WAR IN UKRAINE: January 24, 2023
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 335
Ukrainian forces continued to face "around-the-clock" Russian shelling in the east as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pledged to eradicate corruption from Ukraine's administration amid a high-profile graft scandal - RFE/RL
The head of the German Defense Ministry: a decision will be made soon regarding tanks for Ukraine. "It's not just a matter of supplying or not supplying these tanks, but weighing the consequences of inaction as well as action. A decision will be made soon. But it depends on many factors," Pistorius said.
Canada's allies are pledging to send tanks to Ukraine, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave no indication Monday morning about whether Ottawa will follow suit. At a news conference Monday morning, Trudeau said Canada is in "regular conversations with Ukrainian leadership" about the country's military needs, but he has "nothing to announce" yet - CP
The Moroccan army delivered Ukraine about 20 T-72B tanks, which have undergone modernization in the Czech Republic at the Excalibur company’s repair line of workshops. This is the first Arabic country to send heavy weapons to Ukraine.
The Biden administration has recently raised concerns with China about evidence it has suggesting that Chinese companies have sold non-lethal equipment to Russia for use in Ukraine, in an effort to ascertain how much Beijing knows about the transactions, according to two US officials. That equipment includes items like flak jackets and helmets, multiple sources familiar with US and European intelligence told CNN, but stops short of the more robust military assistance that Russia has requested. Some US officials believe that the Chinese government knows about the equipment transfers and should take steps to upend them, the second official said - CNN
Zelensky: Security council bans state officials from leaving Ukraine, except for business trips. Under martial law, Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 are banned from leaving the country during the war, except for cases when they obtain special permits from the government. Some Ukrainian state officials and businesspeople have routinely abused this system and bypassed the restrictions - Kyiv Independent
Worth $85.6 billion before the invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s international corporate bond market has shrunk by about $12.7 billion since President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine prompted the US, UK and European Union to block Russia’s access to foreign capital, Bloomberg calculations based on central bank data show. And it’s set to contract further this year after Gazprom makes more planned swaps - Bloomberg
Wagner Group fighters have become the disposable infantry of the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, but a Ukrainian military intelligence document obtained by CNN sets out how effective they have been around the city of Bakhmut – and how difficult they are to fight against. The Ukrainian report – dated December 2022 – concludes that Wagner represents a unique threat at close quarters, even while suffering extraordinary casualties. “The deaths of thousands of Wagner soldiers do not matter to Russian society,” the report asserts. “Assault groups do not withdraw without a command… Unauthorized withdrawal of a team or without being wounded is punishable by execution on the spot.” Phone intercepts obtained by a Ukrainian intelligence source and shared with CNN also indicate a merciless attitude on the battlefield. In one, a soldier is heard talking about another who tried to surrender to the Ukrainians. “The Wagnerians caught him and cut his f**king balls off,” the soldier says.
Estonia gives to Ukraine all of its 155mm howitzers, reports the General Staff of the AFU. "We want to create a precedent so that other countries will not have any excuses why they cannot provide Ukraine with the necessary weapons to win the war," the Estonian embassy said.