Live blog: 'Clear signs' of slowdown in Russian defence industry – Ukraine

Tuesday, January 9, 2023

1832 GMT –– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that there were "clear signs of a slowdown" in Russia's defence industry and called for further action to eliminate loopholes in sanctions imposed on Moscow.

Zelenskyy, speaking in his nightly video address, provided no evidence for his assertion on the state of the Russian defence industry. Russian officials have said that the production of military equipment has been stepped up.

"There are clear signs of a slowdown in Russia's defence industry," Zelenskyy said. "But for the results of sanctions to be 100 percent, sanctions loopholes must also be blocked 100 percent."

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1700 GMT –– A US citizen has been arrested in Moscow on drug charges

A US citizen has been arrested on drug charges in Russia, officials said, a move that comes amid soaring Russia-US tensions over Ukraine.

The arrest of Robert Woodland Romanov was reported by the press service of the Moscow courts. It said the Ostankino District Court ruled on Saturday to keep him in custody for two months on charges of preparing to get involved in illegal drug trafficking pending an official investigation.

It didn't offer any details of the accusations.

The news about the arrest come as Washington has sought to win the release of jailed Americans Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich. The State Department said last month that it had put multiple offers on the table, but they had been rejected by the Russian government.

Analysts have pointed out that Moscow could be using jailed Americans as bargaining chips amid US-Russian tensions that soared when Russia sent troops into Ukraine. At least two US citizens arrested in Russia in recent years — including WNBA star Brittney Griner — have been exchanged for Russians jailed in the US.

1643 GMT –– Ukraine producing more drones than state can purchase: minister

Ukrainian manufacturers have ramped up output of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to the extent that Kiev's current drone procurement budgets are not sufficient to buy everything being produced, Ukraine's technology minister said.

Mykhailo Fedorov, a deputy prime minister who also handles the digital brief, has championed the use of drones to fight off the Russian invasion since its early days.

As of today, the market has accelerated much faster than the amount of money to buy all the UAVs," Fedorov told Ukrainian national television. "Therefore we need to increase financing and open up markets further, so that prices fall thanks to competition and localisation of part (production) begins," he said.

1552 GMT –– Ukraine says training of F-16 personnel continues

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said that the training of its personnel on F-16 fighter jets is still ongoing.

“Currently, other groups of pilots within the framework of language and basic flight training continue their training in Great Britain,” First Deputy Defense Minister Oleksandr Pavliuk wrote on Telegram.

Pavliuk further said that flight personnel, engineers and aircraft technicians are also being trained.

The minister said the first group of pilots completed basic training as part of the international air force coalition last December, after which they went to Denmark to train directly on F-16 fighter jets.

In October 2023, Denmark announced that it would co-lead an international air force coalition, together with the Netherlands and the US, to support Ukraine in “creating a complete F-16 fighter aircraft capacity."

The announcement came after the Netherlands and Denmark committed to give F-16 jets to Ukraine in August 2023.

1445 GMT –– Zelenskyy to deliver 'special address' to Davos forum

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Middle East leaders will attend a World Economic Forum in Davos next week dominated by the war in Gaza, the WEF said.

Argentina's libertarian new president, Javier Milei, French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese Premier Li Qiang will also be among the headliners at the January 15-19 meeting of the world's political and business elites in the Swiss Alps.

The conflict in the Middle East is set to dominate the annual forum, held this year under the theme "Rebuilding Trust".

Russia's war in Ukraine will also figure highly in the talks again.

Zelenskyy, who has made speeches to the WEF via video link in the past, will deliver a "special address" and meet CEOs, said WEF President Borge Brende.

"It is taking place against the most complicated geopolitical and geoeconomic backdrop in decades," Brende told a virtual press conference.

Blinken and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will be among 2,800 participants, including more than 60 heads of state and government, at the forum, Brende said.

1334 GMT –– Ukrainian shelling kills woman in Russian border village: governor

Ukrainian shelling killed a woman in the Russian border region of Kursk on Tuesday, the region's governor Roman Starovoit said, after the Kremlin vowed to tackle an increase in Ukrainian attacks.

"This afternoon, the village of Gornal in Sudzhansky district was shelled from the direction of Ukraine. A woman was killed by shrapnel," Starovoit said on Telegram.

1323 GMT –– Italian city halts event appearing to promote Russian war in Ukraine

The Italian city of Modena blocked the use of a public hall to host a private event on the reconstruction of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, saying it appears to openly support Russia's war in Ukraine.

Mariupol, a port on the Sea of Azov in southern Ukraine, was the scene of some of the heaviest fighting in the early stages of Moscow's offensive in 2022. It had been almost completely destroyed by shelling when Russia captured and occupied it in May 2022 after a protracted siege.

The conference and exhibition "Mariupol. Rebirth after the War", organised by the Russia Emilia-Romagna cultural association, aims to showcase the city's reconstruction with invited panelists including the Russian consul general in Milan, Dmitry Shtodin, according to the organisers' website.

The council in Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region, withdrew its approval to use a civic hall for the Jan. 20 event after "new information arose", it said in a statement.

It added that the makeup of the panel did not appear consistent with the commitment not to practice fascist and racist ideologies, and it violates Italy's commitment to promote peace and international relations.

Ukraine's ambassador, Yaroslav Melnyk, had called it "an open insult to the memory of thousands of civilian victims".

The decision protects "the community from the spread of Russian propaganda in Italy", the Ukrainian embassy in Rome said on the X social media platform.

The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Rome and the Russia Emilia-Romagna cultural association did not reply to requests for comment.

1223 GMT –– Russian defense minister claims Ukraine's combat capability 'decreasing'

Amid claims that Kiev's much-anticipated counteroffensive has failed, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Ukraine's combat capability has been decreasing.

Speaking at this year's first meeting of Russian military chiefs in Moscow, Shoigu said the Ukrainian army suffered heavy human losses, along with 28,000 pieces of military equipment.

"We maintain a strategic initiative along the entire line of contact. Despite heavy human losses of the Ukrainian units and the lack of results on the battlefield, the US is coolly trying to maintain its ambitions for world leadership at the expense of the lives of Ukrainians," he said.

The minister said the Ukrainian authorities "continue to drive its soldiers to slaughter" at the West's order.

Shoigu emphasized that mobilizing more people would not change the situation on the battlefield, and would only protract the conflict. "We will continue to consistently achieve the goal of a special military operation," he pledged.

0943 GMT –– Kremlin has 'no comment' on US, Ukraine claims it fired North Korean missiles

The Kremlin declined to comment on US and Ukrainian assertions that Moscow had fired North Korean missiles at Ukrainian targets, but it also accused Kiev of using missiles produced by Western nations to strike targets in Russia.

Last week the White House said Russia had used short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) sourced from North Korea to conduct multiple strikes against Ukraine, citing newly declassified intelligence. A senior Ukrainian official later corroborated the assertion.

Both Moscow and Pyongyang have drawn closer since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict, though they deny making any arms deals. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met President Vladimir Putin in Russia's Far East region last September and senior Russian officials have made several visits to Pyongyang.

Asked about the US and Ukrainian accusations during a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "No comment."

Peskov added that Ukraine had repeatedly struck civilian targets inside Russia using missiles produced by "Germany, France, Italy, the United States, and other countries".

0939 GMT — Russia to do ‘everything’ to halt Belgorod shelling: Kremlin

The Kremlin has said the Russian military would do everything in its power to tackle an increase in Ukrainian shelling of the border city of Belgorod.

The city has suffered an uptick in fatal shelling attacks in recent weeks that prompted city officials to evacuate hundreds and extend the closure of schools.

"Of course, our military will continue to do everything in order to minimise the danger at first and then eliminate it entirely," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

He accused the Ukrainian military of firing on civilian targets in the centre of the urban hub of some 340,000 people with weapons supplied by European countries.

The Kremlin has tried to maintain a semblance of normalcy on the home front, but the recent strikes on Belgorod have brought the Ukraine conflict closer to home for Russians.

The head of the region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, announced Tuesday morning that three people in the region had been injured by debris from downed Ukrainian weapons.

0825 GMT — Ukraine repels Russian cyber attacks on state payment systems - senior lawmaker

Ukraine has been repelling massive Russian cyber attacks on state payment systems for the second week in a row, senior lawmaker Danylo Hetmantsev has said.

Hetmantsev, who is heading the parliamentary committee for finances, taxes and customs, said on the Telegram messaging app that Russian hackers tried to destroy systems vital for the Ukrainian budget payments, adding that the attacks were successfully repelled.

He also said that some minor access restrictions for users from abroad were possible.

0732 GMT — Poland detains suspected Belarusian spy

Poland has detained a Belarusian woman on suspicion of spying and providing Belarusian security services with information about the diaspora in Poland, the Internal Security Agency said.

A hub for Western military supplies to Ukraine, Poland says it has become a major target of Russian spies, accusing Moscow and its ally Belarus of trying to destabilise it.

"On December 20, 2023, officers of the Internal Security Agency detained a citizen of the Republic of Belarus on suspicion of spying for the Belarusian special service – the State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus," it said in a statement.

"For several months, the Belarusian woman provided the above-mentioned service with information about members of the Belarusian diaspora ... as well as organizations bringing together Belarusians and Poles of Belarusian nationality."

The woman was presented with charges and put in pre-trial detention for three months.

0719 GMT — Ukraine has 'deficit of anti-aircraft guided missiles'

Ukraine has a deficit of anti-aircraft guided missiles nearly two years after Russia's full-scale offensive, Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat has said.

Ukraine has relied heavily on military and financial aid from its Western allies since the invasion in February 2022, but political wrangling has delayed the disbursement of major aid packages for this year.

Ihnat told Ukrainian television that Ukraine had used a "considerable reserve" of missiles defending itself against recent attacks, and added: "It is clear that there is a deficit of anti-aircraft guided missiles."

Russia has stepped up missile and drone attacks on Ukraine in the past few weeks, firing hundreds of missiles and drones at Ukrainian cities, Ukrainian officials have said.

0603 GMT –– Ukrainian shelling injures three in Belgorod: Russian officials

Ukrainian shelling has injured three people in the Russian region of Belgorod late and air defences downed 10 RM-70 Vampir rockets, Russian officials and the defence ministry said.

Belgorod has come under repeated attack from Ukrainian forces in recent weeks. A missile and drone attack late last month killed 25 civilians.

"The city of Belgorod was shelled again last night, and people were injured," Gladkov said on the Telegram messaging app.

"Now there are three people in intensive care, all of them have undergone surgeries. Doctors assess their condition as stable and severe."

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

0719 GMT –– Ukraine has a deficit of anti-aircraft guided missiles - air force

Ukraine has a deficit of anti-aircraft guided missiles, Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat has said.

"Ukraine has spent a considerable reserve on those three attacks that took place," Ihnat told Ukrainian TV on Tuesday.

"It is clear that there is a deficit of anti-aircraft guided missiles."

For our live updates from Monday, January 8, click here.