The Ukraine update: what happened last night
- Resnikov announces spring offensive with Leopard tanks
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has announced a spring offensive against Russian troops in several places. “I’m sure we’ll liberate some regions like we did in KyivKharniv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Kherson,” he told Estonian broadcaster ERR.
An important part of this offensive should also be the German Leopard tanks under the direction of the General Staff. 18 German Leopard 2 Type 2A6 tanks have recently arrived in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyj had recently been cautious about a timely counterattack. There would be a lack of weapons for this.
- Kiev Air Force Spokesman: Need modern jets
According to its spokesman Yuri Ihnat, the Air Force of Ukraine “urgently” needs modern combat aircraft. “Neither Polish nor Czech Migs help us, nor do Mirages or Tornados,” Ihnat said on Ukrainian television on Wednesday.
While the Migs received from neighbors are a welcome and necessary reinforcement, what Ukraine needs is fourth-generation multirole fighters, such as the American F-16. Since the training of pilots and ground staff on these machines is “not an easy process”, a decision “as soon as possible yesterday” would be necessary.
- Spain supplies Ukraine with tanks but no fighter jets
Spain wants to deliver ten older Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine, but has ruled out sending fighter jets.
The delivery of the first six tanks will take place in two weeks, Defense Secretary Margarita Robles said on Wednesday.
- Kremlin expects long conflict with West over Ukraine
According to the Kremlin, Russia is preparing for a long war with the West over Ukraine. “This is a confrontation with hostile states, with unfriendly countries, this is a hybrid war that they launched against our country. This is for a long time,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday. “Here we need toughness, self-conviction, determination and unity around the president.” According to Peskov, the support for Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin’s course in the war against Ukraine in Russia is great.
Secretary of Russia’s National Security Council Nikolai Patrushev said at a meeting with international colleagues in India that Russia will be victorious in the war against Ukraine. “Regardless of the steadily increasing military aid to Ukraine from the United States and other Western countries, all the stated goals of the military special operation will certainly be achieved,” he said in New Delhi. Patrushev named the “demilitarization” of the country as a goal.
At the same time, Putin’s confidant accused the NATO states of being actively involved in the war, for example by training Ukrainian soldiers in the West. Patrushev, who met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among others, also warned of the danger of the situation escalating to the point of a confrontation between nuclear powers. He emphasized that Russia is committed to international agreements that nuclear war is inadmissible.
- Zelenskyj: Democracy needs a victory
After attending the virtual world summit for democracy, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that democracy absolutely needs a victory as soon as possible. “And we all together – Ukrainians, all Europeans, our American allies, our friends on all continents – in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Australia – will do everything to bring this victory closer,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Wednesday . “The victory of Ukraine, the victory of freedom, the victory for the rules-based international order.”
The US is hosting the virtual summit along with Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea and Zambia. US President Joe Biden had already invited to a virtual meeting of this kind in December 2021.
Zelenskyy underlined Biden’s leading role in the consolidation of the democratic world. “And this unity, as we see, is enough to fight for freedom,” he said. “But to win the battle against tyranny, we need more unity.”
The Ukraine update: what happened on Wednesday night
- Putin spokesman makes sobering announcement at private party
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told guests at a private party in Moscow that the war in Ukraine would last “a very, very long time”. This is reported by the British “Guardian”, citing anonymous guests at the event, which is said to have taken place on New Year’s Eve. One of the guests said he felt “uncomfortable” at Peskov’s words.
The Guardian quotes an expert who interprets Peskov’s announcement as meaning that the Kremlin wants to prepare the Russians for an “eternal war”. Vladimir Putin recently stressed that this war was not a “geopolitical task” but a “task for the survival of the Russian state”. This is in line with earlier statements by the President that Russia is under serious threat.
- Selenskyj after a visit to the troops: We are stronger
After a visit to the border region with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy once again emphasized the strength of the Ukrainians in the face of the ongoing threat from Moscow. “The threat is constant, our border is constantly being shelled,” said Zelenskyy on Tuesday in his nightly video speech about the impressions of his visit to the Sumy region in north-eastern Ukraine. “But life and our people are obviously stronger than all fears.”
During his visit to Sumy, Zelenskyi met the commanders of the border troops deployed there. “The strong positions along the entire border with the terrorist state (Russia) are a result of the strength of our people, who are ready to defend the border at any time,” said Zelenskyy. In the north-east, Ukrainian border troops are shielding a several hundred-kilometre stretch of the common border with Russia in order to prevent Russian units from penetrating there.
- Kiev military spokesman: situation in Bakhmut “very dynamic”
According to a Ukrainian military officer, the situation in the heavily contested city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine is “very dynamic”. Sometimes even the enemy has tactical advantages, said the spokesman for the Ukrainian Eastern Front, Serhiy Cherevatyy, on television on Tuesday evening. But these benefits are predictable. “We recognize them and take countermeasures.”
There is no strategic advantage whatsoever. “The situation is stable, but difficult,” said Cherevaty. “Fighting and countermeasures are about denying the enemy the opportunity to successfully expand their attacks.” There has been a fight for months over Bachmut. The mercenary troupe Wagner, acting on the Russian side, threatens the city from the east, north and south.
- Pentagon: Russia wants to use very old tanks after losses
According to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, the massive destruction of armored vehicles by the Ukrainian military has forced Russia to resort to decades-old Soviet-era tanks. Ukraine has depleted Russia’s inventory of armored vehicles “in a way no one could have imagined,” Austin said at a Senate hearing. “That’s why we see Russia now scrambling for T-54 and T-55 tanks given the extent of the damage Ukraine has inflicted on them.”
The tank models were essentially developed by the Soviet Union after World War II. According to the US Institute for War Studies (ISW), the tanks have significantly lighter armor and smaller guns than more recent models.
- Ukrainian grid operator promises electricity for the next six months
Despite the large number of Russian rocket attacks on its energy infrastructure in winter, Ukraine does not expect a power shortage for the next six months. “The Ukrainian energy system is part of the European one and so we have the possibility to import electricity if our own is not enough,” said the head of the state energy company Ukrenerho, Volodymyr Kudrytskyj. In this way, the situation in the spring and summer months in the energy system can be balanced. “But you have to prepare well for next winter,” emphasized the 36-year-old. The main focus here is on repairing damaged power plant blocks from thermal and hydroelectric power plants.
Russia invaded Ukraine more than 13 months ago. From October onwards, it attacked the neighboring country’s power grid massively with rockets and drones. As a result, in many areas of Ukraine electricity was only available by the hour. Millions of people suffered from problems with the water and district heating supply.
- Kiev: Iranian drones with components from the West
According to the Ukrainian military, the so-called kamikaze drones used by Russia from Iranian production consist to a large extent of components from Western production. As reported by Ukrainian media on Tuesday, experts disassembled and examined the downed and less damaged Shahed-131 and Shahed-136 drones. Most of the components come from the West and can be ordered, for example, from the Chinese online retailer Aliexpress.
The most important component is a CRPA antenna, which receives signals from a navigation satellite and therefore cannot be disturbed by the electronic air defense system. Even if the satellite connection fails, the drone can continue its flight with near-precision. The required technology was developed in Israel, among other places, it said.
- That will be important on Wednesday
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian meets his Russian colleague Sergey Lavrov in Moscow. Iran supports Moscow in the war against Ukraine with so-called kamikaze drones.
In a current hour in the German Bundestag requested by the coalition factions, the MPs want to talk about the massacre in the Kiev suburb of Bucha a year ago on Wednesday. SPD, Greens and FDP plead for a commemoration and a “criminal investigation”. In the spring of 2022, after the withdrawal of Russian troops, hundreds of civilian bodies were found in Bucha.
