramstein in Germany on Friday, where governments are expected to announce their latest pledges of military support.
The Kremlin said the tanks Britain plans to send to Ukraine “will burn”, warning the west that supplying a new round of more advanced weapons to Ukraine would not change the course of the war.
Germany should take “decisive actions” and send “all sorts of weapons” to Ukraine to help its troops defend themselves against Russia’s invasion, Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, has said. Morawiecki, speaking in parliament, implicitly criticised the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, for his reluctance to supply Kyiv with heavier weaponry.
Germany’s defence minister, Christine Lambrecht, has announced her resignation following a series of blunders and a growing impression that she has struggled to deal with the challenges of overseeing the country’s military since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Lambrecht’s resignation comes at a crucial moment with Germany expected to deliver battle tanks to Ukraine, in a huge decision for the country as it changes the longstanding direction of its defence policy.
A Russian man who reportedly fought for the private mercenary Wagner group has crossed into Norway and requested political asylum, according to Norwegian authorities. Andrey Medvedev, who reportedly served as a high-ranking Wagner group member, has sought shelter in Norway, authorities confirmed to the Associated Press.
Updated
Tanks arguably decided the first world war, after four years of deadlock, and were indispensable throughout the second. Yet after the initial Russian invasion, one of the surprising features of the war in Ukraine is that it has not been a war of dramatic manoeuvre, but rather only modestly changing fronts.
However, with the Russians trying to fortify their positions, ahead perhaps of a renewed attack, Kyiv is under pressure to find a breakthrough this spring. With Nato unwilling to help Ukraine with combat air power, the answer, for now, lies in the heavily armoured tank – which finally, the west is prepared to provide.
Britain will send a squadron of 14 Challenger 2 tanks and Poland wants to send another 14 German-made Leopard 2s, if Berlin (as is increasingly looking likely) grants permission. It is a start, but well short of a pre-Christmas Ukrainian demand for 300 tanks and at least 600 fighting vehicles (of which about 90 have been pledged).
Only tanks have the “protection, mobility and firepower to maintain momentum even once they make contact with enemy forces in strength”, said Nick Reynolds, a land warfare expert at the Rusi thinktank. The question, however, is what number will give Kyiv chance to mount its own offensive.
Updated
Erdoğan ‘renews offer to mediate end to Ukraine war’ in call with Putin
President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, spoke by phone today where they discussed the conflict in Ukraine, according to both readouts of the call from both sides.
The pair discussed the question of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine, the Kremlin said, after talks between Moscow and Kyiv’s human rights commissioners in Turkey last week.
Putin “drew attention to the destructive line of the Kyiv regime, which relies on the intensification of hostilities with the support of western sponsors, increasing the volume of transferred weapons and military equipment”, the Kremlin’s readout of the call continued.
It said the two leaders also discussed the export of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports and ways to unblock fertiliser and food exports from Russia.
They also discussed the creation of a gas hub in Turkey, as well as the normalisation of Turkish-Syrian relations, it said.
Erdoğan’s office said the Turkish president renewed his offer to help mediate an end to the conflict in Ukraine during the call.
A statement read:
During the call, President Erdoğan reiterated that Turkey is ready to undertake the task of facilitating and mediating for the establishment of a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Updated
The Russian-imposed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, has posted to Telegram to say that in total the air defences of the Crimean city repulsed 10 drones from Ukraine this morning. He told residents:
The air defence and the Black Sea Fleet shot down ten out of ten [Ukrainian drones] over the sea. No objects either in the city or in the water area were damaged. Everything is calm in the city.
The claims have not been independently verified. Russia claimed to annex Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Updated
Ukraine’s state broadcaster Suspilne has posted to its Telegram news channel to report that its correspondents say explosions have been heard in Kherson.
More details soon …
A Russian man who reportedly fought for the private mercenary Wagner group has crossed into Norway and requested political asylum, according to Norwegian authorities.
Andrey Medvedev, who reportedly served as a high-ranking Wagner group member, has sought shelter in Norway, authorities confirmed to the Associated Press.
Police in Arctic Norway said last week that a person had illegally entered from Russia by crossing the border.
The man, identified only as a foreigner, was detained by border guards after he reportedly visited a private house in the border area and asked for help.
The case was handed to Norwegian immigration police and the man was transferred to Oslo, where he was placed in a centre for violators of migration laws. Police in Norway have declined to comment on the case.
The independent Russian news website Meduza writes that Medvedev reportedly served as the commander of the unit that included Yevgeny Nuzhin, a Wagner mercenary who was apparently executed by the group with a sledgehammer in a video that surfaced online in November.
UK foreign secretary says it's 'good' he's been sanctioned by Russia
The UK’s foreign secretary, James Cleverly, writes that he has been hit with sanctions by the Russian government.
Cleverly writes on Twitter:
I’ve been sanctioned by the Russian government. Good. If this is the price for supporting Ukrainian freedom, then I’m happy to be sanctioned #SlavaUkraini
I've been sanctioned by the
— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) January 16, 2023
Russian government.
Good.
If this is the price for supporting Ukrainian freedom, then I’m happy to be sanctioned #SlavaUkraini
Updated
The Shakhtar Donetsk president, Rinat Akhmetov, has donated £20.5m of Mykhaylo Mudryk’s Chelsea transfer fee to the Ukrainian war effort.
Chelsea beat Arsenal to the signing of Mudryk on Sunday and paraded him at Stamford Bridge, where they beat Crystal Palace 1-0 in the Premier League. Mudryk, who has agreed an eight-and-a-half-year contract, had a Ukraine flag draped over his shoulders. Chelsea have paid an initial €70m (£62m) for the winger with €30m (£26.5m) to follow in add-ons.
The money is a boost to Shakhtar, who have been displaced from their home in Donetsk, but Akhmetov – Ukraine’s richest businessman, according to Forbes – has made clear that without his country’s soldiers there would be no football. As such, he has made the financial gesture, launching the Heart of Azovstal project.
Azovstal is Akhmetov’s steel plant in Mariupol, where Ukrainian fighters defied weeks of Russian bombardment before the city fell. Azovstal has become a symbol of bravery, endurance and the indomitable spirit of the Ukrainian people.
“I want to thank the entire civilised world for helping Ukraine,” Akhmetov said.
We can only talk about Ukrainian football because of the Ukrainian army, the Ukrainian people and the tremendous support we have had during this incredibly difficult time. And the only way we can defeat the evil that has come to our homes is by working together.
The UN’s nuclear watchdog is expanding its presence in Ukraine to “help prevent a nuclear accident” during the ongoing conflict, the agency’s head, Rafael Grossi, has said.
.@IAEAorg is expanding its presence in #Ukraine to help prevent a nuclear accident during the ongoing conflict. I’m proud to lead this mission to 🇺🇦, where we’re deploying in all of the country’s NPPs to provide assistance in nuclear safety & security. pic.twitter.com/hks7jMpLBj
— Rafael MarianoGrossi (@rafaelmgrossi) January 16, 2023
Grossi is in Ukraine this week to establish the “continuous presence” of nuclear safety and security experts at all the country’s nuclear power facilities, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in its latest update on Ukraine on Friday.
He is expected to travel to south Ukraine and Rivne nuclear power plants (NPPs) as well as to the Chornobyl site to launch the missions consisting of two IAEA experts at each of the facilities.
The IAEA already has a permanent presence of up to four experts at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and a two-member team will also be stationed at the Khmelnytskyi nuclear plant in the coming days.
In a statement, Grossi said:
Soon the IAEA will be permanently present at all of Ukraine’s nuclear power facilities, including Chornobyl. This is an important step in our work to help Ukraine during these immensely difficult and challenging times. Our nuclear safety and security experts will monitor the situation at the plants, assess their equipment and other needs, provide technical support and advice, and report their findings to IAEA headquarters.
Updated
The Kremlin has denied that Russian missile strikes hit residential buildings in Ukraine, after local officials in Dnipro said at least 40 people were killed in Saturday’s attack on a residential block in the Ukrainian south-central city.
During a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said:
The Russian armed forces do not strike residential buildings or social infrastructure facilities. Attacks are made on military targets, either obvious or disguised.
Ukraine’s air force has said the residential block was struck by a Russian Kh-22 missile, which is known to be inaccurate and that Kyiv says it has no way of shooting down.
Updated
Here are some of the latest images we have received showing the aftermath of Russia’s missile attack on a residential block in Dnipro.
Updated
Polish PM calls on Germany to supply Ukraine with ‘all sorts of weapons’, including tanks
Germany should take “decisive actions” and send “all sorts of weapons” to Ukraine to help its troops defend themselves against Russia’s invasion, Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, has said.
Morawiecki, speaking in parliament, implicitly criticised the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, for his reluctance to supply Kyiv with heavier weaponry.
He said:
I call for decisive actions by the German government. For all sorts of weapons to be delivered. The battle for freedom and our future is raging as we speak ... Tanks must not be left in storehouses, but placed in their hands.
PM @MorawieckiM in #Berlin: The defeat of #Ukraine may become a prelude to World War III, so today there is no reason to block support for Kyiv and postpone matters indefinitely. I call on the German government to act decisively by supplying all sorts of weapons to Ukraine.
— Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland (@PremierRP_en) January 16, 2023
Updated
A Swedish prosecutor has said there will be no formal investigation into a demonstration last week in Stockholm in which a puppet of Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was hung from its feet, according to a report.
Images of the hanged effigy near the Swedish capital’s city hall were published by a pro-Kurdish group, the Rojava Committee of Sweden, who compared the Turkish leader to Italy’s fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini, who was hung upside down after his execution in the final days of the second world war.
Sweden’s prime minister condemned the demonstration and said it was a sabotage of Sweden’s bid to join Nato.
Turkey summoned Sweden’s ambassador, Staffan Herrstrom, on Thursday and demanded that those responsible for the demonstration be prosecuted.
But a Swedish prosecutor, Lucas Eriksson, told the Aftonbladet newspaper:
I received the case as defamation, but did not think it could amount to defamation. Therefore, I decided not to initiate a preliminary investigation.
In a historic decision in May, Sweden and Finland announced they wished to join the Nato military alliance, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While 28 out of 30 Nato members have ratified their bids, Hungary and Turkey have not, with the latter likely to prove the biggest hurdle. Ankara has so far refused to ratify the applications unless the two countries do more to clamp down on Kurdish groups it regards as terrorists.
Dnipro missile attack death toll rises to 40
The number of people killed in Saturday’s Russian missile attack on a residential block in Ukraine’s south-central city of Dnipro has risen to 40, according to a local official.
Dozens are still missing, Gennadiy Korban wrote on Telegram. 75 people were wounded in the strike, including 14 children, he said.
The victims from the attack included a 15-year-old girl, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his latest nightly address.
Rescue efforts are still under way.
Updated
Summary of the day so far …
Russia and Belarus have begun joint air force drills this morning, triggering fears in Kyiv and the west that Moscow could use its ally to launch a new ground offensive in Ukraine. According to a statement published to the Telegram account of the Belarus ministry of defence, units from Russia’s aerospace forces arrived at the airfields of Belarus late on Sunday night. Shortly after 8am local time the ministry said the planned combat training tasks had begun.
Viacheslav Chaus, the Chernihiv governor, has warned residents that there is likely to be an increase in air raid warnings as a result of the exercises. Belarus has described the drills as purely defensive. The country was used as a base for Russian troops to launch their failed assault on Kyiv in February 2022,
Russia launched an attack on Ukraine’s south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia overnight, wounding civilians and destroying residential infrastructure, according to regional officials. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the office of president of Ukraine, said “The occupiers launched a rocket attack on the regional centre. The rocket hit next to a five-story building. Five people, including two children aged nine and 15, were injured by glass fragments. The children were hospitalised.”
Air defences in Sevastopol in Crimea have been active against Ukrainian drones, according to the Russian-imposed regional governor in the area which Russia annexed in 2014.
As of Sunday, Ukraine’s forces have “almost certainly” maintained positions in Soledar, north of Bakhmut, according to the UK ministry of defence. Over the weekend, intense fighting continued in both the Kremina and Bakhmut sectors of the Donbas front, the ministry added.
The number of people killed in a Russian missile attack on a residential block in Dnipro has risen to 37, the state broadcaster Suspilne reported Ukrainian officials had confirmed to it. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a Sunday latest address that the victims included a 15-year-old girl. At least 73 people were wounded and 39 people had been rescued as of Sunday afternoon. The city government in Dnipro said 43 people were still reported missing. “The chances of saving people now are minimal,” Dnipro’s mayor, Borys Filatov, told Reuters. I think the number of dead will be in the dozens.”
Claiming responsibility for the missile strikes across Ukraine, Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday that it achieved its goal. A ministry statement posted on Telegram said: “All designated targets have been hit. The goal of the attack has been achieved.” However, it did not mention the attack on the Dnipro residential building.
President Vladimir Putin has told Russian state television that what he calls the “special military operation” in Ukraine has gained positive momentum. “The dynamic is positive,” he told Rossiya 1 state television. “Everything is developing within the framework of the plan of the ministry of defence and the general staff.”
German defence minister Christine Lambrecht on Monday announced ger resignation. Her decision to step down comes as Germany is under pressure to approve an increase in international military support for Kyiv, and Germany’s defence capabilities have been called into question after several Puma infantry tanks were put out of service during a recent military drill.
That is it from me, Martin Belam, for now. I will be back later on. Léonie Chao-Fong will be with you for the next few hours to continue our live coverage.
Updated
Kremlin: tanks sent from UK to Ukraine 'will burn'
The Kremlin said on Monday that the tanks Britain plans to send to Ukraine “will burn”, warning the west that supplying a new round of more advanced weapons to Ukraine would not change the course of the war.
“They are using [Ukraine] as a tool to achieve their anti-Russian goals,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said when asked about the British tanks, Reuters reports. “These tanks are burning and will burn just like the rest,” Peskov said.
Britain said on Saturday it would send 14 of its Challenger 2 main battle tanks as well as other advanced artillery support to Ukraine in the coming weeks. Peskov said the new supplies from countries like Britain and Poland would not change the situation on the ground.
The Kremlin spokesperson also, according to Russian-owned news agency RIA, denied that there was any conflict between Russia’s ministry of defence and the Wagner mercenary group. RIA posted to Telegram a report which said:
The “conflict” between the ministry of defence and Wagner exists only in the information space, Peskov said. He noted that everyone is doing a common thing – fighting for the motherland.
Dnipro missile attack death toll rises to 37, Ukraine state broadcaster says
Ukrainian state broadcaster Suspilne has reported on Telegram that the death toll from the weekend’s Dnipro missile attack has risen to 37. It reports that local authorities have confirmed the higher number to it.
Updated
Germany's defence minister Christine Lambrecht confirms resignation, with Ukraine a factor
Germany’s defence minister, Christine Lambrecht, has today resigned, she said in a statement on Monday, the culmination of growing scepticism about her ability to bring the German army into shape against the backdrop of the Ukraine war.
Reuters reports Lambrecht, a member of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic party (SPD), said in the statement: “Today I asked the chancellor to dismiss me from the office of federal minister of defence.”
Her decision to step down comes as Germany is under pressure to approve an increase in international military support for Kyiv, and Germany’s defence capabilities have been called into question after several Puma infantry tanks were put out of service during a recent military drill.
Updated
Viacheslav Chaus, the Chernihiv governor, has warned residents that there is likely to be an increase in air raid warnings as a result of the joint air exercises being carried out by Russia and Belarus. In a message posted to Telegram, Chaus said:
125 explosions on the outskirts of six border settlements of Chernihiv region over the past week. The enemy uses mortars, grenade launchers, BM-21 Grad rocket artillery.
Important! From 16 January to 1 February, a joint flight and tactical exercise will be held with the aviation units of the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation.
The number of air alarms on the territory of Chernihiv oblast and the country in general may increase significantly. Don’t ignore any threat message.
Chernihiv has borders with both Belarus to Russia to the north.
Russian news agency Interfax is reporting that air defences in Sevastopol have been active against Ukrainian drones, according to the Russian-imposed regional governor. Interfax reports.
“An attack by drones again. Air defence systems shot down a UAV over the sea in the direction of Belbek ,” [Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev] wrote in his telegram channel.
Interfax adds the governor also reported one downed drone over the bay.
Sevastopol is the largest city in the Crimean peninsula, an area of Ukraine which Russia claimed to annex in 2014. Belbek is an airfield north-west of the city which has previously been a target for Ukraine.
Updated
In Germany, Die Welt reports that at a demonstration in Berlin on Sunday, the flag of the chiefly unrecognised self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic was seen, a report which is being picked up by Russian state media Tass. Martin Heller writes for Die Welt:
The content of a video of the demonstration march in Berlin on Sunday, with which thousands commemorated Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, is now causing a stir.
In the video of the demonstration, left-wing demonstrators - white skin, accent-free German and mostly male - chant anti-Western slogans: “Mali, Donbass, Gaza City: finally flatten the West!”. A banner from a “communist organization” carried in front of the group reads: “The main enemy is at home”.
At the same event, international observers noticed a flag from the “Donetsk People’s Republic” illegally proclaimed by Russia. This also causes discussions on the internet.
Updated
Suspilne, the Ukrainian state broadcaster, is reporting that three people were killed in the Kherson region yesterday. In a message posted to Telegram, it stated:
On 15 January, the Russian army shelled the territory of the Kherson region 90 times with artillery, anti-aircraft guns, mortars and tanks. Three people died, 14 were injured, said the head of the region Yaroslav Yanushevych.
The claims have not been independently verified. Kherson is one of the regions of Ukraine which the Russian Federation claims to have annexed.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the office of president of Ukraine, has given more details of an attack of Zaporizhzhia in a Telegram post. He writes:
The occupiers launched a rocket attack on the regional centre. The rocket hit next to a five-story building. Five people, including 2 children aged 9 and 15, were injured by glass fragments. The children were hospitalised. In the building itself, the windows were broken, the supporting structures were not damaged.
He added that in a separate attack:
The rocket hit the territory of a business. A fire broke out on the spot. There is no information about the victims. Rescuers are working on the spot.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Updated
The Russian state-owned news agency is reporting claims from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) that in the last week two people died and four were injured by Ukrainian fire into the territory which the LPR occupies and which the Russian Federation claims to have annexed.
Tass also reported the claim that 52 houses and three civil infrastructure facilities were destroyed and damaged, including one educational institution, in the attacks. Tass said that the claims, which have not been independently verified, were reported by a representative of the so-called “Joint centre for control and coordination of issues related to war crimes of Ukraine”.
Prior to Russia’s claim to have annexed the Luhansk region, the LPR, which was formed in 2014, was recognised as a legitimate authority by only three UN member states: Russia, Syria and North Korea.
Updated
Reuters reports that a Ukrainian vessel carrying peas was grounded in Istanbul’s Bosphorus strait on Monday, and traffic in the strait was suspended. No damage was reported.
The joint coordination centre in Istanbul, which runs the UN-brokered Black Sea grain deal operations, said at the weekend the ship was travelling from Pivdennyi – a commercial seaport in the Ukrainian city of Yuzhne, near Odesa – to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Mersin.
Several tugs were among vessels sent to provide assistance to the ship, the coastguard authority said.
This is Martin Belam taking over the blog in London. You can reach me at martin.belam@theguardian.com
Updated
Russia launches strike on Zaporizhzhia, officials say
Russia launched an attack on Ukraine’s south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia overnight, wounding civilians and destroying residential infrastructure, according to regional officials.
Oleksandr Starukh, the Zaporizhzhia regional state administration head, said Russia launched a rocket attack on the regional centre in a Telegram post at about 1am local time.
The enemy launched a rocket attack on the regional centre and suburbs. There is destruction of civil, residential and industrial infrastructure. Information was received about several lightly wounded. All relevant services are on site.”
The secretary of the Zaporizhzhia city council, Anatoly Kurtev, confirmed three people were taken to hospital.
Russians fired at our city again. As a result of the night attack, people were injured. There are damaged houses. Three people were transported to hospitals. Among them are two children aged nine and 15.”
Updated
Ukraine maintains positions in Soledar: UK MoD
As of Sunday, Ukraine’s forces have “almost certainly” maintained positions in Soledar, north of Bakhmut, according to the UK ministry of defence.
Over the weekend, intense fighting continued in both the Kremina and Bakhmut sectors of the Donbas front, the ministry added.
“Overall, the UAF continue to gradually advance their front line east on the edge of Kremina town,” the report read. “Over the last six weeks, both Russia and Ukraine have achieved hard-fought but limited gains in different sectors.
“In these circumstances, a key operational challenge for both sides is to generate formations of uncommitted, capable troops which can exploit the tactical successes to create operational breakthroughs.”
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 16 January 2023
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) January 16, 2023
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/W1uSYAIeGE
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/LO82vM2DDX
Updated
US launches training programme for Ukrainian forces
The US military has launched an expanded, more sophisticated training programme of Ukrainian forces that is focused on large-scale combat and designed to bolster Ukraine’s ability to take back territory from Russian forces, the Pentagon’s top general said on Sunday.
Gen Mark A. Milley, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, said the training had begun on Sunday at the Grafenwoehr training area in Germany and will continue for five or six weeks, according to a Washington Post report.
About 500 soldiers will reportedly go through the initial version of training, focused on what the military calls combined-arms warfare, in which tanks, artillery, combat vehicles and other weapons are “layered to maximise the violence they inflict”, according to the Post.
We want the Ukrainians to have a capability to successfully defend their country,” Milley said. “Ukraine is doing nothing more than defending itself, and they are trying to liberate Russian-occupied Ukraine.”
“It’ll take a bit of time,” Milley added. “Five, six, seven, eight weeks, who knows. We’ll see what happens here. But in terms of the criticality of it, the need is now.”
Updated
Nato hints at more heavy weapons for Ukraine
Nato’s secretary general said Ukraine could expect more deliveries of heavy weapons from western countries soon.
The recent pledges for heavy warfare equipment are important – and I expect more in the near future,” Jens Stoltenberg told Germany’s Handelsblatt daily on Sunday.
Western allies will consider sending battle tanks to Kyiv ahead of a meeting in Ramstein in Germany on Friday, where governments are expected to announce their latest pledges of military support.
Zelenskiy has pleaded for more western weaponry, saying that Russian “terror” could be stopped only on the battlefield.
Earlier this month, France, Germany and the US respectively promised French AMX-10 RC light tanks, 40 German Marder infantry vehicles, and 50 Bradley fighting vehicles.
However, pressure is growing on the allies to go further and agree to delivery of battle tanks.
The British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, pledged on Saturday to provide 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine, making it the first western country to supply the heavy tanks Kyiv has been calling for.
Russia’s embassy in Britain warned that “bringing tanks to the conflict zone … will only serve to intensify combat operations, generating more casualties, including among the civilian population”.
Updated
Putin claims war is going according to plan
As Russian and Belarusian forces conduct joint air force drills today in a show of cooperation, it appears to be business as usual for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
The Russian leader earlier told Rossiya 1 state television that what he calls the “special military operation” in Ukraine has gained positive momentum and is going according to plan.
The dynamic is positive. Everything is developing within the framework of the plan of the ministry of defence and the general staff.”
Putin said he hoped soldiers would deliver more wins after Russia claimed control of the eastern Ukrainian saltmining town of Soledar – a claim disputed by Kyiv.
Updated
Belarus’s ministry of defence has just issued this statement regarding its joint air force drills with Russia this morning.
Today, a joint tactical flight exercise of the aviation units of the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, which are part of the aviation component of the regional grouping of troops (forces), has started.”
The ministry added that the main goal of the exercise is “to increase operational compatibility in the joint performance of combat training tasks”.
Updated
Belarus begins air force drills with Russia
Russia and Belarus have begun joint air force drills this morning, triggering fears in Kyiv and the west that Moscow could use its ally to launch a new ground offensive in Ukraine.
According to a statement published to the Telegram account of the Belarus ministry of defence, units from Russia’s aerospace forces arrived at the airfields of Belarus late on Sunday night.
Shortly after 8am local time the ministry said the planned combat training tasks had begun.
A subdivision of the 120th Separate Guards Mechanised Brigade, as part of the coordination of the Belarusian and Russian parts of the regional grouping of forces, began to carry out a number of combat training tasks.
After the march to the 227th combined-arms training ground, the military personnel will begin to conduct control classes in combat training subjects.”
В рамках проведения совместных мероприятий боевого слаживания РГВ (С) Беларуси и России артиллерийские подразделения 11 омбр приводятся в готовность к выполнению задач по предназначению.
— Минобороны Беларуси (@MOD_BY) January 13, 2023
Ход выполнения мероприятий проверил генерал-майор Виктор Гулевич. pic.twitter.com/RFwmFnGBHk
Minsk earlier said the drills are defensive. However, the ongoing buildup of Russian troops in Belarus, combined with a flurry of military activity in the country, is an echo to what was happening there just before Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine, when Moscow used the country as a springboard to launch the attack.
Together with Moscow, Minsk has also been bolstering the drills with weaponry and military equipment.
Unofficial Telegram military monitoring channels have been reporting a series of fighters, helicopters and military transport planes coming to Belarus since the start of the year – eight fighters and four cargo planes on Sunday alone.
The Belarusian defence ministry said only that “units” of Russia’s air forces have been arriving in Belarus.
During the tactical flight exercise, all airfields and training grounds of the Air Force and Air Defence Forces of the Armed Forces of Belarus will be involved,” the ministry said in a statement as cited by Reuters.
The situation on Belarus’s southern border – the border with Ukraine – was “not very calm”, and Ukraine has been “provoking” Belarus, said Pavel Muraveyko, first deputy state secretary of the Belarusian security council, according to a post on the Belarusian defence ministry’s Telegram app on Sunday.
We’re maintaining restraint and patience, keeping our gunpowder dry,” Muraveyko said. “We have the necessary set of forces and means that will respond to any manifestations of aggression or a terrorist threat on our territory.”
Ukraine has continuously warned of possible attacks from Belarus and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last week that the country must be ready at its border with Belarus.
The Kremlin has denied that it has been pressuring the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, to take a more active role in the conflict in Ukraine. Minsk has said it will not enter the war.
Updated
A series of haunting images show the aftermath of Sunday’s missile attack on a residential block in Dnipro.
Death toll from Dnipro strike rises to 35
The number of people killed in a Russian missile attack on a residential block in Dnipro has risen to 35, according to Ukrainian officials.
Dnipro’s regional governor, Valentyn Reznichenko, confirmed 35 people were killed in the attack in an update shared to Telegram about 8.30am on Monday.
The search and rescue operation in Dnipro has been going on for almost 40 hours.
At night, rescuers pulled out several more dead from under the rubble of a high-rise building destroyed by a Russian missile.
At that time, the enemy attack claimed the lives of 35 residents of the building. Among them are two children.
39 people were saved, 75 were injured. Among the injured are 14 children.
The fate of another 35 residents of the building is unknown. The search for people under the rubble continues.
Dnipro’s mayor, Borys Filatov, told Reuters:
The chances of saving people now are minimal. I think the number of dead will be in the dozens.”
Claiming responsibility for the missile strikes across Ukraine, Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday that it achieved its goal.
A ministry statement posted on Telegram said: “All designated targets have been hit. The goal of the attack has been achieved.” However, it did not mention the attack on the Dnipro residential building.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned the Russian people’s “cowardly silence” over the attack, noting that Ukraine had received messages of sympathy from around the world over “this terror.”
Summary and welcome
Hello and welcome back to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine. I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments as they unfold over the next few hours.
Rescuers continue to comb the rubble of a nine-story apartment building that was destroyed by a Russian strike in Dnipro on Sunday, as the death toll from the attack climbs to 35.
Russia and Belarus will begin joint air force drills on Monday, which have triggered fears in Kyiv and the west that Moscow could use its ally to launch a new ground offensive in Ukraine.
Minsk says the drills are “purely defensive in nature” though Ukraine has warned of possible attacks from its neighbour to the north.
If you have just joined us, here are all the latest developments:
The number of people killed in a Russian missile attack on a residential block in Dnipro has risen to 35, according to Ukrainian officials. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his latest address that “the list of the dead includes 30 people, including one child – a girl, she was 15 years old”. At least 73 people were wounded and 39 people had been rescued as of Sunday afternoon. The city government in Dnipro said 43 people were still reported missing. “The chances of saving people now are minimal,” Dnipro’s mayor, Borys Filatov, told Reuters. I think the number of dead will be in the dozens.”
Claiming responsibility for the missile strikes across Ukraine, Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday that it achieved its goal. A ministry statement posted on Telegram said: “All designated targets have been hit. The goal of the attack has been achieved.” However, it did not mention the attack on the Dnipro residential building.
President Vladimir Putin has told Russian state television that what he calls the “special military operation” in Ukraine has gained positive momentum. “The dynamic is positive,” he told Rossiya 1 state television. “Everything is developing within the framework of the plan of the ministry of defence and the general staff.” Putin said he hoped soldiers would deliver more wins after Russia claimed control of the eastern Ukrainian salt-mining town of Soledar – a claim disputed by Kyiv.
Battle tanks from German industrial reserves wanted by Ukraine will not be ready to be delivered until 2024. The warning from arms manufacturer Rheinmetall will dampen Kyiv’s hopes that the UK’s promise to deliver Challenger 2 tanks would encourage other European nations to swiftly follow suit. “Even if the decision to send our Leopard tanks to Kyiv came tomorrow, the delivery would take until the start of next year,” Rheinmetall’s chief executive, Armin Papperger, told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
The UK prime minister has confirmed the country will provide 14 of its Challenger 2 main battle tanks and other advanced artillery support to Ukraine in the coming weeks. Downing Street said Rishi Sunak made the pledge during a call on Saturday morning with Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a sign of the UK’s “ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine”. Russia’s embassy in Britain said the move would only “intensify” the conflict.
The UK foreign secretary has said “now is the time to accelerate and go further and faster” in giving Ukraine the support it needs. In a column for British tabloid the Sun on Sunday, James Cleverly writes that the Russian army is on the defensive and morale among its troops is pitiful, blaming the “shambolic state of Russian military logistics”.
Nato’s secretary general said Ukraine could expect more deliveries of heavy weapons from western countries soon. “The recent pledges for heavy warfare equipment are important – and I expect more in the near future,” Jens Stoltenberg told Germany’s Handelsblatt daily on Sunday. Western allies will consider sending battle tanks to Kyiv ahead of a meeting in Ramstein in Germany next Friday where governments are expected to announce their latest pledges of military support.
Belarus’s security council said on Sunday that joint air force drills with Russia, due to start on Monday, were purely defensive in nature and would focus on reconnaissance missions and how to thwart a potential attack. “The exercise is purely defensive in nature,” said Pavel Muraveyko, first deputy state secretary of the Belarusian security council, according to a post on the Belarusian defence ministry’s Telegram app on Sunday. “It will be a set of measures to prepare our and Russian aviation to carry out the relevant combat missions.”
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