WAR IN UKRAINE: January 26, 2023
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 337
The U.S. is to send 31 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine - along with parts, equipment and training, President Joe Biden told a White House news conference on Wednesday. It follows a Germany decision to send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and to not stand in way of other countries sending their own German-built tanks. Biden said the U.S. had been in consultation with several European countries in the lead up to the announcement and that pressure from Germany did not sway his decision. It will likely take months before the tanks reach Ukrainian soil.
Announcing the decision to put its tanks on the battlefield, Biden said Mr Putin had expected Europe and the United States to "weaken our resolve", adding: "He was wrong from the beginning and he continues to be wrong…"We're also giving Ukraine the parts and equipment necessary to effectively sustain these tanks in battle," he said. "This is about helping Ukraine defend and protect Ukrainian land. It is not an offensive threat to Russia."
Overcoming some opposition at home and ending a long period of dithering, Germany has said it would send 14 of its Leopard 2s to the Ukrainian battlefield. It also said it would not stand in the way of other countries with stockpiles of the German-built tanks to deliver them to Ukraine. But addressing the Bundestag in Berlin on Wednesday outlining the details of the tanks plan, Chancellor Olaf Scholz insisted there would be "no fighter jet deliveries to Ukraine".
Ukraine's president has thanked Western leaders for sending tanks to support the fight against Russia, but said they needed to be delivered quickly. In his nightly address, Volodymyr Zelensky also urged the West to send long-range missiles and fighter jets. His comments came after the US and Germany announced they would send Abrams and Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Russia condemned the announcement as a "blatant provocation" and said any supplied tanks would be destroyed. The tanks would "burn like all the rest," said Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman. "They are just very expensive." Mr Zelensky said he told Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that "progress must be made in other aspects of our defence co-operation" - with Ukraine seeking supplies of long-range missiles and artillery. He pressed not only for a prompt delivery of Western tanks but also for significant numbers: "We must form such a tank force, such a freedom force that after it strikes, tyranny will never again rise up” - BBC
The European Court of Human Rights has confirmed it will hear a Dutch case against Russia over the downing of flight MH17 in 2014. The Dutch government argues that Russia's disinformation about Moscow's role in the incident is a violation of the relatives' human rights. The court said areas controlled by the rebels were “under the jurisdiction” of Russia. Also that it “had a significant influence on the separatists’ military strategy” including providing weapons, carrying out artillery attacks requested by the rebels & giving them political and economic support.
The historic centre of the Ukrainian port city of Odesa has been designated an endangered World Heritage site by the UN’s cultural agency, despite Russian opposition. Known as the pearl of the Black Sea, Odesa has been bombed several times since Russia invaded Ukraine
Russian and Belarusian athletes could be free to compete as neutrals at the 2024 Olympics after the International Olympic Committee said it will "explore a pathway" for their participation. The IOC called on federations to exclude athletes from the countries following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This week Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian athletes should have "no place" at the Paris Games. But the IOC's statement on Wednesday could clear the way for their return. It said "no athlete should be prevented from competing just because of their passport".