13.01.2023, Moscow.
We publish a summary of events concerning the situation around Ukraine as of 7 p.m., January 13.
Political situation
The Belorussian Defense Ministry announced that artillery crews of one of the mechanized brigades were put on alert as part of the joint combat readiness of the regional grouping.
The joint Russian-Belorussian exercises are defensive in nature and are designed to discourage potential adversaries from escalation and provocations, director of the second department for Commonwealth of Independent States countries of the Russian Foreign Ministry Aleksey Polishchuk said in an interview with TASS.
Chairman of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin called for confiscating property from the opponents of the special operation who fled the country.
The Brussels agreements between Belgrade and Pristina have become as deceptive as the Minsk agreements on Ukraine – Serbian Foreign Minister.
Ukraine
A monument to Russian general Alexander Suvorov was dismantled in the village of Davydov Brod in Kherson region.
During the 11 months of 2022, Ukraine imported nearly 354 thousand generators. Their total capacity is at least 1 GW – Forbes Ukraine.
The Verkhovna Rada has passed laws on Ukraine’s withdrawal from two international treaties concluded within the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States organization. The agreements on the procedure for settling disputes related to business activities and the convention on transferring persons suffering from mental disorders for compulsory treatment were denounced.
Significant power shortages remain, especially in the morning and evening hours of peak consumption. Emergency shutdowns are already in effect in nine regions, according to the national enterprise Ukrenergo.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba called negotiations with Russia a trap.
Western countries and their supporters
The German government has not yet received any requests from partner countries, in particular Poland and Finland, for permission to transfer the previously supplied German Leopard tanks to Kiev, spokeswoman of the German Federal Government Christiane Hoffmann has said. At the same time, Hoffmann noted that the unauthorized transfer of the Leopard tanks to Ukraine without the permission of the German government would be regarded as illegal. “It would be illegal, it [the transfer of German-made tanks] requires the consent [of the German government],” the spokeswoman of the German Federal Government said.
Lithuania will transfer 40-mm L70 anti-aircraft guns to Ukraine.
Finnish President Sauli Niiniste supported the transfer of modern German Leopard tanks to Ukraine if there is a relevant joint European initiative.
The Japanese government has allocated $95 million to reconstruct Ukraine’s infrastructure.
A group of 225 Ukrainians arrived in Spain to undergo training as part of the European Union’s military assistance mission to Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine), 20 of whom will master the HAWK air defense system.
NATO will deploy Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) surveillance planes to Bucharest, Romania. The aircraft is scheduled to arrive on January 17, 2023 and will support the Alliance’s reinforced presence in the region and monitor Russian military activity. The mission is scheduled to last several weeks.
The Italian authorities decided to send medium-range SAMP/T air defense systems to the Kiev regime – RID wrote on January 13, citing its own sources. “Strong pressure from Washington – there is even talk of a phone call from Biden to Meloni – changed the picture decisively, and Italy presumably agreed [to send SAMP/T to Ukraine],” RID wrote.
