Ukraine updates: Russian forces claim advance on Zaporizhia towns
All the updates from January 22, as they happened.
This blog is now closed, thanks for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Sunday, January 22.
This blog is now closed, thanks for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Sunday, January 22.
- Moscow’s forces are pushing towards two towns in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region, according to Russian state media — Orikhiv, about 50km (30 miles) south of Ukrainian-controlled regional capital Zaporizhzhia, and Hulyaipole, further east.
- The head of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, warns the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine by Western countries would lead to “global catastrophe”.
- The United Kingdom says it still wants an international deal to provide Ukraine with the German-made tanks that Kyiv says it needs in its fight against Russia but whose transfer needs Berlin’s consent.
- Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania have made a joint call to Germany to step up its leadership and send its main battle tanks to Ukraine.
Germany ‘cautious’ over supplying Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine
Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been facing increasing pressure from other European Union countries and from Ukraine to provide Kyiv with Leopard 2 tanks.
A meeting between Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris will address the matter, Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith said.
“Germany has been very reluctant to provide such incredibly powerful offensive weaponry to Ukraine,” he said, speaking from the French capital.
“It’s moving very cautiously; it has to consider its own coalition partners as well – many pacifists amongst them. But pressure is increasing on Scholz and we know that it is going to be part of a specific meeting of defence ministers today.”
Relations between the two countries have been recently strained, with France frustrated by Germany often making decisions without discussing them beforehand.
“So when Germany for example announced a 200 billion euro [$2.2bn] subsidy package for energy prices last year just for Germany, that frustrated France who wanted a Euro-wide cap on fossil fuels,” said Smith.
“The hope is now that both sides know they have to come together, because the EU is particularly concerned about the US’s green subsidies package that might suck investment out of the EU.”
List of key events, day 333
Fighting
- Russian troops have increased shelling of Ukraine’s eastern regions outside the main front line in the Donbas industrial area, according to officials from Zaporizhia and Sumy regions.
- Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has urged Kyiv’s allies to “think faster” about stepping up their military support, a day after they failed to agree on sending battle tanks Kyiv says it needs.
- Senior United States officials are advising Ukraine to hold off on launching a major offensive against Russian forces until the latest supply of US weaponry is in place and training has been provided, said a senior official from the administration of US President Joe Biden.
Diplomacy
- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is considering visiting Kyiv in February and holding talks with President Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainians using embroidery to stand up to Russia
Sitting in the corner of a Ukrainian-run café in downtown Tbilisi in Georgia, Alla Timoshenko deftly runs a threaded needle through a bird-shaped piece of felt.
For Ukrainians, the nightingale that she is embroidering to turn into a brooch is a symbol of hope, spring and building homes, Alla explains.
Once the item is complete, she plans to sell it through her Instagram handle as an emblem of hope for Ukraine’s victory against Russia.
Embroidery has always been a form of creative expression for Alla. But it was only ever a hobby for her until her late 20s, when she decided to quit her stressful job with an IT company in Kyiv and become a design consultant.
“Embroidery became a form of meditation for me,” says the 34-year-old, who started using the skill professionally.
Read more here.
Zelenskyy: Independence will be lost if true unity is not attained
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that his country’s independence will be gone if it is not able to attain true unity.
“If the struggle is not stopped, sooner or later a unified and independent state will be restored,” Zelenskyy said in a video address on the occasion of the Day of Unity.
“If true unity is not attained, independence will be lost. We have always known about the first piece of wisdom. And on February 24, we proved that we had mastered the second.”
At the start of Moscow’s war, Ukrainian unity was revived, he said.
“Every region is protecting each other. All of us no longer have strange cities, villages, or streets. Every city is a native city. Every village is a native village. Every street is a native street. Even if we have never been there in our life,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian Day of Unity is a state holiday celebrated annually on January 22 since 1999, marking the day when the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the West Ukrainian People’s Republic signed the Unification Act in 1919, effectively merging both republics into a single country.
Ukraine defence ministry denies corruption claims
Ukraine’s defence ministry has denied reports that it grossly inflated food prices for a recent contract, in the worst corruption scandal to engulf the armed forces since war with Russia broke out.
On Saturday, national media reports accused the ministry of having signed a deal at prices “two to three times higher” than current rates for basic foodstuffs.
Eggs, which cost about 19 United States cents in a shop, were contracted for 46 cents, while the ministry also signed for potatoes at more than double the retail price, according to the news website ZN.UA.
It said the signed contract for 2023 would be worth 13 billion hryvnia, more than $350m at the current rate.
The defence ministry called the reports “false” and said it “purchases the relevant products in accordance with the procedure established by the law”.
Medvedev: Transfer of heavy weapons to Ukraine aims to destroy Russia
The transfer of heavy weapons to Ukraine from Western countries aims to destroy Russia. former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said.
“The meeting in Ramstein [Air Base in Germany] and the allocation of heavy weapons to Kyiv leave no doubt that our enemies will indefinitely try to wear us down, or better, destroy us. And they have enough weapons. If necessary, they will start producing new ones. Therefore, there is no need for illusions,” Medvedev said in a message on Telegram.
He said that the conclusion that can be drawn from this, in addition to it being a difficult situation, is that a new military alliance will be formed by the United States and its allies in the event of a protracted conflict.
Boris Johnson visits Ukrainian town of Borodyanka
The United Kingdom’s former prime minister, Boris Johnson, has made a surprise visit to Ukraine, saying it was a “privilege” to be there to show solidarity with the war-torn nation.
Johnson, who is facing new questions over his personal finances, was pictured in the town of Borodyanka in the Kyiv region.
The former British prime minister said the suffering of the people of Ukraine has gone on for too long.“The only way to end this war is for Ukraine to win — and to win as fast as possible,” he said. “This is the moment to double down and to give the Ukrainians all the tools they need to finish the job.
“The sooner Putin fails, the better for Ukraine and for the whole world,” he added.
US designates Russian Wagner mercenary force a crime organisation
The United States is designating Russia’s Wagner Group as an international criminal organisation.
The White House said about 50,000 of its mercenaries are fighting in Ukraine.
The classification will allow the US to apply wider sanctions to the group.
Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna reports from Washington, DC.
France and Germany to back Ukraine ‘as long as necessary’: Scholz
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Germany and France will support Ukraine for “as long as necessary” in its fight against Russia.
“We will continue to provide Ukraine with all the support its needs for as long as necessary. Together, as Europeans, to defend our European peace project,” he said in a speech at the Sorbonne University to celebrate 60 years of post-war Franco-German cooperation.
Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania call on Germany to send tanks to Ukraine
The Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania say they want Germany to step up its leadership and send its main battle tanks to Ukraine, putting further pressure on Berlin to move faster on aiding Kyiv in its war against Russia.
“We, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania Foreign Ministers, call on Germany to provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine now,” Estonia’s foreign minister said on Twitter.
“This is needed to stop Russian aggression, help Ukraine and restore peace in Europe quickly. Germany as the leading European power has special responsibility in this regard.”
The call came a day after Germany and Western allies reached no decision on whether Berlin would agree to send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine or permit other countries that have them to do so.
We, 🇪🇪 🇱🇻 🇱🇹 Foreign Ministers, call on Germany to provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine now. This is needed to stop Russian aggression, help Ukraine and restore peace in Europe quickly. Germany as the leading European power has special responsibility in this regard.
— Urmas Reinsalu (@UrmasReinsalu) January 21, 2023
Fierce fighting continues over Ukraine’s eastern city of Bakhmut
The front-line city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine continues to be the focus of intense fighting.
Ukrainian forces appear to be holding out against the Russian military.
Al Jazeera’s Omar al-Haj reports from Bakhmut.
Putin ally warns of global catastrophe if West gives Kyiv heavy weapons
A close ally of President Vladimir Putin says deliveries of offensive weapons to Kyiv that threaten Russia’s territories will lead to a global catastrophe and make arguments against using weapons of mass destruction untenable.
Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Duma — Russia’s lower house of parliament — warned that the United States and NATO’s support of Ukraine is leading the world to a “terrible war”.
“If Washington and NATO countries supply weapons that will be used to strike civilian cities and attempt to seize our territories, as they threaten, this will lead to retaliatory measures using more powerful weapons,” Volodin said on the Telegram messaging app.
“Arguments that the nuclear powers have not previously used weapons of mass destruction in local conflicts are untenable. Because these states did not face a situation where there was a threat to the security of their citizens and the territorial integrity of the country.”
UK says it wants Ukraine to get German-made tanks
The United Kingdom says it still wants an international deal to provide Ukraine with the German-made tanks that Kyiv maintains it needs in its fight against Russia, but whose transfer needs Germany’s consent, UK Foreign Minister James Cleverly said on Sunday.
Western allies pledged billions of dollars in weapons for Ukraine last week, although they failed to persuade Germany to lift a veto on providing Leopard battle tanks, which are held by an array of NATO nations but whose supply to Ukraine would require Berlin’s approval.
“Of course, I would like to see the Ukrainians equipped with things like the Leopard 2 as well as the artillery systems that have been provided by us and by others,” Cleverly told Sky News. “I will keep having those conversations with our NATO allies and friends, to facilitate the donation of the best military equipment to Ukraine to help them defend themselves against this brutal invasion.”
Leopard tanks are seen by defence experts as the most suitable for Ukraine.
Russia pushing towards two towns in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region
Moscow’s forces are pushing towards two towns in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region, where fighting intensified this week after several months of a stagnant front, according to Russian state media.
A Russian-installed official in the region of Vladimir Rogov said offensive actions were concentrated around two towns: Orikhiv, about 50km (30 miles) south of Ukrainian-controlled regional capital Zaporizhzhia, and Hulyaipole, further east.
“The front is mobile, especially in two directions: Orikhiv and Hulyaipole,” Rogov was quoted as saying by the Ria Novosti news agency.
He said there was active fighting in those areas, according to the agency.