War against Ukraine: That's the situation

Created: 01/15/2023 05:25

Rescuers clear away debris.

© Evgeniy Maloletka/AP/dpa

Scores of people have died in Ukraine in the major Russian rocket attacks this year.

President Selenskyj takes this as an opportunity to demand more weapons from the West.

News compact.

Kyiv/Dnipro - After the new Russian rocket attacks on Ukraine with deaths and injuries in the city of Dnipro, the leadership of the attacked country has demanded more weapons from the West.

The terror can be stopped with Western weapons, which the Ukrainian army is waiting for, said President Volodymyr Zelenskyj in his video message every evening on Saturday.

He had previously thanked Great Britain, which wants to be the first country to deliver western main battle tanks to Ukraine.

This is a signal for other partners of Ukraine to do the same.

Britain plans to provide Ukraine with 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks in the coming weeks to ward off Russian attackers.

This was announced by the British government after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called Zelenskyy on Saturday.

The UK defense and security authorities see an opportunity to act as Russia "is on the defensive due to supply shortages and declining morale (of its troops)."

Allies should launch their planned support for Ukraine for 2023 "as soon as possible to achieve maximum impact," London sources said.

So far, the Ukraine has not received any Western-style main battle tanks, only Soviet models from the stocks of Eastern European NATO countries.

Kyiv has long been demanding the delivery of the German tank Leopard 2, which is technically superior to Russian tanks.

Poland and Finland have agreed to supply Leopard tanks as part of the European alliance.

The federal government has not yet taken a position on this.

On Friday next week, the defense ministers of Ukraine's western allies will discuss further military support for the country at the US air base Ramstein in Rhineland-Palatinate.

Before the negotiations, Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksii Makeiev urged the German government to quickly deliver Leopard 2 tanks to his country.

"German weapons, German tanks are essential for survival," he said in a dpa interview.

“We have very little time to discuss.

And we expect our allies to understand that, too, and do the right thing.”

In Dnipro, where a dozen people were killed in a Russian rocket attack on an inhabited high-rise building according to preliminary information from the authorities, the search for buried people continued on Sunday night.

More than 60 people were injured, including at least 12 children.

A 15-year-old girl was among the dead, it said.

A spokesman for the emergency services said there were still survivors in the rubble who were sending text messages or calling for help.

Helpers pulled people out of the rubble of the partially collapsed house.

According to emergency services, 72 apartments were destroyed.

A total of between 100 and 200 people were reported in the house.

The presidential administration in Kyiv has released photos of the building in ruins.

The head of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak, was appalled: "Russians are terrorists who will be punished for everything.

All - without exception.” He said that the anti-aircraft and air defenses were doing their job.

"We will fight back." The enemy did not change their tactics and continued their strikes against the civilian infrastructure.

Zelenskyj complains about damage to energy infrastructure

Head of state Selenskyj condemned Russia for not only "sowing death", but also for hitting the country's energy infrastructure again with rocket fire - particularly hard in the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine and in the capital Kyiv.

There, the work to restore the supply was in full swing, as the government announced.

A total of six areas of the country were affected by power outages, it said.

In the neighboring Republic of Moldova, the government again complained that rocket parts had fallen on its territory.

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First major Russian attack since the turn of the year

The rocket hit in Dnipro was the most momentous of several attacks on Saturday.

Russia had shelled targets in Ukraine in the morning and afternoon.

There were air alerts throughout the country at times.

It was the first major Russian attack of this kind since the turn of the year.

The Ukrainian military said 25 of 38 Russian missiles were shot down on Saturday.

This and other information about the fighting could not be independently verified.

The Ukrainian Air Force had previously warned of possible new attacks.

Accordingly, numerous Russian long-range bombers of the Tupolev Tu-95 type were in the air during the day.

In addition, Russian warships had taken up positions in the Black Sea, from which rockets are also repeatedly fired.

The sounds of explosions, which usually occur when Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses shoot down Russian missiles or drones, could be heard in Kyiv in the morning.

According to a report by the online newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda, the spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, Juryi Ignat, said that the attacks could have been ballistic missiles coming from a northerly direction.

Accordingly, the rockets could have been launched from Belarus.

Russia had moved troops and technology there.

Ukraine does not have effective means of detecting and destroying ballistic missiles, Ignat said.

He also explained that the air raid alarm on Saturday morning had started late.

Many citizens were surprised by this.

According to the authorities, 28 buildings were damaged in the Kyiv region.

Since October, Russia has been attacking energy infrastructure objects in particular in order to demoralize people and force possible concessions in the war from the Ukrainian leadership.

Selenskyj does not want to negotiate peace with Moscow until a complete Russian troop withdrawal.

What is important today

Fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops continues, especially in the east of the country in the Donetsk region.

Russia, having captured the city of Soledar, soon intends to take the entire region.

dpa