live blog
Germany may want to participate in the supply of cruise missiles to Ukraine through a ring swap. Ukraine reports shooting down eleven Russian drones. The developments in the live blog.
According to a Russian MP, the prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine is continuing despite the crash of a transport plane carrying suspected 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war. Russia will “even talk to the devil” to bring back its captured soldiers, says Duma deputy Andrei Kartapolov, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has questioned the continuation of the exchanges.
Russia has warned of the consequences of the crash of a Russian military plane with 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board. The crash, for which Russia blames Ukraine, was “an absolutely monstrous act,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to state news agencies. “No one can tell you what impact this will have on the prospects for extending the process” of prisoner exchange, Peskov said.
The fire at a large oil refinery in the southern Russian coastal city of Tuapse has been extinguished, according to the Russian news agency RIA. The cause of the fire remains unclear.
According to the Ukrainian military, Russian forces attacked with 14 drones and five missiles during the night. The Air Force explains on the Telegram short message service that eleven drones were intercepted and destroyed by air defense systems. The target of the attacks was primarily the south of Ukraine.
The governor of Odessa Oblast, Oleh Kiper, said on Telegram that two people were injured in attacks on the port city. Despite the effective air defense, an industrial plant and residential buildings were hit and civilian infrastructure was damaged. The information cannot be independently verified. There is initially no statement from Russia.
Conflict parties as a source
In the current situation, information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian parties to the conflict cannot be directly verified by an independent body.
The Green Party politician Anton Hofreiter welcomed the delivery of six military helicopters to Ukraine announced by the Federal Ministry of Defense, but described it as insufficient. “It is good and right to deliver the six helicopters,” said the chairman of the European Committee in the Bundestag to the newspapers of the editorial network Germany (RND). “But overall, we deliver significantly too little in terms of unit numbers.”
“Six helicopters, 18 Leopard 2s and 14 self-propelled howitzers are so small in number that they do not make the difference that they could make given the capabilities of the systems,” said Hofreiter.
Germany may want to participate in the supply of cruise missiles to Ukraine through a ring swap. According to information from the dpa news agency, there are considerations about supplying the Bundeswehr’s “Taurus” missiles to NATO partners such as Great Britain and France. In return, these countries would then export similar, less powerful weapons systems to Ukraine.
After the crash of a Russian military plane in the border region of Belgorod, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj called for an international investigation.
Rebecca Barth, ARD Kiev, tagesschau, January 25, 2024 5:55 a.m
The Ukrainian military intelligence service HUR is currently trying to find out more about the fate of the dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war who, according to Moscow, were said to have been on board the plane, Zelensky said in his evening speech. “It is obvious that the Russians are playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners, with the feelings of their relatives and with the emotions of our society.”
An Ilyushin Il-76 plane crashed in the western Russian region of Belgorod on Wednesday afternoon. According to Russian information, all 74 people on board were killed – including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war. However, there is still no independent information about who or what the plane was transporting.
The Ukrainian side only confirmed that a prisoner exchange was planned but then fell through. Ukraine accuses Russia of not notifying that Belgorod airspace should have been given special protection in the course of the prisoner exchange.
A fire has broken out at a large oil refinery in the southern Russian city of Tuapse. According to reports from Russian news agencies, the fire is currently being brought under control. Air traffic in the coastal city of Sochi, about 100 kilometers away, has been suspended for the time being. Crews and air traffic controllers are taking all precautionary measures to ensure flight safety in the region.
Unofficial Telegram channels show pictures of the fire and blame drones for it. However, there is no official confirmation of this yet.
Against the backdrop of Russia’s war against Ukraine, NATO has launched its largest military exercise in decades. In Russia, critics of the military should be able to be expropriated in the future. Wednesday’s live blog for reading.