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News about the Russia-Ukraine war: This happened on Wednesday night (January 18)

2023-01-18T02:34:15.086Z


The Ukrainian army reports new rocket attacks in the east of the country. Emergency services in Dnipro stop searching for victims. Scholz and Selenskyj speak in Davos. Recent Developments.


Enlarge image

A military doctor helps a slightly wounded soldier near the front line in the Donetsk region

Photo: IHOR TKACHOV / AFP

What has happened in the past few hours

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reports further fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Russian forces fired four rockets, including two at civilian targets in the Donetsk region town of Kramatorsk, west of the fighting hotspots near the towns of Bakhmut and Avdiivka.

In addition, the Russian armed forces had flown thirteen airstrikes and launched 23 multiple rocket launcher attacks.

The information could not be independently verified.

After the devastating impact of a Russian missile on a high-rise building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro last weekend, the emergency services have stopped searching for victims.

Civil defense announced on Tuesday that 20 people were still missing.

"Unfortunately, the chances of finding someone tend to zero," said Mayor Borys Filatow.

It is possible that some bodies were so disfigured by fire and collapsing parts of the house that they could hardly be found.

Since the attack on Saturday, 45 dead, including six children, have been recovered in the city in central Ukraine's Dnepropetrovsk region.

About 80 people were injured.

There are still 28 injured people in hospitals, many of whom are in critical condition, it said.

In Moscow, people wanted to lay flowers in memory of the victims of Dnipro - according to civil rights activists, several people were arrested.

There were a total of four arrests on Tuesday evening, the civil rights organization OVD-Info said.

The small memorial was erected by unknown persons on Monday evening at the foot of a monument to the Ukrainian poet Lessja Ukrajinka in a park.

They filed a black and white photo of the destroyed apartment building in Dnipro and flowers.

In the hours that followed, more and more people brought flowers, some in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag.

Cuddly toys were also laid down - in memory of the children among the dead.

Public anti-war actions have become very rare in Russia due to massive repression.

That says Kyiv

Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Andriy Melnyk hopes for new bold steps at the international conference at the US Ramstein Air Force Base.

"In view of the threatening situation at the front and Russia's increasingly ruthless actions against Ukrainian civilians, there must be no more red lines - self-drawn - for Germany," Melnyk told the newspapers of the Funke media group, according to the preliminary report.

The western partners would have to launch a broad tank alliance, also with Leopard main battle tanks.

“We also hope for a real breakthrough in ballistic missiles like the US short-range ATACMS missile, so that such barbaric attacks as in Dnipro can be prevented.”

This Friday, the US-led "Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine" is meeting at the US Ramstein Air Force Base in Rhineland-Palatinate.

The western allies want to discuss further military support for Ukraine there.

The new Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) will take part on behalf of the federal government.

Among other things, Melnyk now demanded that he deliver “battle tanks, fighter jets and warships”.

Pistorius must act "much more decisively and quickly" than his predecessor Christine Lambrecht, Melnyk told the news portal "t-online".

“In this way he can prove that Germany has shelved its refusal tactics forever.” Nevertheless, the government in Kyiv has “no illusions”.

That says Russia

Russia denies reports of talks on a major prisoner swap with Ukraine.

Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova told Telegram that she did not speak to her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Lubinets on the subject in Turkey last week.

"In my negotiations with Lubinets in Ankara, there was never any question of an exchange, and I always emphasize that these issues fall within the competence of the Russian Defense Ministry," Moskalkova wrote.

The Turkish mediator Seref Malkoc reported on Monday that during a meeting on the sidelines of an international conference, Lubinez gave Russia a list of 800 people who were to be exchanged;

Moskalkowa submitted a list of 200 people.

He was present at the encounter.

International reactions

The EU Commission reacted cautiously to Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock's proposal for a new type of special tribunal for Ukraine.

EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said in Strasbourg on Tuesday that "complex legal and political issues" had to be clarified.

There is a need to discuss this with the EU countries and international partners.

Above all, the "international character" of such a special court must be ensured, said Reynders.

Baerbock suggested a "special tribunal for crimes of aggression against Ukraine" in The Hague on Monday.

Otherwise, the Russian war of aggression cannot be punished, despite the ban on violence in international law, argues the Green Party politician.

US President Joe Biden and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) spoke to each other again on Tuesday.

The White House said the conversation was about support for Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia.

The spokesman for the federal government, Steffen Hebestreit, said in the evening that Scholz and Biden agreed that this support had to be “effective, sustainable and closely coordinated”.

Neither side gave any details.

The US President and the Chancellor spoke on the phone just a week ago and agreed to supply Ukraine with armored personnel carriers.

Biden also spoke to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday.

During his visit to Washington, Rutte announced further aid from his country to Ukraine of 2.5 billion euros.

He also said the Netherlands intends to provide the attacked country with the Patriot air defense system.

It is important that the Netherlands are involved in the delivery of the Patriots, said Rutte.

He also discussed this with Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday.

What is happening today

  • The Russian war against Ukraine dominates the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland today.

    In the afternoon, both Chancellor Scholz (3.45 p.m.) and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy (5 p.m.) want to speak to the entrepreneurs and heads of state and government.


    Selenskyj wants to solicit further support in the war against Russia.

    Even before his speech, he made it clear that he expected progress in arms deliveries: Ukraine needs battle tanks.

aar/dpa/Reuters

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2023-01-18

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