Live blog: Russia pushes towards two towns in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region

Sunday, January 22, 2023

Moscow's forces have been pushing towards two towns in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, where fighting intensified this week after several months of a stagnant front, according to Russian state media. 

A Russian-supported official in the region Vladimir Rogov said offensive actions were concentrated around two towns: Orikhiv, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Ukrainian-controlled regional capital Zaporizhzhia, and Hulyaipole, further east.

"The front is mobile, especially in two directions: Orikhiv and Hulyaipole," Rogov was quoted as saying by the Ria Novosti news agency. He said there was active fighting in those areas, according to the agency. "The initiative is in our hands."

The Ukrainian army said "more than 15 settlements were affected by artillery fire" in Zaporizhzhia.

Here are other developments:

1725 GMT — France does not rule out sending Leclerc tanks to Ukraine: Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he does not rule out the possibility of sending Leclerc tanks to Ukraine, speaking at a summit with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

1724 GMT — Germany's Scholz will coordinate weapons with allies

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, under pressure to allow the shipment of German-made tanks to Ukraine, has said that future decisions on weapons deliveries will be made in coordination with allies, including the United States.

Scholz, when asked at a news conference about providing tanks to Ukraine, said that all weapons deliveries to Ukraine so far have taken place in close coordination with Western partners.

1613 GMT — Ukraine govt official sacked as corruption scandal rages

A senior Ukrainian government official has been sacked amid fraud allegations as the Ministry of Defence launched an internal audit about an alleged contract signed at grossly inflated prices.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal announced the dismissal of Vasyl Lozynkiy, Deputy Minister of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure, in a statement on the Telegram social messaging platform.

Lozynkiy, in office since May 2020, had been arrested on Saturday by the Ukrainian National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) on suspicion of embezzlement.

1440 GMT — Zelenskyy says independence will be lost if true unity is not attained

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that his country’s independence will be lost if it is not able to attain true unity.

“If the struggle is not stopped, sooner or later a unified and independent state will be restored. If true unity is not attained, independence will be lost,” Zelenskyy said in a video address on the occasion of the Day of Unity.

"We have always known about the first piece of wisdom. And on February 24, we proved that we had mastered the second," he said, emphasising that the start of Moscow’s war on Kiev revived Ukrainian unity.

1529 GMT — American lawmakers urge US to ship Abrams tanks to Ukraine

American lawmakers have pushed the US government to export M1 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine, saying that even sending a symbolic number to Kiev would be enough to push European allies to do the same.

Michael McCaul, the newly installed Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told ABC's "This Week" that "just one" Abrams tank would be enough to prompt allies, notably Germany, to unlock their own tank inventories for the fight against Russia.

1420 GMT — Ukraine defence ministry denies corruption claims

Ukraine's defence ministry has denied reports it had grossly inflated food prices for a recent contract, in the worst corruption scandal to engulf the armed forces since the war broke out.

On Saturday national media reports accused the ministry of having signed a deal at prices "two to three times higher" than current rates for basic foodstuffs.

The defence ministry called the reports "false" and said it "purchases the relevant products in accordance with the procedure established by the law".

But it added that an investigation would take place into how the information was shared, saying it "harms the interests of defence during a sensitive period".

1358 GMT — Britain's former PM Boris Johnson visits Kiev

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has visited Kiev on a surprise trip, meeting Zelenskyy and pledging that Britain would "stick by Ukraine as long as it takes".

During his trip, Johnson visited Borodyanka and Bucha, the suburbs of the Ukrainian capital that became a byword for atrocities in the West when Russian forces drove towards Kiev in the first phase of the attacks before being repelled.

"I can tell you that the UK will be sticking by Ukraine for as long as it takes," Johnson told the mayor of Bucha. "You're going to win and you're going to get all the Russians out of your country, but we will be there for the long-term."

Johnson has dismissed suggestions that his activity in Ukraine could be seen as undermining British Prime Minister Rusni Sunak.

1116 GMT — France, Germany will back Ukraine 'as long as necessary'

France and Germany will support Ukraine for "as long as necessary" in its fight against Russia, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said during a visit to France.

"We will continue to provide Ukraine with all the support its needs for as long as necessary. Together, as Europeans, to defend our European peace project," he said in a speech at the Sorbonne University to celebrate 60 years of postwar Franco-German cooperation.

However, he made no mention of the German-made tanks, which Poland's prime minister had lashed out at Belgian's decision not to supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine, branding the country's stance "unacceptable".

0949 GMT — UK still wants Ukraine to get German-made tanks: top envoy

Britain still wants an international deal to provide Ukraine with the German-made tanks that Kiev says it needs in its fight against Russia but whose transfer needs Germany's consent, British Foreign Minister James Cleverly said.

Western allies pledged billions of dollars in weapons for Ukraine last week, although they failed to persuade Germany to lift a veto on providing Leopard battle tanks, which are held by an array of NATO nations but whose supply to Ukraine would require Berlin's approval.

Leopard tanks are seen by defence experts as the most suitable for Ukraine.

"Of course, I would like to see the Ukrainians equipped with things like the Leopard 2 as well as the artillery systems that have been provided by us and by others," Cleverly said in an interview with Sky News.

0932 GMT —  Russia shells regions outside Ukraine's Donbass region: officials

Russia has increased shelling of Ukraine's eastern regions outside the main front line in the Donbass industrial area, officials from the Zaporizhzhia and Sumy regions said.

Russia's defence ministry said a recent offensive had put its army's units in more advantageous positions along the Zaporizhzhia front line, a claim Ukrainian military officials called an exaggeration.

"Attempting to study our defence, the enemy has activated artillery fire," Oleksandr Starukh, governor of the Zaporizhzhia region of southeastern Ukraine, said on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia fired on the region 166 times through the day, he said, with 113 attacks aimed at populated areas, killing one civilian. Russia says it does not target civilians.

Countering Moscow's claim of recent advances, Yevhen Yerin, a military spokesperson in Zaporizhzhia, told the Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne, "At the moment, they have not captured anything."

0749 GMT — New weapons for Kiev will lead to global catastrophe: Putin ally

Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Duma - Russia's lower house of parliament - has warned that the United States and NATO's support of Ukraine is leading the world to a "terrible war."

"If Washington and NATO countries supply weapons that will be used to strike civilian cities and attempt to seize our territories, as they threaten, this will lead to retaliatory measures using more powerful weapons," Volodin said on the Telegram messaging app.

"Arguments that the nuclear powers have not previously used weapons of mass destruction in local conflicts are untenable. Because these states did not face a situation where there was a threat to the security of their citizens and the territorial integrity of the country."

0435 GMT —  Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania urge Germany to send tanks to Ukraine

The Baltic states have made a joint call to Germany on to step up its leadership and send its main battle tanks to Ukraine.

"We, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania Foreign Ministers, call on Germany to provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine now," Estonia's Foreign Minister said on Twitter. "This is needed to stop Russian aggression, help Ukraine and restore peace in Europe quickly. Germany as the leading European power has a special responsibility in this regard." 

The statement came a day after Germany and Western allies reached no decision on whether Berlin would agree to send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine or permit other countries that have them to do so.

0140 GMT — Ukraine directors bring horrors of war to Sundance

Two new documentaries from Ukrainian filmmakers premiere at the Sundance film festival this week.

"20 Days In Mariupol," which screened Friday night, portrays in harrowing detail the arrival of war last year to a city that became one of the conflict's bloodiest battle sites, all captured by video journalists under siege.

And "Iron Butterflies," premiering Sunday, chronicles the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 by Russian-armed separatists in eastern Ukraine, and its foreshadowing of today's larger conflict.

0010 GMT — Japan's PM considers visiting Kiev in February

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is considering visiting Kiev in February and holding talks with Ukraine's Zelenskyy, the Yomiuri newspaper said, citing Japanese government sources.

As chair of the Group of Seven (G7) leading economies this year, Japan wants to show it intends to keep providing support to Ukraine while it also aims to release a statement with Kiev condemning Russia's aggression, Yomiuri said.

Speaking at a television programme, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara said the idea was something Japan must contemplate as chair of G7 this year. "But nothing has been decided at this stage," he said, when asked about the possibility of Kishida visiting Kiev.

2301 GMT — Germany's defence minister to visit Ukraine soon

Germany's new defence minister Boris Pistorius plans to visit Ukraine soon, he told a German newspaper, as Berlin faces pressure to allow the shipment of German-made tanks to Ukraine.

"What is certain is that I will travel to Ukraine quickly. Probably even within the next four weeks," Pistorius told Bild am Sonntag in an interview published.

Asked about the tanks, Pistorius said in the interview: "We are in very close dialogue with our international partners, first and foremost with the US, on this issue."

For live updates from Saturday (January 21), click here