12.01.2023, Moscow.
We publish a summary of events concerning the situation around Ukraine as of 7 p.m., January 12.
Political situation
The goals of the special military operation remain the same, the DPR and LPR, as subjects of the Russian Federation, must be liberated within the borders of 2014 – Kremlin Press Secretary Peskov.
The Russian citizens under 30 years of age will be drafted during the spring 2023 conscription, said the head of the State Duma Defense Committee.
Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights Moskalkova said she had not discussed the creation of humanitarian corridors with the Ukrainian ombudsman. “We did not discuss the idea of a humanitarian corridor with [Ukrainian ombudsman] Lyubinets… There was no discussion between the two ombudsmen about creating a corridor, which the President of Turkey spoke about. <…> We did not raise such a question. Because the issues of global, strategic nature are worked out and discussed by the Ministries of Defense of the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Here it is very important not to substitute the state bodies, but to act in a coordinated manner,” Moskalkova said.
The Ombudsman of Russia added that the sides discussed the return of the wounded under the scheme of full repatriation as defined in the Geneva Convention, the evacuation of civilians, the mutual return home of those who have committed administrative offenses or are subject to expulsion by court’s decisions and are now in temporary accommodation centers for foreign nationals to be evacuated.
Hungary has announced that it will not supply weapons to Ukraine and will not transfer them through its territory because of the threat to the Hungarians living in Transcarpathia.
“Hungary has a special geopolitical situation, which is that we could only transport weapons through Transcarpathia, and so we do not participate in the deliveries. This is necessary to protect the hundreds of thousands of Hungarians living there,” said the Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyas.
Ukraine
The next two or three months will be decisive, Russia will go for broke, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine said. “February 24 will be one of the periods when they would like to report back to their society on any progress,” he said.
Ukrainian General Gromov: Russia plans to seize the Donetsk region and move on to seize the Zaporozhye region, keeping the main goal of seizing the entire territory of Ukraine. “In order to implement the plans, Russia is going to increase the total number of armed forces to 1.5 million people and form at least 20 new divisions,” he added.
Ukraine has urgently withdrawn some troops to the north of the country, the Ukrainian ambassador to London said, responding to a question about whether Ukraine was concerned about the situation on the border with Belorussia.
A “peace summit” proposed by Ukraine is scheduled for February 24 at the UN headquarters, the Ukrainian ambassador to Ankara Vasiliy Bodnar told Anadolu Agency.
The National Bank has demanded that international banks operating in Ukraine withdraw from the Russian market. The reason – disseminated in the media information that banks belonging to international financial groups, provide preferential lending terms for participants in a special military operation. This was reported on Facebook (organization banned in Russia) by the press service of the National Bank of Ukraine.
The state enterprise Ukroboronprom established the serial production of 82-mm mortar ammunition abroad. The mortar shells are produced in one of the NATO member states. The enterprise has indicated that it produces improved ammunition – the explosion produces 2-2.5 times more shrapnel than a standard mine should have.
At the meeting of the heads of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine in Lvov it was discussed among other things the acceleration of the procedure of Ukraine’s accession to NATO. Zelensky said this at a press conference following the meeting. Among the issues discussed were “mechanisms of ‘accelerated’ NATO membership, like Sweden and Finland”.
To join NATO, Ukraine needs to restore its territorial integrity first, but the issue of membership must not be taken off the agenda. Lithuanian President Nauseda said this at a briefing with Zelensky and Polish leader Duda in Lvov.
Western countries and their supporters
The European Union plans to adopt a tenth package of sanctions against Russia by February – the media.
Moldova will seek the withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria. “We have always said that the illegal presence of Russian troops on Moldovan territory is a factor of instability both for the republic and for the region,” the head of the Moldovan Foreign Ministry Popescu stressed.
The deliveries of tanks to Ukraine were announced: Poland – 14 Leopard-2 and Great Britain – 12 Challenger-2.
Erdogan intends to hold telephone conversations with Putin and Zelensky on January 13 and 14 on the issue of a humanitarian corridor for the removal of the wounded, the Turkish ombudsman said. The topic of the humanitarian corridor may be focused on the establishment of a temporary cease-fire in one way or another.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said that US President Joe Biden should supply Ukraine with US tanks. He wrote about it on Twitter.
The Pentagon expects that the Ukrainian armed units will receive Bradley infantry fighting vehicles in a few weeks. Brigadier General Patric Ryder, spokesman for the US Department of Defense, said this at a briefing.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on the alliance countries to strengthen and accelerate military assistance to Ukraine, against the background of fierce fighting in Soledar and Bakhmut.
In December 2022, Norway handed over 10 bridges to Ukraine at a total cost of 30 million Norwegian crones, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure.
Since January 4, the daily transit of Russian gas through Ukraine has decreased by 10%, to a new historic minimum of about 35.5 million cubic meters. According to Reuters sources, this is due to record-high winter temperatures experienced in most European countries at the beginning of the month.
