01/20/2024
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 02:32 Russia bombs Sumy +++
Russian troops shelled Sumy province nine times on January 19, firing on four communities along the border, the Sumy Oblast military administration reported Declarations of the “Kyiv Independent”. Shelling is commonplace for communities near Ukraine’s northeastern border with Russia, according to the English-language online media. Sumy is northeast of Kharkiv and therefore not on the front.
+++ 23:51 “The situation is difficult,” says Zelensky’s advisor Podolyak +++
In view of the heavy fighting with the Russian invading troops, President Zelensky’s foreign policy advisor, Mikhailo Podoljak, is calling for further arms deliveries. “The situation is difficult,” Podoljak told the “Bild” newspaper. “The problem at this stage of the war is that the number of weapons, drones, grenades and so on is not evenly distributed. That has to be balanced.”
Podoljak once again resisted calls for negotiations with Russia. “The war will continue, according to Putin’s ideas, until he conquers the entire territory of Ukraine, until he achieves supremacy in Europe, until he conquers other post-Soviet territories. A person does not go to a big war after protecting his reputation and his relationships if he wants to be satisfied with little. That’s nonsense.”
+++ 23:04 Scholz calls Sunak +++
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Great Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak discussed the situation in Ukraine in a telephone conversation. They agreed that “Ukraine must continue to be supported substantially and sustainably in its fight against the Russian war of aggression,” as a federal government spokesman said on Friday evening communicates. A week ago, Sunak visited the Ukrainian capital Kiev and assured the country of further support. Britain will provide Ukraine with military aid worth 2.5 billion pounds (about 2.9 billion euros) this year. The British also promised Ukraine in a security agreement that they would support them in the event of a future attack by Russia. According to the government in London, Sunak and Scholz spoke about these two points. They agreed that it was important for allies to continue to support Ukraine’s defense and to provide Ukrainian forces with the weapons they needed to repel the Russian invasion. says from Downing Street.
+++ 22:11 Ukraine participates in gas pipeline project with Greece +++
Ukraine, Moldova and Slovakia are participating in a project to transport natural gas north from Greece. The Greek network operator DESFA said they had signed a corresponding declaration of intent. The so-called “Vertical Corridor” unites existing pipeline networks and also enables the storage of gas in Ukraine, says the Moldovan Energy Ministry. Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary had already agreed in 2016 to combine their pipeline networks. Greece, for its part, is planning a terminal in the port city of Alexandroupoli to feed liquefied natural gas (LNG) delivered by ship into the pipeline system.
+++ 21:43 Zelenskyj complains about the “madness” of the Russian leadership +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accuses the Russian leadership of “madness” and warns of possible new wars in the world. “Because of the madness of the Russian leadership, all nations of the world are now faced with a period of uncertainty and uncertainty,” Zelensky said in his evening video message broadcast in Kiev. “It is becoming increasingly clear to the world that more wars could be on the horizon,” the president also wrote on the social network X.
+++ 21:09 US aid for Ukraine in limbo +++
US President Joe Biden today signed a short-term budget bill that will keep the federal government operating until early March. While the bill averts a partial government shutdown that would begin tomorrow, it does not provide for additional aid to Ukraine. Efforts to give Kiev more funding are now in limbo as key lawmakers continue to negotiate a border security measure that would come with more support for Ukraine.
+++ 20:41 London: Russian Air Force is more cautious after destroyed A-50 aircraft +++
Following the destruction of an A-50 spy plane, the Russian Air Force has begun deploying another aircraft of that model to an area further east of Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defense said in its January 19 report. This indicates that the A-50 destroyed on January 14 was shot down by Ukrainian forces and did not suffer an accident, the ministry said.
You can read all previous developments here.