January 26, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Here's what Ukrainian officials have said about the impact of the missiles that Russian forces fired across Ukraine on Thursday morning:

Kyiv city: Around 20 Russian missiles were shot down in the skies over Ukraine’s capital, said Serhiy Popko, head of city’s military administration. A 55-year-old man was killed by falling missile fragments, and two others wounded.

Kyiv region: The regional administration for the wider Kyiv region reported a “hit at an energy facility” but gave no further details.

Odesa region: Ukrainian air defenses destroyed three missiles over the region, governor Maksym Marchenko said on Telegram. The DTEK energy company said energy infrastructure had been damaged and warned the subsequent emergency power outages “may last for several days”.

Vinnytsia region: Earlier, regional governor Serhiy Borzov reported “hits by enemy missiles.” The region’s police chief Ivan Ishchenko said there were no known casualties.

The Australian Open has issued a warning to players after tennis star Novak Djokovic's father Srdjan was seen posing with flag-waving supporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a video posted on YouTube by a known Putin supporter, Srdjan Djokovic can be seen posing with a supporter outside Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena. 

The man is wearing a pro-war "Z" symbol on his shirt, while holding a Russian flag with Putin’s face on it. The “Z” symbol, which has been seen on Russian military equipment and clothing, is viewed as a sign of support for Russia, including its invasion of Ukraine.

According to Australian Open rules, Russian and Belarusian flags are banned from the event. 

"Players and their teams have been briefed and reminded of the event policy regarding flags and symbols and to avoid any situation that has the potential to disrupt," an Australian Open spokesperson told CNN Thursday. "We continue to work closely with event security and law enforcement agencies."

The Australian Open spokesperson went on to say that "a small group of people displayed inappropriate flags and symbols and threatened security guards following a match on Wednesday night and were evicted."

CNN has reached out to both Novak and Srdjan Djokovic for comment.

Ukraine shot down all of the Russian missiles fired at Kyiv on Thursday morning, according to Serhiy Popko, head of city’s military administration.

Popko said that around 20 missiles were destroyed after being “detected in Kyiv city airspace” in a post on Telegram.

The person who died in the attacks was identified as a 55-year-old man who was killed “due to the fall of missile fragments,” he added.

The US Ambassador to Kyiv, Bridget Brink, described the missile assault as “another cruel attack” that wouldn't stop Ukraine’s allies giving their “determined, unified support.”

The regional administration for the wider Kyiv region reported that an energy facility had been hit in the attack. “Emergency power outages were being introduced throughout the region,” it said.

Most regions of Ukraine are now no longer under an air raid alert.

Earlier Thursday, a Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson said that more than 30 missiles had been fired at Ukraine from Russian aircraft.

The missile salvo came less than 24 hours after the United States and Germany pledged to supply Ukraine with modern battle tanks.

Moscow sees the delivery of modern Western battle tanks to Ukraine as “direct involvement” in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.

"There are constant statements from European capitals, from Washington that them sending various weapons systems, including tanks, to Ukraine in no way means the involvement of these countries or the alliance in the hostilities that are taking place in Ukraine,” Peskov said in a daily press call with reporters.  

Peskov's comments come after Germany agreed to send Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine following weeks of diplomatic pressure.

Berlin has also said it will approve the re-export of the German-made tanks from other European allies that have stocks of the tank.

Germany is planning to deliver Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine by the end of March, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced Thursday. 

''We will deliver our Leopards – at the latest by the end of march,'' Pistorius told reporters at a news conference during a visit to a German armed forces training camp in Altengrabow. 

On Wednesday, Germany confirmed it will deliver 14 Leopard 2 tanks from its own Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) stock to Kyiv, following weeks of diplomatic pressure on Berlin.  

When asked by a reporter on Thursday why it had taken Germany so long to announce the deliveries of the tanks, Pistorius justified Germany taking its time.   

''We did not hesitate – we negotiated with our allies – we talked to our partners and friends about what is the best thing to do now and that takes time," he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is “not interested” in meeting his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for peace talks in an interview with Sky News that aired Thursday. 

Asked whether the war in Ukraine could be resolved through peace talks with Putin, Zelensky said: “It is not interesting for me. Not interesting to meet, not interesting to speak.”  

Zelensky told Sky News there were many more casualties on Russia’s side than Ukraine’s, adding that “in the east, they are losing a large number of people, a huge number, but they don’t care. They are not counting people, that’s a fact. We are counting their people.”  

During the interview, which was taped on Wednesday, Zelensky learned Germany had agreed to send German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine after weeks of diplomatic pressure on Berlin to do so. 

Zelensky said he was “very pleased,” but he also said the timeframe in which they were delivered to the war-torn nation was “critical.”  

Thursday’s wave of Russian air strikes damaged energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, causing “major troubles with the power supply,” regional governor Maksym Marchenko said on Telegram. 

“There are hits and damage to several energy infrastructure facilities in the Odesa region and other regions of the country,” Marchenko wrote.

The strikes came less than 24 hours after the historic center of the regional capital, the port city of Odesa, was added to the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay had said then he hoped the move would help protect the city from the war.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Thursday that the attack was in response to the listing.

“Among [the] targets of today’s mass missile strike, Russia struck Odesa causing massive power outages,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter. “This destruction is Putin’s response to UNESCO inscribing Odesa on its World Heritage List yesterday and placing it under reinforced protection of the World Heritage in Danger List.”

More than 30 Russian missiles were reportedly launched at Ukraine on Thursday morning, just hours after two dozen attack drones were shot down.

Missile strikes have been reported in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and the Odesa and Vinnytsia regions.

Poland will receive its first Abrams tanks from the United States in the spring, defense minister Mariusz Błaszczak said Thursday.

Błaszczak told public broadcaster Polskie Radio 1 that 58 of the US-made tanks will be delivered in the coming months, and Polish troops had been undergoing training on the vehicles "for some time." 

In December, the US approved a $3.75 billion sale of Abrams tanks to Poland.

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a NATO Ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in Europe,” reads a note from the US State Department published at the time.

“The proposed sale will improve Poland’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing a credible force that is capable of deterring adversaries and participating in NATO operations.”

Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine: The announcement on the first delivery of these tanks comes as Poland prepares to send some of its German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

Marcin Przydacz, head of the Polish president's International Policy Bureau, said the country will send "one company" of tanks.

He would not specify exactly how many tanks Poland intended to send but said that a company of tanks was usually made up of “between 10 and 14 Leopard 2 vehicles.” 

One person has died and at least two have been wounded in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv after Russia launched a new wave of missile attacks on Thursday morning, city mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said on Telegram.

“There is information about one dead and two injured as a result of a missile hit in the Holosiyivskyi district,” he said. Klitschko also reported explosions in the Dniprovskyi district.

Earlier Monday, Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat told national television that more than 30 missiles had been fired at Ukraine from strategic bombers that took off from Russia’s Murmansk region.

Missile strikes have also been reported in the Vinnytsia region.

An air raid alert remains in place across the country.