Ukraine war live updates: Everything is going to plan in Ukraine, says Putin; Poland urges Berlin to flag off tanks for Kyiv

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that Germany should send Ukraine all the weapons it needed to defend itself against an invasion by Russia, including tanks.

Delivering the keynote address at a ceremony marking the half-century of former conservative finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in parliament, he criticized Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s reluctance to send heavy weapons.

“I call for decisive action by the German government,” he said, to applause from mostly conservative, German legislators. “To distribute all types of weapons. The fight for independence and our future is raging as we speak… Tanks should not be left in warehouses, but placed in their hands.”

– Reuters

The death toll has risen following a Russian missile attack on a nine-storey apartment building in the city of Dnipro.

Citing information from Ihor Klemenko, the head of the National Police of Ukraine, National Police posted on Telegram By 10:30 a.m. local time, 36 people, including two children, had been killed.

The post said 75 people were injured in the attack, including 15 children, while 39, including six children, were rescued. Police said the search and rescue operation is on.

Following that update, a post on Telegram by Ukraine’s emergency services said 40 people were killed in the attack, including three children.

News agency Ukrainform reported that the attack took place on Saturday and 72 apartments were destroyed and 230 others were damaged.

The Kremlin said on Monday that its armed forces “do not attack residential buildings or social infrastructure. Attacks are carried out on military targets.” , camouflaged or obvious,” said Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov. According to the Russian news agency Tass.

– Holly Elliot

The Kremlin has said that heavy armored vehicles supplied to Ukraine will “burn up,” days after Britain said it would supply Challenger 2 tanks to the country.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov was asked by journalists to comment on recent moves by Ukraine’s Western allies to supply Kyiv with heavy armored vehicles.

He replied “Nothing can change” the intention of Western countries to supply such equipment, but that it would not make a difference to the war, or “special military operations”. Comments reported by state news agency Tass and translated by Google.

“The special military operation will continue. These tanks are on fire and they will burn like the rest of the tanks. The goals of the special military operation will be achieved,” he said.

On Saturday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the UK would provide Ukraine with 14 Challenger 2 tanks, making it the first Western country to supply the heavy tanks that Kyiv has been repeatedly demanding.

Russia criticized the move, saying it would only escalate the war. The Russian Embassy in London tweeted that “Challenger 2 tanks will hardly help the Ukrainian military turn the tide in the region. They will nevertheless become legitimate targets at large for the Russian military.”

– Holly Elliot

The Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol in Crimea said on Monday that air defense downed seven drones over the city in what he called a “failed Ukrainian attack”.

Sevastopol, on the Crimean peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014, has come under repeated airstrikes since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Russian officials have blamed the attack on Ukraine.

Governor Mikhail Razvozayev said that all the drones were shot down over the sea, with no damage to any infrastructure. In a post on his Telegram channel, he denied reports in Ukrainian media that there had been explosions in the city, and said that air defenses were constantly monitoring the skies.

– Reuters

German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht has asked Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his dismissal, she said in a statement on Monday, the culmination of growing doubts about his ability to whip the German military into shape against the backdrop of the Ukraine war.

“Today I asked the chancellor to sack me as federal defense minister,” Lambrecht, a member of Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), said in the statement.

Her decision to step down comes under pressure from Germany to approve increased international military support for Kyiv, and Germany’s defense capabilities after several Puma infantry tanks were taken out of service during a recent military exercise. has been questioned.

– Reuters

Several windows of a children’s hospital in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson were blown out during a Russian attack, according to Kirill Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine’s president’s office.

posting on telegramTymoshenko said the damage was caused when it came under “enemy fire”, but gave no further details.

“This time, they attacked the children’s hospital. As a result, about 30 windows were broken in the nascent (6-storey) building,” he said, according to a Google translation of his comments.

He said that there was no information about any casualty. CNBC was unable to immediately verify their report.

– Holly Elliot

Britain’s defense ministry said on Monday it was likely to maintain its position in the Ukrainian city of Soledar, which Russia claims it has fully captured.

The ministry said intense fighting continued in both the Kremina and Bakhmut sectors of the Donbas Front over the weekend.

“As of 15 January 2023, the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) maintained positions in Soledar, north of Bakhmut, almost certainly due to the continuation of the Wagner Group. [private military company] attacks,” the ministry said in an intelligence update on Twitter.

Britain said the attacks around Kremina, a town in Luhansk some 40 miles north of Bakhmut, have been characterized by a complex series of local attacks and counter-attacks, adding that overall, “the UAF is gradually advancing its front”. To the east on the edge of the city of Cremina.”

“Over the past six weeks, both Russia and Ukraine have fought hard, but made limited gains in various areas,” the ministry said.

“Under these circumstances, a key operational challenge for both sides is to build unrestricted, capable troops that can exploit tactical successes to make operational gains.”

– Holly Elliot

Ukraine is battling a major Russian missile attack after an apartment block was hit on Saturday in the city of Dnipro in central Ukraine.

Dnipro regional governor Valentin Reznichenko said in an update on Telegram 35 people, including two children, were killed in the attack that took place on Monday morning. He said 39 people had been rescued and 75 were injured in the attack, including 14 children.

Ukraine’s emergency services said on Sunday that there were 45 reports of missing people and that “11 people have been identified, while 34 people are being traced.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday evening that a rescue operation was continuing as debris was removed at the site of the attack, an attack that the president described as a terrorist act by Russia.

“As of now, the fate of more than 30 people who could have been in the house at the time of the terrorists’ missile strike is unknown,” he said in his daily address.

“Dozens of people, including six children, were rescued from the rubble. We are fighting for every person! The rescue operation will go on as long as there is even the slightest chance of saving lives.”

Zelensky called on Russians to condemn the attack, “I want to say to all those in Russia – and to Russia – who still cannot utter even a few words of condemnation of this horror … Your cowardly silence, Your effort to “wait” for what is happening will only end up with terrorists who will one day come after you.”

Ukraine’s air force said the apartment block was hit by a Russian Kh-22 missile, an anti-ship missile, which is believed to be incorrect. Russia has previously said it does not intentionally target civilians, but there have been several instances of missile attacks hitting civilian infrastructure, including schools, residential buildings and hospitals.

– Holly Elliot

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the dynamics of the war in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”, are positive.

“The dynamics are positive. Everything is developing within the plan of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff. And I hope that our fighters will please us more than once with the results of their combat work.” Putin said in an interview with Rossiya-1 TV channel, as reported by state news agency Tass,

Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Friday that Russian forces had captured Soledar in the eastern Donetsk region last week, after days of conflicting reports on whether the town had fallen under Russian control.

A ministry spokesman said that controlling Soledar made it possible to cut supply routes to Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut and then encircle the city, which has been a key target for Russia for months as it expands its control over the Donetsk region, neighboring Luhansk Wants to increase control. and the entire Donbass in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine has not given up on Soledar, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying on Sunday evening that “the fight for Soledar, for Bakhmut, for the entire Donetsk region, for the Luhansk region continues without a break.”

– Holly Elliot