January 20, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged countries to send more weapons to Ukraine without delay, warning that "hundreds of thank you are not hundreds of tanks."

In remarks during a virtual address at the beginning of a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Germany, Zelensky said the results of the unity and support of allies are seen on the battlefield in Ukraine but asked, "do we have a lot of time?" 

"No, terror does not allow for discussion, the terror which burns city after city, becomes insolent when [...] defenders of freedom run out of weapons against it. The war started by Russia does not allow delays and I can thank you hundreds of times and it will be absolutely just in fear given all that we have already done," he said.

Zelensky said he is "truly grateful" for the weapons allies have provided so far, but "time remains a Russian weapon."

"Every unit helps to save our people from terror. But time – time remains a Russian weapon. We have to speed up. Time must become our common weapon, just like air defense and artillery, armored vehicles and tanks, which we are negotiating about with you," he said.

Some background: This comes as the US is stuck in a standoff with Germany over whether to send tanks to Ukraine. In recent days, German officials have indicated they won’t send their Leopard tanks to Ukraine, or allow any other country with the German-made tanks in their inventory to do so, unless the US also agrees to send its M1 Abrams tanks to Kyiv – something the Pentagon has said for months it has no intention of doing given the logistical costs of maintaining them.

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Russia is “running out of ammunition and suffering significant battle losses,” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Friday at a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Germany.

Austin said Moscow is now “turning to its few remaining partners to resupply its tragic and unnecessary invasion, but even Iran and North Korea won’t admit that they are supplying Russia.”

“Just compare that to the groundswell of support for a free and sovereign Ukraine represented in this room,” Austin told delegates Friday.

Some background: Iran has previously denied supplying Russia with weapons for use in Ukraine, saying it “has not and will not” do so, following claims by Kyiv and US intelligence that Russia is using Iranian-made “kamikaze drones” in its attacks on Ukrainian territory.

Meanwhile, the US has previously accused North Korea of secretly supplying Russia with artillery shells for the Ukraine war by concealing where they are being transported to, according to declassified intelligence.

The US will support Ukraine "for as long as it takes," as Kyiv and the world are facing a "decisive" moment, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Friday.

"This is a decisive moment for Ukraine in a decisive decade for the world, so make no mistake we will support Ukraine self-defense for as long as it takes," Austin said in his opening remarks at a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Germany.

"Now, we know that Russia remains bent on aggression and conquest. And Russian forces have increased their horrific attacks, killing many innocent Ukrainians. We saw the cruelty of Russia's war choice again just a few days ago in the city of Dnipro," he said.

Austin added that it is "time to dig deeper" as Russia regroups.

"The US remains determined to lead and to do our part to help Ukraine defend itself," Austin added.

"Russia's attacks are designed to break the spirit of Ukraine. But they have failed. And the people of Ukraine have inspired the world," he said.

The Moscow-backed leaders of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine have claimed that Russian troops have taken control of the small settlement of Klishchiivka, southwest of Bakhmut.

Fighting around Bakhmut has raged for months, but has eased slightly as Russian forces focused their efforts on the nearby town of Soledar. If the battle there is in its final stages, it’s widely assumed the Russians will renew their push to take Bakhmut.

In a statement on the Telegram messaging app, they said: "As of January 20, 2023, Russian troops liberated Klishchiivka in the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic."

CNN could not verify the claim.

Some background: Russia is the only country that considers the DPR independent. The international community does not recognize the region and its institutions, and considers the territory to be part of Ukraine. Independent watchdog groups have long accused the separatists of a dismal human-rights track record and ill-treatment of prisoners.

Finland has pledged a fresh €400 million ($434 million) in defense aid to Ukraine, its largest package to date.

“The combined value of all defense materiel packages submitted so far is now EUR 590 million ($637 million),” a statement from the country's defense ministry said Friday.

The statement did not include the details of the package, citing security concerns.

A spokesperson for the defense ministry told CNN that the package does not include any Leopard 2 tanks.

Finland has previously donated heavy artillery and munitions to Ukraine, the ministry said.

The Scandinavian country will be one of more than 50 countries represented at a meeting hosted by the United States at its Ramstein air base in Germany Friday, where leaders will discuss ongoing support for Kyiv.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has come under pressure to donate Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

Finland and Sweden, who last year applied to join NATO, will sign a “Statement of Intent on support for Ukraine” at the Friday meeting, according to the Finnish statement.

“The joint support to Ukraine is a sign of deep mutual trust and increasingly close defence cooperation between Finland and Sweden,” the ministry added.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday thanked US President Joe Biden and the American people for a fresh pledge of $2.5 billion in security aid.

The Pentagon announced the package on Thursday, including for the first time Stryker armored vehicles and more Bradley fighting vehicles that could be used against any potential Russian offensive in Ukraine this spring.

"Thank you @POTUS for providing [Ukraine flag] with another powerful defense support package worth $2.5 billion," Zelensky wrote on Twitter.

"Stryker IFVs, additional Bradley APCs, Avenger air defense systems are important help in our fight against the aggressor. Thank you [US flag] people for unwavering leadership support!"

The package, publicized a day before an international coalition meets in Germany Friday to discuss more aid to Ukraine, is the second largest ever announced by the United States.

The US has now committed $26.7 billion to Ukraine in security aid since the beginning of the war nearly a year ago.

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia's Security Council and key ally of President Vladimir Putin, on Thursday warned that defeat for Russia in Ukraine could lead to nuclear war.

The former Russian president made the threat in a Telegram post ahead of a key meeting of NATO allies and other nations, at which they are expected to make additional pledges of military support to Kyiv.

Medvedev, who served as president of Russia from 2008 to 2012, has struck a bellicose tone during Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, repeatedly raising the specter of nuclear conflict.

Last April, he warned of Russian nuclear expansion should Sweden and Finland join NATO, and in September said strategic nuclear weapons could be used to defend territories incorporated into Russia from Ukraine.

His remarks Thursday, while no doubt intended to intimidate NATO partners, also appear to be a rare admission from a senior Russian official that the Kremlin could potentially lose in Ukraine as Moscow's faltering invasion approaches the 11-month mark.

The nuclear rhetoric also comes just days after Moscow said it is planning to increase its armed forces due to the "proxy war" it says the West is waging in Ukraine.

On Friday, NATO's Ukraine Defense Contact Group will gather in Germany for a meeting at the US' Ramstein Air Base, hosted by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, focusing on more military aid for Ukraine. 

The Pentagon on Thursday announced a $2.5 billion Ukraine security package as the US and its European allies debate whether to send increasingly sophisticated weaponry to Kyiv, including longer-range missiles that would allow Ukraine to hit targets as far as 200 miles away.

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The Biden administration is stuck in a standoff with Germany over whether to send tanks to Ukraine ahead of a key meeting of Western defense leaders in Germany on Friday.

In recent days, German officials have indicated they won’t send their Leopard tanks to Ukraine, or allow any other country with the German-made tanks in their inventory to do so, unless the US also agrees to send its M1 Abrams tanks to Kyiv — something the Pentagon has said for months it has no intention of doing given the logistical costs of maintaining them.

The tank standoff comes amid a much larger debate between the US and its European allies over whether to send increasingly sophisticated weaponry to Ukraine, including longer-range missiles that would allow Ukraine to hit targets as far as 200 miles away.

The UK, Poland, Finland and the Baltic states have all been pushing for NATO members to provide heavier equipment to Kyiv amid what they believe is a key inflection point in the war. Both Ukraine and Russia appear to be gearing up for new offensives and there are signs that Moscow could be preparing an additional troop mobilization.

Last week, the British added pressure to their Western allies when they announced they would send 14 of their Challenger tanks to Ukraine. But Germany and the US were still opposed to the idea of sending their own tanks as of Wednesday.

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CIA Director Bill Burns briefed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv last week on the US’ expectations for Russia’s battlefield planning in the spring, according to a US official and two Ukrainian sources familiar with the meeting.

The secret meeting comes as US officials are closely monitoring a potential Russian offensive in the coming months — and in the midst of a fraught debate between the US and its European allies over whether to send increasingly sophisticated and long-range weaponry to Ukraine. Western defense leaders are scheduled to meet Friday to discuss further weapons shipments to Ukraine.

The Washington Post first reported the meeting.

Burns, a veteran diplomat, has become a trusted interlocutor in Kyiv, and last week’s trip was not his first. He made two known back-to-back trips to Kyiv in October and November of last year, including one that took place amid a spate of Russian missile strikes across the country.

The winter months have seen brutal fighting on the front lines, particularly around the city of Bakhmut, but no major strategic gains by either side. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, speaking at the Davos World Economic Forum on Wednesday, called it “not a stalemate but really a grinding conflict at this stage.”

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