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Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky delivers a speech Tuesday in Kyiv.
(Ukrainian Presidential Office)
4 posts
4 mins ago
The vice president of the German parliament arrives in Kyiv
By Mick Krever and Stephanie Halasz
The vice president of the German parliament, or Bundestag, has arrived in Kyiv, she said on Twitter.
“Kyiv.
I got here today on a night train,” said Katrin Goering-Eckardt.
“Ukrainians are defending their country and our common freedom.
I admire your bravery.
In the next few days, I would like to get a picture of the reconstruction, the humanitarian situation and the difficult daily life on the ground."
Goering-Eckardt's trip comes after Germany confirmed last week that it would send a long-requested contingent of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine in a major sign of support for Kyiv.
The announcement came at a historic moment that followed weeks of intense pressure on Berlin from some of its NATO allies.
Goering-Eckardt expressed her support for the decision, writing on Twitter on January 24: "The #Leopard is free!"
However, on the streets of Germany, reactions were mixed, with some citizens telling CNN they were concerned about how the war could escalate now.
6 mins ago
Japan's foreign minister vows to send a "strong message" after meeting with NATO chief
By CNN's Emiko Jozuka in Tokyo
Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, right, holds talks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, left, in Tokyo on February 1. (Kyodo News/Getty Images)
Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi vowed on Wednesday to uphold the country's sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine after meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Tokyo.
Hayashi told Stoltenberg that NATO shares "core values ​​with Japan," according to a statement from the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
It is significant for Japan, which will chair the G7 summit in May and serve as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council this year, to "deliver a strong message" at "this historic turning point" together with NATO, he said.
Hayashi and Stoltenberg also exchanged views on the security situation in the Indo-Pacific region, the statement added.
On Tuesday, Stoltenberg and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said NATO and Japan would deepen collaboration as the world faces its "most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II," according to a NATO statement. Office of the Japanese Prime Minister.
Tokyo last week approved additional sanctions against Moscow, including banning exports to 49 more entities, adding more items to an export ban and freezing the assets of people linked to the Kremlin, public broadcaster NHK reported.
8 mins ago
Senior Ukrainian security official says Russia is preparing for 'maximum escalation' in war
By CNN's Yulia Kesaieva in Kyiv, Mick Krever, Jonny Hallam and Josh Pennington
Oleksiy Danilov gives an interview in his office in Kyiv, Ukraine, on December 24, 2021. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images)
Russia is preparing for a "maximum escalation" of the war in Ukraine, possibly as soon as possible, in the coming weeks, a senior Ukrainian national security official has said.
“These will be decisive months in the war,” Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, told Sky News in an interview broadcast on Tuesday.
“I am aware that the main fights are yet to come and will happen this year, two or three months from now,” he said.
“Russia is preparing for maximum escalation.
He's pulling everything together, doing drills and training.
When it comes to offensive from different directions, as of now, I can say that we are not excluding any scenario in the next two to three weeks."
Ukrainian officials have for some time warned of a renewed Russian offensive and have called for more powerful weaponry from Western allies to counter the threat.
Following Danilov's comments, a Ukrainian military spokesman said on Wednesday that there are signs that Russia is preparing for a new offensive in southern Ukraine.
“Not only on land, but also at sea and in the air,” Natalia Humeniuk, press officer of the United Coordination Center of the South Ukrainian Security and Defense Forces, said on national television.
Ukrainian intelligence had noted changes in the activity of Russian naval forces in the Black Sea, it added.
“It waxes and wanes rapidly, and the missile carriers are moving back and forth,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that it will hold another week of joint military exercises with Russia.
"During the week, the military representatives of the two countries will practice joint planning for the use of troops based on previous experience of armed conflicts in recent years," the ministry said in a statement.
11 minutes ago
Zelensky says Ukraine is preparing "reforms" ahead of talks with the European Union
By Josh Pennington and Alex Stambaugh
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky delivers a speech Tuesday in Kyiv. (Ukrainian Presidential Office)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that his administration is preparing to introduce changes ahead of talks between Kyiv and the European Union scheduled for Friday.
"We are preparing new reforms in Ukraine. Reforms that will change the social, legal and political reality in many ways, making it more humane, transparent and effective," Zelensky said in a video, adding that more details will be announced at a later date.
Kyiv is finalizing preparations for the "summit" talks, he added.
A bit of context: Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced the "summit" earlier on Tuesday, but did not provide details on who would attend.
Holding the meeting in Kyiv is a "powerful signal to both partners and enemies," Shmyhal told a government meeting.
Shmyhal told Politico in an interview published Monday that Ukraine, which was granted European Union candidate status in June last year, has an "ambitious plan" to join the bloc in the next two years.
