January 19, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he understands Germany and other countries who want a “broad coalition” for sending heavy battle tanks to Ukraine. 

Rutte noted that it was “crucial” that Ukraine wins the war but “you have to be also honest with him (Zelensky) and say, if you want tanks, for example, at this level he is asking for them, it is necessary that we do this not just by one country, but by a group of countries”

The Dutch prime minister said he was “fairly confident” that Europe and the US could bring their “dialogue” on tanks to a conclusion.

Some background: Kyiv has pleaded for modern tanks, a request the US is not yet willing to grant, even though the UK and other key allies are preparing to send tanks that could make a crucial difference in the war as Kyiv braces for a possible large-scale Russian counter-offensive.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has called on the nation's allies to supply Kyiv with tanks, saying they should stop fearing Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Podolyak also appeared to take a jab at Germany for its hesitation in sending its Leopard 2 tanks. 

“True leadership is about leading by example, not about looking up to others,” he wrote, following reports Germany wanted the United States to send their Abrams tanks first. 

 The death toll from Russia’s attack Saturday on an apartment building in Dnipro, Ukraine, has risen to 46, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk region military administration said Thursday.

According to Valentyn Reznichenko, 11 people remain missing. Of those killed, 11 are still yet to be identified, he said.  

The attack injured an additional 80 people, 24 of whom remain hospitalized. Three of those are in serious condition, among them a 9-year-old girl.

The United Kingdom will send 600 Brimstone missiles to support Ukraine in its battle against Russia, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace announced Thursday.

More on this weapon: The Brimstone missile was originally designed as an air-launched munition. However, Ukraine will launch the missile from trucks. The missile is extremely effective, particularly against moving targets, and provides a lower risk of collateral damage than other forms of air-dropped munition. 

Wallace's announcement comes after Downing Street on Saturday announced plans to send 12 Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems as part of efforts to "intensify" support for Ukraine.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held a phone call with the Belarusian Minister of Defense Viktor Khrenin, both ministries said in separate statements Thursday.

According to the readout published by the Belarusian side, the military chiefs “discussed issues of bilateral military cooperation, the ongoing set of strategic deterrence measures, as well as the progress in the preparation of the regional grouping of troops."

Some background: Joint military aviation drills involving Belarusian and Russian forces are underway on the territory of Belarus. According to the Belarusian Defense Ministry, the main goal of the exercises is to “increase operational compatibility in the joint performance of combat training missions.”

The drills launched on Monday and are expected to continue until Feb. 1.

Ukraine and Belarus share a 1,000-kilometer frontier, much of it sparsely populated and thickly forested, but Kyiv has looked anxiously towards it. When Belarusian and Russian forces held joint exercises in February 2022, many of those Russian forces went on to cross the Ukrainian border in their ill-fated drive towards the capital.

The prospect of Ukraine’s long northern border becoming a passageway for Russian forces for the second time this year would be a nightmare for Ukraine’s already stretched forces.

Sweden plans to send as many as 50 armored combat vehicles to Ukraine as part of its new military aid package, according to a Swedish government statement released Thursday.  

The package "consists of, among other things, grenade launchers with ammunition, anti-armour ammunition, automatic rifles and mine clearance materiel combat vehicle 90 (CV90) with ammunition and Missile 57 (NLAW),” the statement said.

The new military aid — which also consists of an Archer artillery system — would be worth 4.3 billion Swedish crowns ($419 million) and it's the biggest defense package Sweden has given to Ukraine so far, according to the statement. 

Swedish deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch said at a news conference Thursday that Ukraine will be provided with up to 50 CV90 infantry military vehicles and that this makes up the main part of the package.   

"Combat Vehicle 90 is Swedish manufactured and considered one of the world's best combat vehicles, and we're sending them in a quantity that we know will make a difference,” she said. 

The Swedish government has not said how many Archer artillery systems it would send to Ukraine. 

What Ukraine is saying: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Sweden for its support, saying in a tweet, “Sincerely grateful to the Government of Sweden [and the Swedish prime minister] for the new military assistance package.”  

“CV90 IFVs, Archer self-propelled howitzers & NLAW ATGMs are powerful weapons that [the Ukrainian] army needs to liberate our land from the Russian invader,” Zelensky wrote. “Together to a common victory!” he added.  

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleskii Reznikov also thanked his Swedish counterpart Kristersson, the Swedish defence minister Pål Jonson for “the 10th package of security assistance” to Ukraine. 

“Our warriors will master the artillery and vehicles quickly,” Reznikov said in a tweet Thursday. 

The power grid deficit across Ukraine remains "significant, especially during the evening peak," Ukraine's national energy company, Ukrenergo, said in a statement Thursday.

During the evening peak, power generation can only cover three-fourths of the consumption, Ukrenergo said. "Following each subsequent Russian attack on the energy infrastructure, the restoration becomes more difficult and takes longer."

"As a reminder, Ukraine's power system has already survived 12 enemy missile attacks and 14 UAV strikes on power facilities. In addition, more than 10 GW of the main installed capacities are currently inaccessible to the Ukrainian power system and are under enemy control," Ukrenergo said. 

These Russian-occupied plants include:

"In addition, most wind and solar power plants are also located in the temporarily occupied territories of the south of the country," the company added. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for more Western weapons to enable the country to retake Crimea from Russia.

At the same time, during a week of high-level diplomatic talks on Ukraine, Berlin is under increasing pressure to provide German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv, or at least approve deliveries of the tanks from third countries such as Poland.

Here are the latest headlines:

Any discussions among Western countries about supplying Ukraine with weapons that will allow it to strike at Russian territory are "extremely dangerous," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday during a regular call with journalists.

On Thursday, Russia’s Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov also commented on weapons shipments to Ukraine, saying: “It should be clear for everyone – we will destroy any weapons supplied to the Zelensky's regime by either the United States or NATO.”