Ukraine Daily

Sunday, January 22

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Relatives grieve at the funeral ceremony held for the victims of the Jan. 18 helicopter crash in Brovary, on Jan. 21, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine. The crash killed 14 people, including Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, his deputy Yevhen Yenin, and other ministry employees, who were onboard. (Photo by Mustafa Ciftci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Funeral for late interior minister, other victims of Jan. 18 helicopter crash takes place in Kyiv. Top officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife, Olena Zelenska, attended the funeral, offering condolences to the relatives of the crash victims.

Official: First results in helicopter crash investigation to be disclosed ‘in near future.’ The first results of the ongoing investigation on the causes of the helicopter crash in Brovary on Jan. 18 could be disclosed in “the near future,” Fedir Venislavskyi, the president’s representative in parliament, said on television on Jan. 21.

Ukraine confirms Russian offensive attempts in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia continues an offensive effort near Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, and Zaporizhzhia Oblast, engaging additional aviation. In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, over 25 settlements came under artillery fire during the past 24 hours, the General Staff added.

UK intelligence: Ukrainian troops make ‘small gains’ near Kreminna. In Donetsk Oblast, Russian and Kremlin-backed Wagner Group mercenaries “have likely been reconstituting in the town of Soledar after capturing it earlier in the week,” the ministry said.

Ukrainian intelligence: ‘Invasion from Belarus’ part of Russia’s psy-ops. Andriy Yusov, a representative of Ukraine’s military intelligence, said on Jan. 21 that there was currently “no threat from Belarus of a full-scale ground operation, its participation on the side of Russia.”

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Prosecutor’s Office: ‘No doubts’ over Iran’s involvement in drone production, supply to Russia. Yuriy Bielousov, a top official from the Prosecutor General’s Office, said on Jan. 21 on television that the agency had operative data and intelligence data from Ukrainian services and foreign services proving Russia and Iran’s partnership.

Voice of America: Reznikov ‘very satisfied’ over Ramstein summit. Some military aid was announced behind closed doors at the Ramstein summit held on Jan. 20, an outcome Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov called “very inspiring” in comments to the Voice of America on Jan. 21.

Media: German Defense Minister to visit Ukraine soon. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag that he plans to visit Ukraine shortly, “probably within the next four weeks.” Answering the Bild am Sonntag’s question about Leopard tanks, Pistorius said, “We are in very close dialogue on this issue with our international partners, above all with the U.S.”

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Fire reported at Russian oil depot. Russian media reported that a fire had broken out at an oil depot in the remote Russian town of Angarsk in Siberia on the morning of Jan. 21.

General Staff: Ukraine repels Russian attacks near 10 settlements. Ukrainian forces launched 14 attacks on the temporary bases of Russian troops and three strikes on the positions of Russia’s anti-aircraft missile systems, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported.

General Staff: Russians record civilians’ adresses in occupied part of Kherson Oblast. Russian forces are trying to create a database of places of residence of civilians in the Russian-occupied parts of Ukrainian southern Kherson Oblast under the guise of an electricity-saving program, the General Staff reported.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Russian attacks hit 8 regions, killing 5 civilians over past day. Russian attacks were reported in eight out of Ukraine’s 24 oblasts on Jan. 20. These include Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Sumy and Kherson oblasts.

Governor: Russian shelling wounds 17-year-old in Sumy Oblast. The teenager barely escaped death as the shelling completely destroyed his house, where he was staying when the attack started, said Sumy Oblast Governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyi.

Governor: Russian attacks kill 2 civilians in Donetsk Oblast over past day. According to Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, Russian forces killed two civilians in Bakhmut. It is currently impossible to know the actual number of casualties in Russian-occupied Mariupol and Volnovaha, Kyrylenko reported on Jan. 22.

Official: Landmine explosion injures 4, including baby, in Mykolaiv Oblast. Hanna Zamazieieva, head of the Mykolaiv Oblast Council, reported on Jan. 21 that a car hit a landmine in the village of Liubomyrivka in Mykolaiv Oblast. According to her, four people were injured, including a three-week-old baby. She urged residents to be cautious.

General Staff: Russia has lost 120,160 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Jan. 21 that Russia had also lost 3,140 tanks, 6,256 armored fighting vehicles, 4,918 vehicles and fuel tanks, 2,135 artillery systems, 443 multiple launch rocket systems, 220 air defense systems, 287 airplanes, 277 helicopters, 1,891 drones, and 17 boats.

International response

Polish minister: Ukrainian blood is the price of hesitation over Leopard tank supplies. “Arming Ukraine in order to repel the Russian aggression is not some kind of decision-making exercise. Ukrainian blood is shed for real. This is the price of hesitation over Leopard deliveries. We need action, now,” he said on Twitter.

Baltic countries’ foreign ministers call on Germany to immediately deliver Leopard tanks to Ukraine. “This is needed to stop Russian aggression, help Ukraine and restore peace in Europe quickly,” said Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics on behalf of Lithuanian and Estonian foreign ministers. “Germany, as the leading European power, has a special responsibility in this regard.”

Czech Republic denies plans to supply Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. The media reports claimed that the Czech Republic and Slovakia were willing to deliver to Ukraine the Leopard 2 tanks supplied by Germany. The Leopard 2 tanks had been delivered by Germany in exchange for Slovak and Czech T-72 tanks sent to Ukraine.

Moldovan foreign minister: Ukraine’s victory could lead to Russia’s exit from Transnistria. Moldova wants and expects Russia’s defeat in Ukraine for Russian troops to withdraw “through peaceful means” from occupied Transnistria, Nicu Popescu, Moldova’s foreign minister, told Vocea Basarabiei on Jan. 19.

RT France to shut down due to EU sanctions. Russia’s state-owned broadcaster RT France announced that it was closing after its assets were frozen due to the ninth sanctions package against Russia.

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