January 30, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby on Monday defended the Biden administration’s decision not to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, pointing instead to the aid the US is providing, including Abrams tanks.

“What I can tell you is that there's a lot of capability that is being sent, and will be sent in the coming weeks and months," Kirby told CNN. “The kinds of capabilities that we know will be critical to helping Ukrainians again in the fighting now in the wintertime, as well as the kind of fighting that we expect that they're going to be doing in the spring.”  

Kirby said he believes the decision, announced last week, to send Abrams tanks to the region wasn’t one that was made too late, even amid reports of Russia gaining territory in eastern Ukraine.

Some background: President Joe Biden answered, "No," when asked by a reporter whether he would send the jets to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has sought fighter jets to help sustain his war effort against Russia. Biden has consistently said the planes aren't on the table, even as he has given aid in other areas.

A married couple in the southwestern Russian city of Krasnodar was arrested Sunday for professing anti-war sentiments during a private conversation in a restaurant, according to the independent Russian monitoring group OVD-Info.

OVD-Info told CNN that Aleksey Ovchinnikov was sentenced to 15 days in prison for petty hooliganism, while his wife Olesya Ovchinnikova received a 1,000 rubles ($14) fine.

Olesya Ovchinnikova is also facing charges for discrediting the Russian army, according to reporting from local media 93.RU, citing her lawyer.

CNN has sought comment from the couple’s lawyer. The restaurant where the incident is said to have taken place, “Na Drovoh,” would not comment to CNN.

Crackdown on anti-war sentiments: OVD-Info said at least 61 cases related to expressing anti-war views were initiated in Russia in 2022 on the charges of justification of terrorism on the internet, with 26 leading to sentencing so far.

In another notable case, 19-year-old Olesya Krivtsova was charged over social media posts that authorities say discredit the Russian army and justify terrorism. She posted an Instagram story about the explosion on the Crimean bridge in October that also criticized Russia for invading Ukraine, according to Russian officials.

President Joe Biden said Monday he wouldn't send American fighter jets to Ukraine, even as the United States ramps up military assistance in the form of artillery and tanks. 

"No," Biden said when asked by a reporter whether he would send F16 jets to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has sought fighter jets to help sustain his war effort against Russia. Biden has consistently said the planes aren't on the table, even as he has given aid in other areas.

Last week, for example, Biden announced he would send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, despite top US officials saying previously the heavy-duty vehicles were a poor fit for the country's military.

Speaking on the White House South Lawn, Biden also said he wasn't sure whether he would visit Europe next month for the one-year anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine.

In response to a separate question, Biden said he was planning to visit Poland, but wasn't sure when.

CNN reported last week the White House was exploring the possibility of a Biden visit to Europe to mark 12 months since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Some background: Ukrainian leaders have renewed their appeals for Western fighter jets. “I sent a wish list card to Santa Claus last year, and fighter jets also [were] including in this wish list,” Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told CNN last week.

US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby acknowledged Friday that Zelensky had asked for fighter jets. “We are constantly talking to the Ukrainians about their needs, and want to make sure that we’re doing the best we can to meet them – and if we can’t, that some of our allies and partners can,” Kirby said.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Monday they have not received any requests from Ukraine for fighter jets.

“We do not have such a request formulated [from Ukraine],” Macron said at a joint press conference at The Hague where the two leaders were meeting to prepare the next EU council of February.

Macron said that while no requests had been received by France, “nothing is off-limits in principle.” He insisted that the usefulness of each request must be considered carefully.

Macron said the weapons requested should not escalate the conflict.

The French president added that the capacity of the French army to protect its own soil and its nationals should not be weakened by weapons transfer.

The Dutch prime minister also said that The Netherlands had not received any requests for F-16 fighter jets.

France does not operate F-16s but does operate the French-made Rafale fighter jet.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on allies for “timely” implementation of “strong decisions."

“There’s no time for continued reflections, we need to make decisions,” Zelensky said. “The key issue is efficiency.”

Zelensky also said that Ukraine shared “all the intelligence information we get" with partners. “There can be no secrets.”

He thanked Denmark for its donation of Caesar howitzers, and said that he is confident that Russia's offensive will not have a positive outcome. “I am confident in our army. I think we will be gradually stopping [Russians], fighting them and will be preparing our own big counter-offensive.”

Heavy fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, specifically in and around the city of Bakhmut. One Ukrainian commander called it "a living hell."

Meantime, the British defense secretary said the 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks pledged to Ukraine should reach that country in the next few months while France and Australia said they would collaborate on a project to produce “several thousand” artillery shells for Ukraine.

Here's what to know:

Should Russia obtain Iranian ballistic missiles for use in its war in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Air Force has warned that it does not have the means to defend against them.

As of November, Iran was preparing to send about 1,000 more weapons, including surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missiles and more attack drones, to Russia to use in its war against Ukraine, officials from a western country that closely monitors Iran's weapons program told CNN at the time.

Reuters, in October, cited two Iranian officials and two Iranian diplomats in reporting that Tehran had promised to provide Russia with those weapons. “The Russians had asked for more drones and those Iranian ballistic missiles with improved accuracy, particularly the Fateh and Zolfaghar missiles family,” one of the Iranian diplomats, who was briefed about the trip, told Reuters.

The Iranian government acknowledged in November that it had sent a limited number of drones to Russia in the months before the start of its invasion of Ukraine, but has denied supplying military equipment for use in the war in Ukraine.

“Russia has Kinzhal-type missiles that strike at ballistic trajectory,” Ihnat said on Monday. “They have Kh-22 missiles that strike at ballistic trajectory, and they have S-300 and S-400 rockets that strike at ballistic trajectory. Those are challenges and threats we are facing at the moment."

Ihnat said that in order to “defeat ballistic threats,” Ukraine needed air defense systems like the latest-generation American Patriot PAC-3, and the French-made SAMP/T (Sol-Air Moyenne Portée/Terrestre)

The US has not announced details about the Patriot Air Defense System it plans to provide for Ukraine. Ukrainian soldiers were set earlier this month to begin training on the Patriot missile system.

Previous reporting from Kylie Atwood, Ellie Kaufman, Oren Liebermann, and Haley Britzky in Washington, and Celine Alkhaldi in Abu Dhabi.

France and Australia said on Monday that they would collaborate on a multi-million dollar project to produce “several thousand” artillery shells for Ukraine.

The announcement came as foreign and defense ministers of both countries were meeting in Paris.

“Several thousand 155-millimeter shells are going to be manufactured in common, with an unprecedented partnership between Australia and France,” said French defense minister Sébastien Lecornu during a press conference.

The French defense minister specified that Nexter — the French arms company — would be partnering with Australian companies which would be providing the powder for the shells.

Neither minister would specify quantities beyond “several thousand” artillery shells but they indicated this would be a long-term collaboration.

More on artillery to Ukraine: CNN reported in early January that the US had moved some of the 300,000 155-millimeter shells that the US and Israel agreed would be transferred to Ukraine. In November, a US official told CNN that the US intended to buy 100,000 rounds of artillery ammunition from South Korean arms manufacturers to provide to Ukraine.

The 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks pledged to Ukraine by the United Kingdom should reach that country “this side of the summer,” the British Defense Secretary said on Monday.

“It starts with training on the individual operation of the platforms, then on training on being able to join together with formation units to be able to fight as a formed unit, because that’s important,” Ben Wallace said in parliament. “And then from there, those tanks will be put in.”