01/19/2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 05:57 Blinking: 125 million dollars for Ukrainian energy sector +++
According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the United States will provide Ukraine with $125 million for the energy sector. The aim is to repair and rebuild the country’s energy infrastructure, which was destroyed in targeted Russian attacks.
+++ 05:25 Estonia demands delivery of battle tanks +++
Estonia’s Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur is calling on Germany and other allies to supply modern weapons systems to Ukraine, which is being attacked by Russia. “Estonia strongly supports providing Ukraine with all necessary military equipment to win this war, including heavy equipment such as ‘Leopard’ tanks,” he says. This must be done “promptly”. “The outcome of this war will determine the future of our common security,” emphasizes Pevkur.
+++ 04:10 UN denounce backlog in grain agreement +++
The United Nations (UN) is denouncing the backlog of Ukraine’s grain deal brokered by the UN and Turkey in July. In a communication, the UN therefore calls on all parties to remove obstacles and abuses without assigning blame. Efficiency needs to be increased. More than 100 ships are awaiting inspection and permission to sail in Turkish waters. Ukraine is one of the world’s largest grain exporters, so its deliveries have a major impact on global food price trends.
+++ 03:20 Reports: USA are preparing extensive arms deliveries – including probably no “Abrams” tanks +++
According to reports, the USA is preparing new large arms deliveries to Ukraine, which is under attack from Russia. The news portal “Politico” reports, citing informed circles, that the United States is considering, among other things, the delivery of Stryker wheeled armored personnel carriers. Wheeled infantry fighting vehicles are used, for example, for reconnaissance and transport and are intended to offer a high level of protection against attacks. The US is not currently expected to approve deliveries of its own Abrams main battle tanks, the report said. The reason is the extensive maintenance and training on the battle tank.
+++ 02:39 Heusgen sees tank delivery as a “moral obligation” +++
The head of the Munich Security Conference, Christoph Heusgen, calls for Germany to take the lead in supplying battle tanks to Ukraine. “If you want to lead, that can’t mean always being the last to do what’s most necessary,” says the former top diplomat. “We have to go ahead and actually take this lead.” Heusgen criticized that the battle tank delivery had been delayed. “When we see the terrible suffering the Russians are causing in the occupied territories, then there is also a moral obligation when it comes to battle tanks,” he says.
+++ 01:17 report: New Chinook helicopters for the Bundeswehr will be significantly more expensive +++
According to a media report, the planned purchase of 60 CH-47F Chinook heavy transport helicopters will apparently be twice as expensive as planned. There was also a crisis meeting of the Luftwaffe in Berlin on Wednesday, reports “Business Insider”, citing government and industry circles. Germany wants to buy 60 Chinook helicopters from the US manufacturer Boeing. After six billion euros had originally been planned for this, the US army is now signaling, according to “Business Insider”, that the German request package will cost up to twelve billion euros.
+++ 00:22 Klitschko expects new weapons deliveries to be announced soon +++
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko is confident that new Western arms deliveries to Ukraine will be announced shortly. Klitschko told the AFP news agency that he had received “very good and positive signals” in this regard. He refers to the meeting of the western Ukraine group on Friday in Ramstein, Rhineland-Palatinate. “Let’s listen carefully in two days,” he says, referring to possible announcements in Ramstein.
+++ 23:16 Selenskyj instructs the secret service to investigate the crash +++
After the death of the Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyj and 13 other people in a helicopter crash, the background is still unclear. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video speech that he had commissioned the secret service to investigate. He promises enlightenment. Monastyrskyj and Deputy Interior Minister Jehwhenij Jenin, who was also killed, are not politicians who “can easily be replaced”. It is a great loss for the state.
+++ 22:02 Spain for return to Normandy format +++
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has spoken out in favor of negotiations with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. “It’s important that we maintain contact with Putin,” Sánchez told CNN on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. “For example, I strongly advocate that the French government and the German government (…) take the lead here.” A return to the so-called Normandy format is conceivable – a contact group made up of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine, as it existed before the outbreak of war. The foreign ministers of the four countries usually met for this purpose.
+++ 21:31 USA worried about Russian maneuvers with Belarus +++
The US has expressed concern about joint maneuvers by Russia and Belarus. National Security Council communications director John Kirby said Belarus “clearly and demonstrably” supported Russia in its attack on Ukraine. “As in the past, these exercises will be observed and monitored by us.” They are being followed “with concern”. So far, however, there are no signs that Belarus itself is planning to invade Ukraine. Only on Monday did Minsk and Moscow begin a joint maneuver of their air forces.
+++ 20:48 Scholz ready to deliver tanks on condition +++
According to the Wall Street Journal and Süddeutsche Zeitung, Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in principle ready to make Leopard tanks available to Ukraine – but only if the US also supplies Abrams tanks. The “Wall Street Journal” cites German government officials. According to “SZ”, Scholz said in a phone call to US President Joe Biden on Tuesday that he could only give in to the pressure in this case. Biden is said not to have made a decision yet. According to a recent report by the US portal “Politico”, the US government still has no plans to deliver “Abrams” tanks. That has logistical reasons. According to the report, the fact that a delivery could escalate the conflict is not the reason. The Chancellery did not want to comment on the reports in the evening. In the debate about arms deliveries since the beginning of the war almost a year ago, Scholz has always emphasized that Germany will not go it alone, but will always coordinate important steps closely with its partners – especially with the USA and France.
+++ 20:28 USA support Ukraine with network repair +++
The US is also helping Ukraine to repair the electricity and water networks. According to the Associated Press, the development aid agency USAID wants to make $125 million available. The money is to be used, for example, to buy spare parts for gas turbines and transformers. According to the operator Ukrenergo, only 75 percent of the electricity demand can currently be covered.
You can read earlier developments in the Ukraine war here.