live blog
Status: 01/17/2023 03:41 a.m
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has called on the OSCE to do more for the Ukrainians who, according to Kyiv, were forcibly deported to Russia. The Ukrainian army reports the shelling of numerous towns and villages. All developments in the live blog.
3:39 a.m
US pledges support to Ukraine
Two days after the deadly attack on a residential building in eastern Ukraine’s Dnipro, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Wendy Sherman once again assured Ukraine of her country’s “unwavering” support. Sherman traveled to Kyiv and met both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, the Foreign Ministry in Washington said. The talks were primarily about strengthening Kiev’s defense capabilities in the face of Russian aggression.
The attack on a residential building in Dnipro on Saturday evening was one of the deadliest attacks in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion, according to the UN. At least 40 people were killed.
3:07 a.m
Zelenskyj calls for support from the OSCE
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is calling on the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) to do more for the Ukrainians who were forcibly deported to Russia, according to Kyiv. “No international organization has so far found the strength to gain access to the places where our prisoners are held in Russia. This must be corrected,” says Zelenskiy in his evening video address. He had previously met with OSCE Chair-in-Office and North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani.
Ukraine accuses Russia of deporting thousands of Ukrainians since the Russian invasion began in February 2022. The US State Department estimates that between 900,000 and 1.6 million Ukrainian citizens, including 260,000 children, were forcibly taken into Russian territory last year. According to Russian information, the people are war refugees. Russia denies the deportations and claims that those arriving are war refugees. In November, Ukraine’s Emergencies Ministry said about 4.8 million Ukrainians, including 712,000 children, had crossed into Russia since February.
3:06 a.m
Kyiv: Many towns and villages under Russian shelling
According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army, around 25 towns and villages around Bakhmut and Avdiivka in the Donbass region are under Russian artillery fire. In addition, Russia continued shelling more than 30 settlements in the northeastern Kharkiv and Sumy regions near the Russian border. Several cities in the south, including the regional capital of Kherson, were also being attacked with mortar and artillery fire.
2:57 a.m
Ukraine is pushing for faster arms deliveries
The secretary of the Ukrainian Security Council, Olesky Danilov, says on Ukrainian television that Ukraine is expecting a “final push by Russia” on the anniversary of the invasion on February 24 or in March. Therefore, the supply of weapons from the West must be accelerated. “We have to prepare for such events every day. And we are preparing. The first and last question is always about weapons, about help to defeat this aggressor who has invaded our country”.
Earlier, in his evening video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Ukraine’s partners to speed up decision-making on arms deliveries.
conflicting parties as a source
Information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body in the current situation.
2:53 a.m
Ukrainian Air Force: Russians have few ballistic missiles
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the Russian attack pattern shows that Moscow has only a small supply of ballistic missiles. Russia is increasingly using the S-300 and S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems to carry out attacks on ground targets, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force says, citing information from the domestic intelligence service. Russia is running out of ammunition for Iskander missiles.