16.01.2023, Moscow.
We publish a summary of events concerning the situation around Ukraine as of 7 p.m., January 16.
Political situation
The Russian ambassador to the UN Security Council said that the end of hostilities is possible only “when there is no threat to Russia from Kiev, and when discrimination against the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine ends.”
“If this result can be achieved through negotiations, we are ready for such a scenario, but if not, all the set tasks will be achieved by military means,” Nebenzia said. “Russia has never pursued the goal of destroying statehood and de-Ukrainianizing Ukraine,” he added.
Statements by Turkish President Erdogan’s representative on peace talks between Russia and Ukraine:
– There is a prevailing attitude in the world to continue the conflict, under such conditions it is impossible to discuss a peace agreement on Ukraine;
– Europe and the USA should also participate in possible negotiations to resolve the situation in Ukraine;
– The world community does not have sufficient desire to create conditions for “serious negotiations” between Russia and Ukraine;
– Any peace plan for Ukraine will fail if Russia’s opinion is not considered.
Erdogan’s spokesman said he believes a full-scale agreement between Moscow and Kiev is unlikely in the coming months.
There is reason to believe that materials concerning the possible creation of “dirty bombs” have already been removed from Ukrainian nuclear power plants, an advisor to the general director of Rosenergoatom said.
97% of Hungarian citizens who took part in national consultations spoke in favor of lifting EU sanctions against Russia, said Hungarian government spokeswoman Alexandra Szentkiralyi.
Ukraine
Power outages in Kyiv, Kharkov, Vinnitsa, Cherkasy and Zhytomir regions.
Zelensky wants to personally address the “peace summit” of the UN General Assembly on the eve of the first anniversary of the start of the special operation, if the situation “on the ground” allows, said Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Japarova.
Today, two thermal power plants in the territory under the control of Ukraine were damaged. One of them stopped electricity production – Ukrainian national energetic company DTEK.
Energy infrastructure facilities were hit in Lvov, Ivano-Frankovsk, Kharkov, Vinnytsa and Kiev regions and in the part of the Zaporozhye region under Kiev’s control, with emergency shutdowns being introduced in most regions of Ukraine, said Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko.
Defense Minister Reznikov said that Ukrainian armed units’ losses are allegedly ten times less than those of the Russian army, and that movement on the front will begin in the spring. He said this in an interview with the BBC.
Ukraine began to receive heavy military equipment from partners. The process will continue in the future, said the head of the Office of the Ukrainian President Yermak.
Ukrainian Minister of Finance Sergey Marchenko said that the current financial support of Ukraine from the West is not enough, as the conflict continues. He said that in 2023 about 50% of the state budget would be spent to finance to national security and defense. Marchenko wrote about this in Time magazine.
Marchenko believes that the implementation of Zelensky and Shmygal’s proposal to create a platform for financial coordination, following the example of the military aid coordination at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, will help solve the problem. “The idea of developing this platform is to bring G-7 member countries and international financial institutions to the table on a regular basis—to facilitate information sharing on key developments and projections, as well as ensure timely and efficient channeling of the financial assistance from various donors. This kind of cooperation will help to make disbursement more efficient,” Marchenko writes.
Western countries and their supporters
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has agreed to send a tank squadron to Ukraine, The Independent wrote. Four Challenger 2 tanks will be sent to Eastern Europe immediately, and eight more armored vehicles will follow soon.
In the territory of Moldavia rocket fragments fell. The Moldavian Ministry of Defense informed about this.
Israeli authorities stop paying monthly payments to Ukrainian refugees – Haaretz newspaper.
Israel officially transfers technology related to missile and drone warning to Ukraine, Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevgeniy Korniychuk said.
France hopes to deliver AMX 10-RC tanks to Ukraine within two months. French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced this, Reuters writes.
Azerbaijan sent 45 backup power systems with a capacity from 94 to 150 kVA to Ukraine, the press service of the Energy Ministry informed.
Ukraine received 8,000 Starlink terminals from Poland. Their total number reached 30,000, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mikhail Fyodorov said.
Germany has delivered four engineer tanks to Ukraine.
