Russia-Ukraine updates: UK ‘not ruling out’ sending fighter jets
Updates for February 2, 2023: In a speech marking 80 years since the decisive battle of Stalingrad, the Russian leader slams Germany and promises victory in Ukraine.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin criticises Germany for sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine in a speech to mark the 80th anniversary of the battle of Stalingrad.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin criticises Germany for sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine in a speech to mark the 80th anniversary of the battle of Stalingrad.
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Ukraine deserves EU entry talks ‘this year’: Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country deserves to start European Union accession talks “this year”.
“I believe that Ukraine deserves to start negotiations on EU membership this year,” he said, adding further integration with the European bloc would inspire Ukrainians and give them “motivation” to fight against Russian troops.
On Friday, Kyiv hosts a high-profile EU-Ukraine summit.
Russia must withdrawal troops for peace: Scholz
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sees no chance of a negotiated end to the war in Ukraine until Russia agrees to withdraw from occupied territories.
“The moment they let it be known that troop withdrawal is happening, the way is clear for talks with Ukraine – I’m pretty sure of that,” Scholz said. “But we still have to work a bit towards that.”
Ukraine rejects negotiations until Russian troops have fully withdrawn from Ukrainian territory – including Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
‘Not ruling out’ fighter jets for Ukraine: UK
The United Kingdom is not ruling out supplying Ukraine with fighter jets, the defence minister says.
But Ben Wallace cautioned such aircraft would not be a “magic wand” in Ukraine’s defence against Russia.
“On the process of jets, I’ve been pretty clear. One thing I’ve learned over the last year is don’t rule anything in, don’t rule anything out,” said Wallace.
Kyiv has requested American-made F-16 warplanes and other high-end fighters to help repel the Russian invasion.
Russia re-grouping to take ‘revenge’ on ‘free world’: Zelenskyy
Moscow is re-grouping troops to take “revenge” on Europe and Ukraine, Zelenskyy says.
“Now Russia is concentrating its forces. We all know that. It is preparing to try to take revenge, not only against Ukraine but against free Europe and the free world.”
US backs Russians competing as neutrals in Olympics
The United States backs allowing athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete as neutrals in the Olympic Games, while opposing the display of their national flags or emblems, the White House says.
If athletes are invited to an international event such as the Olympics, “it should be absolutely clear that they are not representing the Russian or Belarusian states”, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
The war has spilled into the sporting arena, with a growing chorus of calls to have athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus blocked from the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
“Any effort by the International Olympic Committee to bring back Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete, even under a neutral flag, should be rejected,” sports ministers from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland said in an earlier statement.
‘Covered with corpses’: Battle of Bakhmut rages on
Russia announced advances north and south of the eastern city of Bakhmut in the embattled Donetsk region.
Russian forces are pushing from both the north and south to encircle Bakhmut, using superior troop numbers to try to cut it off, Ukrainian military analyst Yevhen Dikiy said.
“The enemy is able to use its sole resource, which it has in excess – its men,” Dikiy told Espreso TV, describing an area near Bakhmut as “literally covered with corpses”.
Ukraine and its Western allies say Moscow has taken huge losses around Bakhmut, sending in waves of poorly equipped troops, including thousands of recruits from prisons.
“We’re both firing with everything we have,” said a Belarusian volunteer fighting for Ukraine inside Bakhmut.
‘I’m sorry’: Ex-Wagner mercenary apologises for fighting in Ukraine
A former commander in Russia’s Wagner mercenary group who fled to Norway says he regrets fighting in Ukraine and is speaking out to bring perpetrators of atrocities to justice.
“Although I don’t know how it would be received, I want to say I’m sorry,” 26-year-old Andrei Medvedev said.
He said he witnessed two people who did not want to fight in the Wagner Group being shot dead in front of newly enrolled ex-convicts.
‘Until the end,’ pledges Putin on Ukraine conflict
Putin has whipped up support for his army’s invasion of Ukraine, comparing the fighting with Nazi Germany and issuing threats.
Arriving in the southern city of Volgograd – formerly known as Stalingrad – for commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory at the Battle of Stalingrad, Putin sought to boost support for his war.
He compared Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine to the battle against Nazi Germany in 1941-1945 and claimed Russians were ready to go “until the end”.
“Again and again we are forced to repel the aggression of the collective West. We aren’t sending tanks to their borders but we have something to respond with, and it won’t be just about using armoured vehicles. Everyone should understand this. A modern war with Russia will be completely different.”
He added that Russia again confronted Germany as he criticised its decision to deliver Leopard 2 tanks to support Ukraine’s war efforts.
Austria expels 4 Russian diplomats
Austria’s government said it ordered four Russian diplomats based in Vienna, including two at Moscow’s mission to United Nations agencies in the city, to leave the country.
The foreign ministry said in a brief statement two diplomats at the Russian embassy “engaged in acts incompatible with their diplomatic status”. And that two at the permanent mission to the UN in Vienna “committed acts incompatible with the Headquarters Agreement”.
It did not elaborate.
The diplomats were given a week to leave Austria.
Ukraine court detains ex-defence official in corruption inquiry
A Ukrainian court has ordered the detention of a former deputy defence minister suspected of corruption.
The State Bureau of Investigation did not name the former official but said he was suspected of involvement in ministry purchases of food at inflated prices and low-quality equipment for the military.
The agency released the information after the resignation of Deputy Defence Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov last month following a media report alleging his ministry bought food at higher-than-market prices.
Austria urged to bar Russia from OSCE meeting
Parliamentarians of 20 countries have urged Austria to bar Russian delegates from a gathering of the world’s largest security body later this month, in a letter seen by the AFP news agency.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) parliamentary assembly is to be held in Vienna on February 23-24, the one-year anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The participation of the Russian parliamentarians in the Vienna session … would be read in Russia as its indirect legitimisation and part of a return to ‘business as usual,'” the letter said. “Russia would find that it could achieve its war aims without risking ostracism, isolation and international sanctions.”
Germany’s support for sending tanks to Ukraine falters
Support for sending heavy weapons to Ukraine appears to be waning in Germany. A poll shows that some fear sending Leopard tanks will lead to an escalation of the war.
Support for Ukraine is illustrating how Germany struggles with its dark past and a dark reality at its doorstep.
Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen reports from Berlin, Germany.
SAMP/T air defence system will be operational in 7-8 weeks: Italy
An Italo-French SAMP/T air defence system will be running in Ukraine within the next two months, Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani said.
“I believe it will be operational within seven to eight weeks,” Tajani, who is also deputy prime minister, told a TV show in remarks confirmed by his spokesperson.
The system can track several targets and intercept 10 at once.
It is the only European-made system that can intercept ballistic missiles.
Kyiv has repeatedly asked its Western allies for more air defence systems and specifically requested the SAMP/T, known as Mamba, in November.
Centre for prosecuting aggression in Ukraine to be set up in Hague: Von der Leyen
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said a centre for prosecuting aggression in Ukraine would be set up in The Hague.
“It will coordinate the collection of evidence; it will be embedded in the joint investigation team, which is supported by our agency Eurojust,” von der Leyen said during an official visit to Kyiv with more than a dozen other senior EU officials for two days of high-level talks.
The United Nations define an act of aggression as the “invasion or attack by the armed forces of a state [on] the territory of another state, or any military occupation”.
The International Criminal Court is already investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity concerning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
‘Russia will make greater use of its potential’: Kremlin
Russia will make more use of its capability as the West increases arms deliveries to Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said.
“As new weapons are delivered by the collective West, Russia will make greater use of its potential to respond in the course of the special military operation,” state news agency TASS quoted him as saying.
Peskov had been asked to comment on an earlier remark by Putin that Russia’s response would go beyond using armoured vehicles.
Baltics, Poland call to ban Russian, Belarusian athletes
The Baltic nations and Poland have called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in the Olympics, as well as other sporting events during the war in Ukraine.
Last week, the IOC announced athletes from the two countries might be allowed to earn places for the Paris 2024 Games by qualifying in the Asian Games.
“Any effort by the International Olympic Committee to bring back Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete, even under a neutral flag, should be rejected,” sport ministers representing Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland said in a statement.
“Efforts to return Russian and Belarusian athletes to international sports competitions under the veil of neutrality legitimise political decisions and widespread propaganda of these countries,” it added.
Ukraine hopes for talks with IMF in second quarter
Ukraine hopes to start talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a financing programme in a few months, the Interfax news agency quoted finance minister Serhiy Marchenko as saying.
The IMF approved a four-month monitoring programme for Ukraine in December to maintain its economic stability after Russia’s invasion and help promote donor financing.
“We hope that the successful implementation of the monitoring program with the IMF will allow us to receive a full-fledged financing program from the IMF and we will negotiate this, beginning the second quarter of this year already,” Marchenko was quoted as telling a meeting in Kyiv of the Ukrainian government and the European Commission.
The government estimated it needs $38bn to cover its budget deficit this year and $17bn to make urgent repairs to energy and other infrastructure.
Russia to increase arms supplies in 2023, says Medvedev
Russia’s former president and the deputy chairman of its Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, says Moscow’s arms suppliers will “significantly” increase their deliveries in 2023 to help its forces inflict a “crushing defeat” on Ukraine.
“Our armed forces regularly receive full supplies of various types of missiles. The delivery of all kinds of military hardware will increase significantly in 2023,” Medvedev said in a post on social media.
Medvedev, who was pictured inspecting missiles during a visit to an arms production factory, said new supplies would enable Russia to “inflict a crushing defeat on the Ukrainian neo-Nazis who have been fed weapons by a variety of Western scum”.
Western military analysts have said Moscow could be running short of some army supplies but Russia denies any weapons shortages.
Kremlin: Do not ‘exaggerate’ role of US mercenary group
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said not to exaggerate the role of the US mercenary group Mozart in Ukraine.
Commenting on reports of the groups’ rebranding, Peskov said: “I suggest not to exaggerate the importance of such a PMC [private military company]. We are not aware of any significant role played by such a PMC, with this name.”
Last week, Ukrainian news portal strana.ua, citing Mozart’s founder Andrew Milburn, said the Mozart Group was ceasing operations in Ukraine under this name and its contractors would operate under a new one.
In January, the United Kingdom newspaper, The Telegraph, said Mozart expects to receive a contract from the Ukrainian army for “military training”.
Who controls what?
Here are four maps we update daily, charting the latest war developments.
Putin expected to rally Russians during Stalingrad tribute
Putin is expected to use an event to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany to rally Russians around his military campaign in Ukraine later on Thursday.
The Russian president is due to give a speech in Volgograd, a city in the south of Russia, which until 1961 was called Stalingrad and was the site of the bloodiest battle of World War II when the Soviet Red Army broke advancing German forces.
Remembering and paying tribute to those who fought is sacred in Russia, where the authorities have long cast it as an enduring symbol of selfless patriotism and heroic resilience.
Russian officials have often drawn parallels between defeating the Nazis in World War II and their invasion of Ukraine.
EU should extend gas targets by six months, says think tank
The Brussels-based think tank, Bruegel, said the EU should extend a target to cut gas demand by at least six months to October this year to ensure there is enough for next winter.
EU countries agreed last year to reduce natural gas demand by 15 percent between August 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, compared with the average of the same period in the previous five years.
“Assuming limited Russian exports continue, and weather conditions are typical, demand up to October 1, 2023 must remain 13 percent lower than the previous five-year average,” Bruegel said.
Bruegel’s analysis showed that if Russian gas transit through Ukraine were to halt, demand savings would need to rise to 17 percent and extend to 20 percent if all Russian pipeline gas exports cease, including via Turkey.
Belarus, Russia complete ‘defensive’ military drills
Belarus’s defence ministry says it has completed a two-week, joint air force drill with Russian forces.
A flurry of joint military activity in Belarus has prompted fears in Kyiv and the West that Moscow could prepare to involve Minsk in the conflict.
The ministry said a wide range of tasks had been completed during the drills, which it added were “exclusively defensive in nature”.
Zelenskyy calls for more EU sanctions against Russia
Zelenskyy calls for more sanctions against Russia and says he has discussed a new EU package of measures with Ursula von der Leyen.
At a joint news conference in Kyiv with von der Leyen, Zelenskyy said the speed of the EU sanctions campaign against Russia had “slightly slowed down” and should be stepped up.
Norway to increase spending to send Ukraine aid
Norway will increase spending from its sovereign wealth fund in the coming years to fund military and civilian aid to Ukraine, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told parliament.
The Nordic country’s $1.3 trillion wealth fund has seen a sharp rise in revenue inflows as the price of Norwegian oil and gas exports soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Stoere did not specify how much money would be spent on aid but said it would be a multiyear commitment.
“This will lead to a temporary increase in spending from the sovereign wealth fund,” he said.