January 19, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia's war in Ukraine has moved here.

The Biden administration is stuck in a standoff with Germany over whether to send tanks to Ukraine ahead of a key meeting of western defense leaders in Germany on Friday.

In recent days, German officials have indicated they won't send their Leopard tanks to Ukraine, or allow any other country with the German-made tanks in their inventory to do so, unless the US also agrees to send its M1 Abrams tanks to Kyiv — something the Pentagon has said for months it has no intention of doing. 

The tank standoff comes amid a much larger debate between the US and its European allies over whether to send increasingly sophisticated weaponry to Ukraine, including longer-range missiles that would allow Ukraine to hit targets as far as 200 miles away. 

The United Kingdom, Poland, Finland and the Baltic states have all been pushing for NATO members to provide heavier equipment to Kyiv amid what they believe is a key inflection point in the war. Both Ukraine and Russia appear to be gearing up for new offensives and there are signs Moscow could be preparing an additional troop mobilization.

A western official explained that for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the tanks question "is a red, red, red line. German tanks [fighting] Russia again. Moral issue. Understandable, from the historical viewpoint. Still, speaking of moral burden, I wish Germans were nowadays more sympathetic with Poland. Let alone with Ukraine. Didn't German tanks kill Ukrainians 80 years ago as well? Now they can defend them from Russian barbaric aggression."

Pressure building in Berlin: Ahead of a meeting on Thursday in Berlin between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his German counterpart, a senior US defense official said that the US is "very optimistic that we will make progress" on the tanks question.

But not everyone in the US government shares that optimism. A number of senior administration officials privately expressed frustration with German officials for making what the US believes is a false equivalency between the US and German tanks.

This all comes as the US announced a new $2.5 billion Ukraine security package on Thursday, including for the first time Stryker combat vehicles and more armored Bradley Fighting Vehicles, the Biden administration said.

The package does not include M1 Abrams tanks, and it is unlikely the US is going to provide them anytime soon because they are difficult and expensive to supply and maintain, US officials said. 

Read more about the tension between the US and Germany here.

The Pentagon announced a $2.5 billion Ukraine security package on Thursday, including Stryker armored vehicles and more Bradley fighting vehicles that could be used against any potential Russian offensive in Ukraine this spring.

The package, publicized one day before an international coalition meets in Germany to discuss more aid to Ukraine, is the second largest ever announced from the United States. The largest totaled more than $3 billion and was announced earlier this month.

The package includes 90 Stryker armored personnel carriers and 59 more Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. The previous package included 50 Bradleys, for a total of more than 100 to be given to Ukraine this month.

The latest package also includes ammunition for the HIMARS rocket system that Ukraine has used to great effect against Russian weapons depots and command posts, as well as additional munitions and systems for aerial defense, which the Pentagon has identified as an ongoing priority.

The US has now committed $26.7 billion to Ukraine in security aid since the beginning of the war nearly one year ago.

CIA Director William Burns briefed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv last week on US expectations for Russia’s battlefield planning in the spring, according to a US official and two Ukrainian sources familiar with the meeting.

The Washington Post first reported the meeting. 

The secret meeting comes as US officials are closely monitoring a potential Russian offensive in the coming months — and in the midst of a fraught debate between the US and its European allies over whether to send increasingly sophisticated and long-range weaponry to Ukraine. 

Western defense leaders are scheduled to meet Friday at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to discuss further weapons shipments to Ukraine.

“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.  

Burns, a veteran diplomat, has become a trusted liaison in Kyiv, and last week’s trip was not his first. He made two known back-to-back trips to Kyiv in October and November of last year, including one that took place in the midst of a spate of Russian missile strikes across the country.

The winter months have seen brutal fighting on the front lines, particularly around the city of Bakhmut, but no major strategic gains by either side.

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, speaking at the Davos World Economic Forum on Wednesday, called it “not a stalemate but really a grinding conflict at this stage.”

But both sides are thought to be girding for potential offensives in the spring and Kyiv has continued to press the US and its western allies for more support in its fight to beat back Russia. One Ukrainian source emphasized to CNN that Kyiv has become concerned about the pace of weapons supplies to Ukraine — a growing fear as Republicans, some of whom are skeptical of aid to Ukraine, have taken the US House.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked ally countries for continued military support in his nightly address Thursday.

"Today we have several powerful decisions by our partners to strengthen our defense," the president said.

Nine European countries have pledged further military support to Ukraine, which will help forces move from “resisting to expelling Russian forces,” according to a joint statement published by the British government following a meeting in Tallinn, Estonia.

He also thanked Sweden — which plans send as many as 50 armored combat vehicles, according to a government statement — as well as Denmark and Lithuania who also announced new military packages.

The Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia and the United Kingdom are also pledging more military resources to Ukraine, the joint statement read.

"This will seriously strengthen our army," Zelensky said, adding, "We expect a powerful military support package from the United States."

The US is set to finalize a huge military aid package totaling approximately $2.5 billion worth of weaponry, including for the first time Stryker combat vehicles, two sources briefed on the next tranche of aid told CNN. The package could come by the end of the week, according to one of the sources.

The Ukraine Defense Group, which is chaired by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, is set to meet Friday in Ramstein, Germany.

Nine European countries have pledged further military support to Ukraine, which will help forces move from “resisting to expelling Russian forces,” according to a joint statement published by the British government following a meeting in Tallinn, Estonia.

The countries are:

• Denmark
• Czech Republic
• Estonia
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Poland
• Slovakia
• UK
• Netherlands

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

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met his new German counterpart Boris Pistorius in Berlin on Thursday as Germany faces increased pressure to allow its Leopard tanks to be sent to Ukraine amid Kyiv’s calls for heavy weaponry.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that the supply of Western-made tanks continues to be "pressing and very sensitive" in his nation's war against Russia.

Here are the latest headlines:

• Dnipro apartment death toll rises to 46, according to regional official: The death toll from Russia’s attack Saturday on an apartment building in Dnipro 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.  
• Power deficit across Ukraine remains significant: The power grid deficit across Ukraine remains "significant, especially during the evening peak," Ukraine's national energy company, Ukrenergo, said 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."
• UN nuclear watchdog chief: There has been a "dramatic reduction" in Ukrainian staff at Zaporizhzhia plant: The UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said at a media briefing in Kyiv that "normally a facility like this has around 10,000 people working and now we are down to 3,000 more or less." He added that the number was adequate in the current conditions," because the plant was operating at a low level. "But, of course, it is a matter of concern," he said.  
• Russian and Belarusian defense ministers discuss training regional troops: 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."
• Russian cyberattacks on Ukraine have eased in recent weeks but could pick up in the spring, Microsoft says: Russia's cyberattacks against Ukrainian targets have eased over the past month, Microsoft President Brad Smith told CNN on Thursday, but he warned that could change with the arrival of springtime. "The last 30 days have been quieter" for Russian cyberattacks, he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, adding that Microsoft has also observed a similar pullback on pro-Kremlin digital propaganda linked to the war.

"It just doesn’t make sense” for the US to provide M1 Abrams tanks “at this moment," Sabrina Singh, deputy Pentagon press secretary, said Thursday after German officials said that they will not provide tanks to Ukraine until the US decides to do so as well.

“As you know we’ve provided the Bradleys, we're seeing other nations step up and continue to provide equipment and material to Ukraine that they can,” Singh said.

“Ultimately this is Germany's decision. It's their sovereign decision on what security assistance they will provide. So we won't be able to speak to them but I think that we are certainly doing what we can to support Ukraine in what in what they need," she added.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is meeting with other allies on Friday in Germany during the eighth Ukraine Contact Group, where they will discuss what kind of equipment and weapons systems Ukraine may need in its fight against Russia. 

And while the issue of tanks is sure to come up, US officials have repeatedly said Germany can make its own decisions and that the M1 Abrams’ maintenance and sustainment demands make it a difficult piece of equipment to provide to the Ukrainians. 

“[W]e're continuing to work with other partners and allies around the world to see what else can be provided to Ukraine and that's, that's the whole point of tomorrow's meeting,” Singh said Thursday.

Some context: There is growing pressure for Western allies to provide Ukraine with heavy battle tanks.

France, Poland and the United Kingdom have pledged to soon send tanks for the Ukrainian military to use in its efforts to protect itself from Russia. Finland is considering following suit.

Germany has said it would transfer infantry fighting vehicles to Kyiv but is yet to commit to sending tanks. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has insisted that any such plan would need to be fully coordinated with the whole of the Western alliance, including the United States.

The Western allies are set to meet tomorrow at the US Ramstein air base in Germany to discuss further military aid for Kyiv.

Nine European countries have pledged further militarily support to Ukraine, which will help forces move from “resisting to expelling Russian forces,” according to a joint statement published by the British government following a meeting in Tallinn, Estonia.

“We recognize that equipping Ukraine to push Russia out of its territory is as important as equipping them to defend what they already have,” they said in the statement. This latest pledge comes ahead of a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Group in Ramstein, Germany, on Friday, chaired by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. 

Beyond continued support for Ukraine, here's what the countries pledged:

• Denmark: Train Ukrainian forces. The country has donated or financed military aid worth close to 600 million euros (about $649 million). 
• Czech Republic: Increase production capacities for large caliber ammunition, howitzers and armored personnel carriers; increase maintenance, repair and operations capacity. 
• Estonia: Tens of 155mm FH-70 and 122 mm D-30 howitzers; thousands of rounds of 155mm artillery ammunition; support vehicles for artillery units; hundreds of Carl-Gustaf M2 anti-tank grenade launchers with ammunition with the total replacement values of approximately 113 million euros (about $122 million) and training for hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers. 
• Latvia: Tens of man-portable Stinger air-defense systems; two M-17 helicopters; tens of machine guns with ammunition; several tens of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); spare parts for M109 howitzers and training of about 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers in various programs.
• Lithuania: Support package worth 125 million euros (about $135 million) consisting of dozens of L-70 anti-aircraft guns with tens of thousands of ammunition; two Mi-8 helicopters with the total replacement value of approximately 85 million euros (about $92 million); 40 million euros (about $43.3 million) for procurements like anti-drones, optics, thermo-visual devices and drones and 2 million euros (about $2.1 million) to the UK International Fund for financing heavy weaponry acquisitions projects. 
• Poland: S-60 anti-aircraft guns with 70,000 pieces of ammunition; already donated 42 infantry fighting vehicles; training packages for two mechanized battalions; more 155mm Krab howitzers and various types of ammunition.
• Slovakia: Increase production of howitzers, de-mining equipment and ammunition; train Ukrainian soldiers and expand the training as required by Ukraine.
• UK: Challenger 2 tanks with armored recovery and repair vehicles; AS90 self-propelled 155mm guns; hundreds more armored and protected vehicles; minefield breaching and bridging capabilities; dozens more un-crewed aerial systems; 100,000 artillery rounds; guided multiple launch rocket system (GMLRS) rockets; Starstreak air defense missiles; medium-range air defense missiles; 600 Brimstone anti-tank munitions; spares to refurbish up to a hundred Ukrainian tanks and infantry fighting vehicles; continued training of soldiers and coordinate the International Fund for Ukraine which has raised almost 600 million pounds (about $742.7 million) with partners. 

Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said there has been a "dramatic reduction" in the number of Ukrainian staff at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant since Russian forces occupied the facility and the nearby city in March 2022.

The UN nuclear watchdog chief said at a media briefing in Kyiv that "normally a facility like this has around 10,000 people working and now we are down to 3,000 more or less."

He added that the number was adequate in the current conditions," because the plant was operating at a low level. "But of course it is a matter of concern," he said.  

He said that the handful of IAEA staff at the plant were fine and are able do their work correctly.

Grossi said that despite difficult moments throughout the conflict the positive side is that the system at the plant showed resilience.

"The good side [is that] almost a year since the beginning of the conflict on a territory with a vast nuclear infrastructure we have had very difficult moments when facilities have been operating in emergency mode and we saw the resilience of the system," he said.

Even so, he explained that the situation remained precarious and the IAEA was "very worried" about the Zaporizhzhia plant.

The plant has always been on the frontline and on Thursday alone, there had been two major explosions in the vicinity of the plant, he said. 

"We know that a nuclear accident or an accident with serious radiological consequences is possible every day," he said, noting that a protection zone around the plant was indispensable.

Grossi said there was no sign that Russia was attempting to link the plant to its own grid.  

Asked if Russia showed goodwill and cooperative spirit, Grossi said, "I have a professional engagement with them." He said Russia had to comply with safety standards that had been agreed by everybody, and he planned to visit Russia soon.

Grossi said that he was concerned that the international community would pay less attention to the situation. "I worry that this is becoming routine ... that people might be asking whether the IAEA was crying wolf," he said.