18.01.2023, Moscow.
We publish a summary of events concerning the situation around Ukraine as of 7 p.m., January 18.
Political situation
Ukraine itself excluded the possibility of negotiations with Russia – Kremlin Press Secretary Peskov.
“Negotiations with Zelensky on his initiatives are out of the question,” Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said.
Russia is ready to do everything to ensure its security in the area of the Japanese islands, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
The State Duma is preparing a draft on the confiscation of property from a number of Russians who left the country – Russian media.
The Russian Ministry of Justice has proposed a moratorium on the collection of debts to banks and microfinance organizations for residents of the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. The ban could be set until January 1, 2026. It is noted that the ban does not apply to debts of individuals, debts of business loans and debts for housing and utility services.
Sberbank begins work in Crimea. The first ATMs have already been installed, and offices will open in the first half of the year.
Putin’s statements:
- The Banderites are Nazis, they collaborated with the German invaders, and those who glorify them are neo-Nazis.
- Russia thoroughly records all the crimes against civilians in Ukraine committed by the current leaders and militants there.
- Many people in Ukraine understand the truth of what is happening there.
- Russia tried to find a peaceful way to resolve the conflict in Donbass, but it was impossible – the enemy was preparing for war.
- The decision to start a special military operation was difficult, forced, but necessary.
- Our victory is inevitable.
We were being tricked, deceived. This is not the first time this has happened to us. Nevertheless, we did everything possible to resolve this situation peacefully. It has now become obvious that this was by definition impossible – Putin on the situation in Donbass;
We produce three times as many air defense missiles as the United States, in general we produce about as many air defense missiles as all the military-industrial complexes in the world produce – Putin.
Russia has already started supplying the third regiment of S-400 missile systems to India.
Saudi Arabia’s finance minister announced that the country is officially open to use currencies other than the US dollar for in oil and natural gas trade, Bloomberg reported.
Ukraine
In a helicopter crash in Brovary, the head of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine Monastyrsky, his deputy and the state secretary died. A total of 18 people were killed due to the accident, including three children. There were 9 people on board the helicopter. 26 victims are in hospital, including 12 children.
Adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Minister Gerashchenko, “The causes of the tragedy are being established by investigators. Whether it was sabotage, malfunction of equipment, violation of flight safety rules, we will soon find out.”
The following officials died in a helicopter crash near Kiev:
- Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Monastyrsky;
- First deputy head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yenin;
- State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Lyubkovich;
- Assistant Head of the Interior Ministry Shutyak;
- Head of security of the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Pavlushko;
- three crew members and a photographer.
Ukraine received ten modular bridges from Norway that can withstand heavy vehicles.
Since the beginning of the conflict, international partners have allocated more than €113 billion to Ukraine. The amount includes military, financial and humanitarian aid from foreign governments, according to a study by the Kiel Institute for World Economics. Forty countries have become donors to Ukraine. The European Union has allocated almost €52 billion, while the USA has given €48 billion.
The list of donor countries also includes the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and India. From them Ukraine received additionally €13 billion. The European Union became a leader in financial aid. The EU member states and European institutions pledged almost €35 billion for Ukraine’s budget. The USA remains the leader in military assistance. Military assistance from US partners has already reached €23 billion.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Zaluzhny went to Poland and met with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley. According to him, the first personal meeting with Milley took place in Poland on January 17. The commander-in-chief outlined the needs of the Ukrainian army, which, he said, would speed up the victory in the war against Russia.
In Ukraine, the unemployment rate is about 30%. This was announced by First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy Yulia Sviridenko at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “The National Bank of Ukraine estimates the unemployment rate at 30%. This means that 4.7 million Ukrainians are looking for work and cannot find it. These figures consist of 2.7 million people outside of Ukraine who want to return now and start working, and 2 million inside the country,” Sviridenko said.
The State Property Fund sold the commercial seaport for the first time. The port of Ust-Dunaisk, located at the entrance to the Kiliya mouth of the Danube, was purchased by Elixir Ukraine LLC, part of businessman Valery Vikhrenko’s Vimexim Group. It is engaged in processing, exporting and providing logistics services for grains and oilseeds. The company offered $5.5 million for the port, three times the starting price ($1.6 million).
“More than half of all power facilities in Ukraine are damaged,” said Prime Minister Shmygal. According to him, about 160 thousand objects of infrastructure and residential buildings also require restoration, and the losses reach “hundreds of billions of dollars.”
Western countries and their supporters
Russian demands for Ukraine to recognize the new territorial realities are unacceptable and do not allow the negotiation process. US Secretary of State Blinken stated this.
Canada will transfer 200 Senator armored personnel carriers to Ukraine – Canadian Defense Minister Anand.
In recent days there has been a mass transfer of armored vehicles and vehicles of the US Army from the United States to Europe.
Ursula von der Leyen demands that Ukraine is provided with “all the military equipment” that “it can handle, and this also includes the advanced systems.”
The Chair of the NATO Military Committee Admiral Rob Bauer met NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană at the start of the Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence session. Mircea Geoană’s remarks point out NATO’s preparation for a long confrontation with Russia:
- we must be prepared for the long haul. 2023 will be a difficult year.
- Progress is underway to rapidly scale-up our battlegroups on the eastern flank up to brigade level.
- We are also moving ahead to deliver the new Force Model, and the new plans to defend key and relevant places in the Alliance in all strategic directions
- we need to invest more in defence. The 2% target set in Wales almost a decade ago is increasingly seen as a floor, not a ceiling, for our defence investments.
- we need to ramp up our industrial capacity to manufacture weapons and ammunition. And work closely with the defence industry to replenish our own stocks.
- while learning the lessons from this war, we also need to prepare for potential future wars and continue to transform NATO for the digital age
Sanctions imposed on Russia would have a greater impact on China because of its high integration into the global economy, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The Pentagon is tapping into a vast but little-known stockpile of American ammunition in Israel to help meet Ukraine’s dire need for artillery shells in the war with Russia, American and Israeli officials say – The New York Times.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is apparently prepared to supply Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine but on one condition. In a telephone conversation with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday, he is said to have made it clear that Germany would supply tanks if the US in turn supplied Abrams-type battle tanks – Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Former Bulgarian Prime Minister Kirill Petkov put forward the idea to disconnect Russia from SWIFT and block the assets of the country’s Central Bank – Die Welt.
Bulgaria secretly supplied up to a third of Kiev’s ammunition and up to 40% of diesel fuel needs in the spring. The supplies were not carried out directly, but through intermediary firms. The transfer of ammunition to Ukraine, in particular, was carried out through the Polish city of Rzeszow – Die Welt.
