January 20, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reiterated the German position that there has been no decision made on sending Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

"You may have heard the German minister of defense say earlier that they've not made a decision on the provision of Leopard tanks," he said in response to a reporter's question.  

Austin referred back to his statements about Western allies sending defense weapons to Ukraine, as well as the United Kingdom's plans to provide battle tanks.

"Poland for example is continuing to offer tanks and will provide tanks, and other countries will offer some tank capability as well. I don't have any announcements to make on [M1 Abrams tanks], and you heard the German minister of defense say that they've not made a decision on Leopards," he said.

Some background: German and US officials appear to be stuck in a deadlock over whether to send tanks following numerous appeals from Kyiv’s leadership. CNN has reported that in recent days, German officials have indicated they won’t send their Leopard tanks to Ukraine, or allow any other country with the German-made tanks in their inventory to do so, unless the US also agrees to send its M1 Abrams tanks to Kyiv – something the Pentagon has said for months it has no intention of doing given the logistical costs of maintaining them.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned of an escalation in Ukraine in the event of an increase in the supply of Western weapons to Kyiv, according to the statement published on Friday as NATO partners met in Germany to discuss more aid for Ukraine.

On Friday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that any new NATO deliveries of heavy weapons to Kyiv "will not change anything" in regards to Russia achieving its goals in Ukraine. 

Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and Deputy Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Yevhen Moisiuk gave a presentation at the high stakes meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein air base on Friday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at a news conference.

Speaking to reporters after concluding the meeting, Austin said, the presentation gave a first-hand account of "what Ukraine's military and citizens are facing" as Russia's war in the country continues.

"They all represent the exceptional bravery of the Ukraine army, and most importantly, the Ukrainian people," top US Gen. Mark Milley said at the conference.

Both leaders reiterated the United States' commitment to supporting Ukraine, noting that the Pentagon announced a new $2.5 billion Ukraine security package that includes for the first time Stryker armored vehicles.

"Eventually, President Putin, Russia, will realize the full extent of their strategic miscalculation. But until Putin ends this war — his war of choice — the nations of this contact group will continue to support the defense of Ukraine in order to uphold the rules-based international order," Milley added.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeated the offer of mediating between Moscow and Kyiv during a phone call with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, according to the Turkish Presidency's Directorate of Communications statement. 

The developments in the Russia-Ukraine war were discussed during the call, the statement said.

President Erdogan also expressed his condolences for the helicopter crash that took place in Ukraine on Wednesday.

A helicopter carrying the leadership team of Ukraine’s interior ministry crashed near a kindergarten and residential block in the Kyiv region on Wednesday, killing at least 14 people, including all nine people on board.

President Erdogan reiterated that they are ready to make a strong diplomatic contribution to the establishment of a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine and to take on the role of facilitator and mediator.

In a recent phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Erdogan told him that calls for peace and negotiations should be supported by a unilateral declaration of ceasefire and a vision of “a fair solution.”

Germany is "ready to move quickly" if allies reach a consensus on sending tanks to Ukraine, Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Friday.

"As far as the delivery of the Leopard is concerned, there is no unanimous opinion," Pistorius told reporters on the sidelines of a high stakes defense meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

He rebuffed claims Germany has been "standing in the way" of a "united coalition" of countries in favor of sending tanks to Ukraine.

"There are good reasons for the delivery and there are good reasons against it. And given the overall situation of a war that has been going on for almost one year now, all the pros and cons have to be weighed very carefully, and that assessment is explicitly shared by many allies," he added.

Pistorius said he had instructed officials to carry out an audit of Germany's stocks of Leopard 2 tanks so the country can "move quickly" in the event of a "positive decision."

The Defense Minister added that the issue of export authorizations was not discussed during Friday's meetings. 

Poland has been waiting on the go-ahead to send German-made tanks to Ukraine. On Thursday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that if Poland does not get the green light from Germany, it will "do the right thing ourselves." 

A UN aid convoy reached Ukrainian-held areas close to the eastern town of Soledar on Friday morning, UN spokesperson Jens Laerke said. 

The vehicles in the convoy are delivering food, water, hygiene kits and medical supplies to the more than 800 people who remain there and are “in dire need of humanitarian assistance,” Laerke told a press briefing in Geneva on Friday.

"Our colleagues in Ukraine have this morning local time reached government-controlled areas close to Soledar in eastern Donetsk Oblast with a three-truck humanitarian convoy to support over 800 people who remain in communities surrounding Soledar," Laerke said. 

Some context: The situation in Soledar remains unclear, as CNN has reported. Last week, Russia claimed it had taken the small town of Soledar following weeks of fierce battles, but Ukraine denied the claim.

Laerke said the UN had given advance notice to both Ukraine and Russia of the convoy’s arrival.

Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has denied that the country’s decision to potentially send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine is tied to whether the United States makes a similar move and sends M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.

When asked about the issue during an interview with German public broadcaster ARD Thursday, Pistorius said he was “not aware of such an arrangement.”  

According to Pistorius, no decision has been made as to whether Germany will send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

The defense minister told reporters on the sidelines of a high stakes defense meeting at Ramstein Airbase on Friday that "we all cannot say today when a decision will be made and what that decision will be on Leopard tanks."

Some background: German and US officials have been stuck in a deadlock over whether to send tanks following numerous appeals from Kyiv’s leadership. CNN reported Friday that German officials indicated they won't send their Leopard tanks to Ukraine or give permission to any other country with the German-made tanks in their inventory to do so, unless the US also agrees to send its M1 Abrams tanks to Kyiv. 

“If America will decide that they will bring battle tanks to Ukraine, that will make it easier for Germany,” German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck told Bloomberg from Davos on Tuesday.

"They have us over a barrel," a senior Biden administration official told CNN Thursday, adding that the Germans are demanding tanks for tanks, and not budging on considering any other offers the US has made to spur Berlin to send the Leopards.

However, German government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit denied these claims Friday. "It's hard for me to imagine a German chancellor dictating any conditions to an American president or making any demands." 

The spokesperson added that Germany deems it “important” that Ukraine’s allies “act in a very unified and joint manner,” especially when it comes to the delivery of battle tanks. 

With previous reporting from CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, Kylie Atwood and Oren Liebermann 

The organization responsible for conducting federal elections in Russia has begun preparations for a presidential vote next year, said Ella Pamfilova, the Central Election Commission chairman. 

"We are laying it out now with an eye on the presidential campaign, because we understand what the presidential elections are in the current conditions," Pamfilova told journalists Friday, according to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

Russia is expected to hold the presidential election in the spring of 2024. The current head of state, President Vladimir Putin, has not yet announced his decision to participate.

Some background: Putin has been in power for a long time. He served as president from 2000-2008, and then, a job swap with his then prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, in 2008, allowed him to return to the presidency in 2012. He has been serving since then. He would have been obliged by law to step down after this term, which ends in 2024, but he signed a law in 2021 that paved the way for him to run for two more presidential terms, potentially extending his rule until 2036.

The United States will support Ukraine "for as long as it takes," US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Friday. He is meeting Western allies in Germany to discuss military aid for Kyiv. It comes as Washington is stuck in a standoff with Berlin over whether to send tanks to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made another desperate plea to send more weapons to Kyiv without delay, warning that "hundreds of thank you are not hundreds of tanks."

Here are some of the latest developments: