Live blog: Russia rejects US proposal to resume nuclear arms control talks

Thursday, January 18, 2024

1432 GMT –– Russia’s top diplomat dismissed a US proposal to resume a dialogue on nuclear arms control, saying it's impossible while Washington offers military support to Ukraine.

Speaking at his annual news conference, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the West of fueling global security risks by encouraging Ukraine to ramp up strikes on Russian territory and warned that Moscow will achieve its goals in the conflict despite Western assistance for Kiev.

Commenting on a US proposal to resume contacts in the sphere of nuclear arms control, Lavrov described it as “unacceptable,” saying that Moscow has put forward its stance in a diplomatic letter last month. He argued that for such talks to be held, Washington first needs to revise its current hostile policy toward Russia.

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1800 GMT –– Ukraine hits targets in St Petersburg with domestic-made drone

Ukraine hit targets in Russia's St Petersburg overnight using a domestic-produced drone that flew 1,250 km (775 miles), a Ukrainian government minister was quoted as saying by Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

A Ukrainian military source told Reuters news agency earlier that an oil terminal in Russia's second city, located some 850 km (530 miles) from the nearest section of the Ukrainian border, was targeted as part of a "new stage of work in this region".

"...Last night we hit the target, and this thing flew exactly 1,250 kilometres last night," Oleksandr Kamyshin, the minister of strategic industries who oversees weapons production, was quoted as saying in Davos.

Reuters could not independently verify the statements. A Russian-appointed official in occupied southeastern Ukraine said earlier that Ukraine had tried and failed to target a Russian Baltic Sea oil terminal with a drone overnight.

1729 GMT –– UN's atomic agency concerned about Zaphorizhzhia plant: official

International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi said the situation at the Ukrainian nuclear power plant of Zaporizhzhia was "extremely worrying", even if there are no signs the plant has become a military installation.

"We have been able to confirm that there is no militarisation of the plant, in the sense of having heavy military equipment or artillery equipment there," he said. "And in the past few months, there haven't been any direct attacks on the plant."

On the other hand, "we've had problems in terms of blackouts, and interruption of external power supply, which are equally dangerous because if we lose power, we lose the capacity to cool the reactors and of course, there could be an accident."

1529 GMT –– Kiev indicts pro-Russian ex-PM

Ukraine indicted its former prime minister on charges of justifying Russia's military campaign and calling for the overthrow of the Ukrainian constitution.

The General Prosecutor's Office did not name him, but published a slightly blurred photo of Mykola Azarov, a pro-Russian prime minister who resigned in 2014 amid Ukraine's pro-European Maidan revolution.

Ukrainian media also reported it was Azarov, who has long been the target of legal proceedings in Kiev, that was charged.

1529 GMT –– Russia summons French ambassador after report of mercenaries in Ukraine: TASS

Russia summoned the French ambassador to the Foreign Ministry, a day after Moscow said its forces had killed French mercenaries in Ukraine.

Russia said on Wednesday its forces had carried out a precision strike a day earlier on a building housing "foreign fighters" in Ukraine's second city Kharkiv.

"In connection with the destruction by the Russian armed forces of a temporary deployment point of foreign fighters in Kharkiv, among whom were several dozen Frenchmen, the French ambassador has been summoned to the Foreign Ministry," state-run TASS news agency quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova as saying.

1439 GMT –– Russian claim of French 'mercenaries' in Ukraine false: Paris

Paris denied Russia's claim it had bombarded French "mercenaries" in eastern Ukrainian city Kharkiv, saying it did not employ guns-for-hire.

"France has no 'mercenaries' either in Ukraine or anywhere else, unlike some people," the foreign ministry told AFP news agency, calling the claim "another clumsy Russian manipulation".

1435 GMT –– Recent Russia attacks in Ukraine not militarily effective: NATO official

Russia's recent attacks in Ukraine are not militarily effective, said the chief of NATO's Military Committee, Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer.

"While Russia's most recent attacks are devastating, they are not militarily effective," said Bauer.

The war between Russia and Ukraine is currently in a phase where the conflict is "not moving a lot", Bauer also said. "We should not expect a miracle happening on either side," he added.

1413 GMT –– Ukraine says it is working 'intensively' to restore air travel

Ukraine has been working "intensively" to restore air travel to the country after it was suspended at the start of Russia's invasion in February 2022, a senior presidential official said.

"I don't want to create over-expectations... but I can tell you we are working very intensively to recover the air connection in Ukraine," Rostyslav Shurma, deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office, said in Davos.

1319 GMT –– Ukraine faces 'real and pressing' ammo shortage: ministry

Ukraine said its army faced a serious ammunition shortage, after almost two years of fighting Russian forces.

"A shortage of ammunition is a very real and pressing problem that our Armed Forces are facing at present," Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said.

1315 GMT –– Russia says captured small village in east Ukraine

Russia's defence ministry said its forces had captured a small village in eastern Ukraine.

"In the Donetsk direction, as a result of successful actions of Southern Group troop units, the settlement of Vesele in the Donetsk People's Republic was liberated," Russia's defence ministry said in a briefing.

1245 GMT –– Hungary wants 'yearly' review of EU aid to Ukraine

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called for EU support to Ukraine to be reviewed annually, as difficult negotiations on the issue continue ahead of an EU summit.

His proposal is in stark contrast with a recent appeal by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to provide Ukrainians with "predictable financing throughout 2024 and beyond" to help the country regain "its rightful territory".

Orban is the only EU leader who has maintained close ties with the Kremlin since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022.

1115 GMT –– Offensive in Ukraine 'cleansed' Russian society: Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow's large-scale military intervention against Ukraine had "cleansed" Russian society, after thousands fled the country or were detained after fighting broke out.

Since the Kremlin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022, officials in Moscow have repeatedly branded as "traitors" Russians who left the country to escape a sweeping mobilisation drive or for political reasons.

"The special military operation has united our society like never before and contributed to the cleansing of people who do not feel they be long to Russian history and culture," Lavrov said during a press conference.

"Some of those have left, some have stayed but have started to think," he added.

1020 GMT –– Ukraine 'artillery coalition' set for Paris kick-off

Ukraine's Western allies will launch an "artillery coalition" at a Paris ceremony, aiming to strengthen Kiev's armed forces against Russia's military.

Led by France and the United States, the 23-nation effort is part of the so-called Ramstein contact group, which gathers more than 50 countries supporting Ukraine.

French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu will lead Thursday's ceremony.

The artillery coalition "aims to combine efforts to help Ukraine have an artillery force that meets the needs of its counter-offensive and its army of the future, in the short an d long term," the French defence ministry said.

Ukrainian defence chief Rustem Umerov had to cancel his long-planned attendance in Paris at the last minute "for security reasons", the French government said.

0958 GMT –– France to fund 12 new Caesar cannons for Ukraine: minister

France will pay for 12 of 78 new Caesar truck-mounted artillery pieces planned for delivery to Ukraine in the coming year, Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said.

Coming on top of six guns already spoken for by Paris, the 12 cannons would be paid for with 50 million euros ($54 million) from France's 200-million-euro fund for supporting Kiev, Lecornu added –– leaving allies to come up with joint funding for the 60 remaining pieces.

0905 GMT –– Ukraine says detains Russian spy

Ukrainian security services announced they had detained a student who was gathering and relaying information for Moscow about facilities storing toxic substances so they could be targeted by Russian strikes.

"SBU cyber specialists detained an FSB agent who was spying for the enemy in the Odessa region," Ukraine's SBU security services said, referring to its counterpart Russian agency, the Federal Security Service.

"The main task of the offender was to identify and transmit coordinates where toxic substances are stored, including warehouses and pesticide storage facilities," the SBU added

0738 GMT — Russian, N.Korean foreign ministers discuss ties: TASS

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has discussed with his North Korean counterpart Choe Son Hui the implementation of agreements made by national leaders Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, the TASS news agency cited the ministry.

0648 GMT — Ukraine shoots down 22 out of 33 Russian drones overnight: Kiev

Russia has launched 33 drones and two missiles at Ukraine overnight, with air defences destroying 22 drones, the Ukrainian military said.

"The main areas of attack were the south and north. The Ukrainian Air Force and Defence Forces destroyed 22 enemy drones. Several more drones did not reach their targets," Ukraine's Air Forces said on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukrainian military said Russian drones hit residential neighbourhoods in the southern city of Kherson where several buildings were damaged and a woman was wounded.

Drones also hit agribusiness facilities in the Beryslav community of the Kherson region.

0356 GMT — German lawmakers vote against sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine

A three-party governing coalition in Germany has opposed a motion to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine.

The motion was rejected by lawmakers from the Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the Free Democrats (FDP).

The proposal by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) garnered 485 votes against and only 178 in favour.

Members of the Greens and FDP justified their rejection of the proposal, citing an attempt to link it to the general debate on the annual report for the Armed Forces.

The German media also pointed out Chancellor Olaf Scholz's hesitation regarding the proposal to provide Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles.

2230 GMT — Ukraine says Russia hit Kharkiv

Russian missiles have struck a town outside Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, killing one person and damaging an educational institution, the regional governor and the military said. Governor Oleh Synehubov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said there were two strikes in the town of Chuhuyev, southeast of Kharkiv.

A woman employee of a heating and power plant was killed. Another person was injured.

Another Telegram channel overseen by the commander of the Kharkiv military garrison said the attack was carried out using S-300 missiles.

The city is a frequent target of Russian attacks, but has not fallen into Russian hands over the course of Russia's 22-month-old offensive in Ukraine.

2200 GMT — Biden holds tough Ukraine aid talks with US Congress chiefs

US President Joe Biden has hosted congressional leaders at the White House to push for fresh aid to Ukraine, with Republicans insisting they must first get major concessions on immigration policy.

Washington's vital military assistance for Ukraine's fight against Russian offansive has dried up.

Republicans are blocking Democrat Biden's request for a huge national security package including $60 billion for Ukraine and ally Israel, and money that would be spent on reinforcing the troubled US-Mexican border.

Republican US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said that a meeting with President Biden and Democrats in the Senate was "productive."

But Johnson said that Republicans were still not wavering on an insistence that new measures to secure the US border with Mexico were the priority for them.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, emerging from the same meeting, said there was a "large amount of agreement" between the two sides and that Biden had agreed to "move forward" on the border.

For our live updates from Wednesday (January 17), click here.