01/24/2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 04:08 Asselborn: The enemy is not called Scholz, but Putin +++
Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn defended German Chancellor Olaf Scholz against accusations that he was too hesitant to act in the debate on the delivery of Leopard tanks to Ukraine. “The enemy isn’t Chancellor Scholz, the enemy’s name is Putin. And that’s what we should focus on,” says Asselborn in the ZDF “heute-journal”. Scholz has not yet said no to the delivery that Kyiv has been requesting for months, but he has not said yes either. Incidentally, Germany is not as isolated on this issue in the EU as is sometimes portrayed in the German media. There are also other “big countries and border countries” that are reluctant to take this step, says Asselborn.
+++ 03:11 Russia blacklists Sakharov Fund +++
In its crackdown on international human rights and peace organizations, Moscow is now blacklisting the US-based Andrei Sakharov Foundation. With immediate effect, the fund is an “undesirable organization” in Russia, according to the Russian Attorney General’s Office. The foundation, named after the physicist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, awards scholarships to outstanding physics students in Russia.
+++ 01:50 Over 400 educational institutions completely destroyed during the war +++
A school in the country has been destroyed every other day since the start of the school year in Ukraine, reports the aid organization Save the Children. “The war has made it incredibly difficult for children in Ukraine to access education,” says Sonia Khush, the organization’s country director. According to the organization, 3,025 educational institutions – schools, kindergartens and universities – have been bombed and shelled since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. 406 of them were completely destroyed. “Millions of children have had to study at home due to the constant threat of shells and rocket attacks, and now even online learning is being further hampered by frequent power and internet outages,” says Khush.
+++ 00:58 tank debate: USA emphasizes unity with Germany +++
In the discussion about the delivery of Leopard tanks to Ukraine, the US government has not revealed any tensions with Germany. Germany is a loyal and reliable partner, says US State Department spokesman Ned Price. The delivery of military equipment is a sovereign decision of each partner. And Germany has already provided a lot of help, emphasizes Price. According to him, the United States attaches great importance to unanimity within the coalition against Russia. It is essential for the effectiveness of the western alliance.
+++ 00:11 Moscow: New army plan takes into account NATO expansion +++
According to Chief of Staff Valeri Gerasimov, the Russian army is taking into account a possible expansion of NATO to include Sweden and Finland in its new plan. “The plan was approved by the President of the Russian Federation (Vladimir Putin) and can be adjusted as soon as the threats to the Russian Federation change,” Gerasimov told the online news site Argumenti i Fakti. Possible dangers are currently an expansion of NATO to include Finland and Sweden or the use of Ukraine as a means of waging a “hybrid war” against Russia.
+++ 23:26 Stoltenberg appeals to Turkey: NATO expansion should not fail “in the last few meters” +++
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has rejected Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s threat to block Sweden’s NATO membership over a Koran burning in Stockholm. He himself finds the burning of the Koran inappropriate as a form of protest, Stoltenberg tells the TV station Welt. However, freedom of expression is a valuable asset “in Sweden and in all other NATO countries” and such protests are “not automatically illegal”. So far, Turkey has shown itself to be quite cooperative in the NATO accession debate, said Stoltenberg. The ratification of the accession protocols must not fail in the final meters.
+++ 22:40 Selenskyj wants to exchange more staff +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announces personnel changes in the government and in the regions within one day. Some decisions have already been made, others would be made on Tuesday, says Zelenskyj in his evening speech. After allegations of corruption against a deputy minister who had already resigned and dubious practices in the Ministry of Defense became known, Zelenskyy had already declared that he would not tolerate corruption.
+++ 22:17 In five Ukrainian regions, the power goes out +++
As the demand for electricity increases, the energy systems of Ukraine are overloaded in several areas, according to the state grid operator Ukrenergo. The regions of Dnipro, Zaporizhia, Lviv, Kharkiv and Volhynia were affected by blackouts. Ukrenergo attributes the increased demand to the start of the working week and falling temperatures. The Russian attacks on the energy infrastructure on January 14 caused “considerable damage” to the system, according to the network operator.
+++ 21:54 governor: Russian troops killed a person in an attack on Cherson +++
Russian forces have killed one person in an attack on the village of Antonivka, west of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region, according to Governor Yaroslav Yanushevych. Accordingly, the victim was in the courtyard of a residential building when the bullets hit it. A few hours earlier, Yanushevych said Russian troops had attacked Kherson 25 times in 24 hours.
+++ 21:35 Muscovites commemorate civilian victims of Dnipro despite arrests ++
Despite repression, some residents of Moscow still insist on laying flowers at an improvised memorial to commemorate at least 46 people who died in a rocket attack in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. Although unknown persons have repeatedly removed the flowers, photos and toys from a statue of the Ukrainian poet Lesja Ukraijinka and some mourners have been arrested, the expressions of mourning continue. Journalists from the AFP news agency watch as people lay flowers at the base of the statue this morning, despite a police vehicle parked nearby. There were already a few bouquets there. Public protest against the offensive in Ukraine is extremely rare in Russia given the reprisals; criticism of the Russian military carries long prison sentences.
You can read earlier developments in the Ukraine war here.