January 25, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Wagner mercenary forces are making progress in Bakhmut and fighting in parts of the town that the Ukrainians held until recently, a pro-Russian official has told Russian state news agency TASS. 

"Units, in particular Wagner, are advancing in Artemivsk [the Russian name for Bakhmut] itself,” said Denis Pushilin, the Kremlin-backed governor of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine.

“Battles are already ongoing somewhere on the outskirts, and somewhere in those quarters that were recently held by the enemy.” 

CNN could not verify the battlefield claims.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Tuesday that Russia was “increasing pressure” in the direction of Bakhmut and the nearby town of Vuhledar.

The Ukrainian military’s General Staff made a brief reference to Bakhmut in its daily update on Wednesday, saying that Russian troops “continue[s] to conduct offensives” around the town and it had had “repelled” attacks there. 

“While suffering numerous casualties, the enemy continues to conduct offensives in the direction of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Novopavlivka,” it said.

“Ukrainian Defense Forces have repelled enemy attacks near the towns of Bilohorivka in Luhansk region and Rozdolivka, Krasna Hora, Bakhmut, Novobakhmutivka, Krasnohorivka, Maryinka and Charivne in Donetsk region.” 

On Tuesday, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that Russian forces had “made marginal territorial gains near Bakhmut.” 

Pavlo Kyrylenko, Ukraine’s regional governor in Donetsk, said on Telegram on Wednesday morning that Vuhledar, some 130 kilometers southwest of Bakhmut, had come under “intense shelling."

Russia's Admiral Gorshkov frigate, armed with Zircon hypersonic missiles, will take part in joint exercises with the Chinese and South African navies, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

The exercises are scheduled to take place early next month off the coast of South Africa.

The Admiral Gorshkov was deployed January 4 and performed air defense drills in the Norwegian Sea before heading to the Atlantic Ocean, according to state news agency TASS. 

It is armed with Zircon hypersonic missiles, and a successful test was carried out on Wednesday, according to the ship's commander.

"Today a shipborne combat training exercise was held to practice delivering a missile strike against an enemy surface target. The Tsirkon [Zircon] hypersonic weapon was employed to a distance of over 900 km," said Captain 1st Rank Igor Krokhmal in a video released by the Defense Ministry. 

"In our scenario, the electronic launch and the work by the shipborne combat team confirmed the missile system’s designed characteristics demonstrated during preliminary and state trials," he said, adding that the electronic missile launch objective was fully achieved.

The Admiral Gorshkov is a multi-purpose frigate that joined the Russian navy in 2018, according to TASS.

The warship was actively involved in testing Russia’s "breakthrough" Zircon hypersonic missile, designed and produced by the Research and Production Association of Machine-Building, part of Russia's Tactical Missiles Corporation, according to TASS.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is currently on a visit to Africa. He was in South Africa on Monday and is due to visit Angola today.

Russian armed forces will destroy US-made Abrams tanks and other NATO military equipment if they are supplied to Ukraine, Russia's Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said in a statement late Tuesday. 

When asked to comment on possible shipments of M1 Abrams tanks to Kiev, Antonov said that "analysis of the entire sequence of Washington's actions" shows the Americans "are constantly raising the 'bar' of military assistance to their puppet government."

US officials familiar with the negotiations said the Biden administration is finalizing plans to send approximately 30 US-made Abrams tanks to Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials say the Russians are learning from their battlefield mistakes and making it harder for Ukraine’s missiles to hit their ammunition depots and logistics hubs. That’s why, they say, Ukraine needs longer range missiles that can reach inside Russia.

They also believe the appointment of Gen. Valery Gerasimov as the commander of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine is a last throw of the dice by the Kremlin after multiple reshuffles of its military hierarchy.

The deputy chief of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, Vadym Skibitsky, told CNN Monday that the Russians have begun dispersing military supplies “across the entire territory of the Russian Federation.”

In particular, he said, “everything is moved to the southern regions through the Crimean peninsula” from logistical hubs in the Russian region of Rostov.

And this requires strikes against facilities not only in Russian-occupied Crimea, “but also in the Russian Federation,” Skibitsky said.

He described Russia’s logistics systems as lying 80 to 120 kilometers (50-75 miles) from the front line, which means Ukraine needs longer-range strike systems to target them.

Another reason for long-range artillery: multiple Ukrainian officials have told CNN that Ukraine wants to launch a counteroffensive before Russian reinforcements are equipped and ready to move. But to do that, Kyiv needs to be able to reach further.

Read the full story here.

US and European donations of tanks to Ukraine will bring “more suffering” to the country and “more tension to the continent,” a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.

His comments come as Germany's parliament on Wednesday prepares to debate the contentious issue of possibly sending German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, US officials familiar with the negotiations said the Biden administration is finalizing plans to send approximately 30 US-made Abrams tanks to Ukraine.

Strained relations: On Tuesday, Peskov said any approval from Berlin of tank deliveries to Ukraine would inevitably affect relations between Russia and Germany, which are already at a “fairly low point.”

“Of course, such deliveries do not bode well for the future of relations. They will leave an imminent trace,” Peskov added during a regular press briefing.

Vladimir Osechkin says he was walking toward his dining room table, plates of spaghetti for his children in his hands, when he spotted the red laser dancing across the wall.

He knew what was coming.

Slamming off the lights, he says he and his wife pulled their children to the ground, hurrying out of sight and into a different area of the apartment. Minutes later, Osechkin says, a would-be assassin fired, mistaking hastily arrived police officers for the Russian dissident.

For the next 30 minutes, Osechkin told CNN, his wife and children lay on the floor. His wife, nearest their children, shielded them from more bullets during the September 12 attack.

He’s become the champion of a growing number of high-level Russian officials defecting to the West, emboldened and disgruntled by the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine. He says ex-generals and intelligence agents are among their number.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown his determination to hunt the Kremlin’s perceived enemies overseas. Osechkin has been arrested in absentia in Russia and is currently on the Russian authorities “wanted list.��� France has provided him sanctuary, but security is far harder to come by.

Osechkin’s work as an investigative journalist and anti-corruption activist — which means he has made it his business to know the secrets of the Russian state — helps to a degree. Twice, he tells CNN, tip-offs have beaten the killers to his door.

Osechkin’s response is chillingly calm. “Good evening. Wow. And how much is offered for my gray head?”

Osechkin now lives under constant armed guard, provided by the French authorities, his address and routine are secret.

Read the full story:

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The German parliament will debate the contentious issue of possibly sending Leopard tanks to Ukraine on Wednesday. 

The opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) parties have requested the debate, arguing they want to “end the Leopard-blockade of the federal government." The opposition parties say, according to the parliamentary website, that the German government “must fear losing the trust of its allies.”

The debate will start at 9.05 a.m. ET.

Some context: Poland has formally asked Germany for permission to transfer Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine. Germany has so far resisted calls from Poland, the US and a handful of other NATO countries to transfer the tanks into Ukraine, or authorize other countries to send some of their Leopards to Kyiv.

However, Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said earlier that the country will make a decision on the tanks "very soon."

Newspaper is set to send its sought-after Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine to help bolster the country’s war effort, Der Spiegel reported on Tuesday evening, attributing to unnamed sources.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has decided to deliver the battle tanks following “months of debate,” according to the German news outlet’s exclusive report.

The Biden administration is finalizing plans to send approximately 30 US-made Abrams tanks to Ukraine and could make an announcement as soon as this week, according to two officials familiar with the deliberations.

The US will also send a small number of recovery vehicles, one of the officials said. The tracked vehicles are used to assist in the repair of tanks on the battlefield or their removal for maintenance.

The timing around the delivery of the tanks is unclear and it normally takes several months to train troops to use them effectively, officials said. 

An announcement about the tanks could be part of an attempt to break a diplomatic logjam with Germany, which indicated to the US last week that it would not send its Leopard tanks to Ukraine unless the US also agreed to send its M1 Abrams tanks. 

Top US national security officials have been considering steps they could take to convince Germany to send the Leopards. 

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Tuesday she suspects the matter “will be resolved relatively soon.”

“I think you’ll see in the days ahead resolution of some of these issues,” she said.

Some background: The Biden administration has never taken the possibility of shipping American tanks entirely off the table, but US officials said publicly last week that now is not the right time to send the 70-ton M1 Abrams tanks because they are costly and require a significant amount of training to operate.

The tanks have instead repeatedly been floated as a long-term option — even as critics say the right time is now, as Ukraine braces for the possibility Russia will mobilize more troops and launch a new offensive.

Sky News Arabia was first to report the news that the US is considering sending the tanks.

CNN's Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.

The decision to send US-made Abrams tanks to Ukraine will take many factors into account, including technical considerations, White House National Security Council Senior Coordinator for Communications John Kirby told CNN on Tuesday.

Earlier Tuesday, CNN reported that the Biden administration is finalizing plans to send tanks to Ukraine, according to three US officials. The timing around the delivery of the tanks is still unclear and it normally takes several months to train troops to use them effectively, officials said.

Kirby acknowledged the complexity of the Abrams systems could play a role in the US’ decision to share tanks with Ukraine, adding that “with any advanced system, you have to factor in things like supply chain and maintenance time and how often can you keep them operational and how do you use them effectively.”

Ensuring Ukrainian troops are sufficiently trained on the systems “absolutely affects,” the US’ decision, he added. 

US-Russia tensions: Kirby also dismissed the idea that providing Abrams tanks might raise tensions with Russia, pointing to Moscow's attacks against civilians in Ukraine. "It is Russia that is the aggressor here, it is Russia that has escalated," he said.