WAR IN UKRAINE: January 20, 2023
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 331
Ukrainian forces have acknowledged "stepping back" from the bitterly contested Donbas town of Soledar, captured by Russian forces last week in their first significant victory after many months in retreat. But soldiers have told the BBC they've pulled back in a controlled and tactical move before a planned counter-attack. Privately, some Ukrainian soldiers have blamed poor co-ordination between different units for the loss of Soledar and have acknowledged that Russia may now be better placed to encircle the far bigger and strategically more important neighbouring town of Bakhmut, to the south - BBC
Three Russian missiles struck the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk this morning, damaging infrastructure including a kindergarten. Over lunchtime a nationwide air raid alert was in place with drone sighting to the east of Odesa.
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 - CNN
"But hundreds of thank you are not hundreds of tanks. All of us can use thousands of words in discussions but I cannot put words instead of guns that are needed against Russian artillery or instead of anti-aircraft missiles that are needed to protect people from Russian airstrikes," he said.
CIA director made an unannounced visit to Kyiv. CIA Director William J. Burns briefed President Volodymyr Zelensky 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. “Director Burns traveled to Kyiv where he met with Ukrainian intelligence counterparts as well as President Zelensky and reinforced our continued support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression,” a US official said in a statement. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian defense minister Oleksii Reznikov has laid out his country’s priorities for a meeting in Germany Friday where Kyiv’s allies will discuss sending more weapons to Ukraine. “There are three priorities of Ukraine at #Ramstein … More air defence systems … Weapons for the offensive operations (tanks, howitzers, ammo) … Systematic ammo supplies [and] service [and] repair for armament and machinery,” he said in a post on Twitter.
Polish PM Morawiecki has laid bare his thoughts on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s procrastination on allowing Poland to send its Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Warsaw needs an export permit from Berlin in order to send the tanks to Ukraine. “Consent is of secondary importance here. We will either obtain this consent quickly, or we will do the right thing ourselves”
Sweden has announced it will deliver ARCHER, the world’s most advanced artillery system; send a 10th arms package: combat vehicles, NLAWs, antitank guns & much more; and launch a partnership with Ukraine on defence procurement
U.S. tech giant Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, no longer designates Ukraine’s Azov Regiment as a “dangerous organization.” This means that Azov Regiment members will be allowed to have accounts on Meta platforms, while content posted by other users about Azov Regiment will no longer be removed, Meta’s spokesperson told the Kyiv Independent in an emailed statement. Ukraine has been negotiating with Meta for a long time to convince the company to allow publishing content about the Azov Regiment and its members. The Azov Regiment is a unit of the National Guard of Ukraine formerly based in Mariupol, a Ukrainian port city now occupied by Russia. The group has sparked controversy over its alleged association with far-right groups – a recurring theme used by Russian propaganda - Kyiv Independent
Commercial satellites, most famously Starlink, have taken center stage during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Pressing questions remain about these satellites’ “dual use” for military and civilian purposes, say providing internet access to Ukrainian frontline troops while also providing internet access to Ukrainian civilians, and the risk of private companies, like SpaceX, being considered active participants in war. That issue resurfaced this week when KCPN, a Russian paramilitary group, posted an image of a Ukrainian drone equipped with a Starlink satellite dish which receives signals from SpaceX’s satellites to provide high-speed internet access. Further, this drone is believed to possess extraordinary surveillance capabilities by being connected to the satellite. The urgency to resolve dual-use questions mounts as commercial capabilities intertwine with military operations and as Russian forces strike devices equipped with commercial technologies - Thea Dunlevie