January 20, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage for the day has ended. Follow the latest Ukraine news here or read through the updates below.

Oksana Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States

“Time is of the essence” in getting Western tanks into Ukraine before Russia launches an anticipated spring offensive, a top Ukrainian diplomat told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Friday.

“We need these tanks now,” said Oksana Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States.

Germany has so far failed to reach an agreement with its key Western allies on sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, despite growing pressure to step up its military aid and pleas from Kyiv for more weapons.

Germany has denied claims it is dragging its feet and has called on the US to send its own tanks to Ukraine.

Blitzer asked Markarova about the US government’s argument that its M1 Abrams tanks would be more difficult to operate and maintain — and therefore less helpful — than the German Leopards.

“Of course we are consulting with our partners, ‘What will be the most effective one? What can we get in large numbers, maintain on the battlefield, repair if necessary?’” the ambassador said.

“It looks like the Leopard is something that a number of allies are ready to discuss with us, have in quantity and would be a little bit easier to maintain and repair,” Markarova said. “But again, as we discussed … there is no discussion that is not being held at the moment.”

Despite concerns over the delivery of Western tanks, the ambassador opened her discussion with Blitzer by thanking the US for its latest aid package and other allies for all of their military support.

Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk

Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk has expressed his frustrations as Germany is yet to decide whether or not to send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

Melnyk called Germany’s indecisiveness a “disappointment,” after first praising the UK for moving forward with a pledge of Challenger 2 tanks, adding he hoped the move might trigger other countries to follow suit. 

The UK is the “first nation to deliver Challenger 2 main battle tanks and that might be a trigger, hopefully, for other countries but unfortunately not for Germany yet,” he told CNN Friday. 

Germany has so far failed to reach an agreement with its key Western allies on sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, despite growing pressure from NATO and Kyiv to step up its military aid ahead of a potential Russian spring offensive.

The newly-appointed German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters on the sidelines of a high-stakes defense meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday that no decision has been made yet regarding sending the tanks to Ukraine. 

“We are disappointed, but still the decision has not been taken yet so we hope that the government in Berlin will take seriously all of the concerns they heard (on Friday) in Ramstein,” Melnyk added.

CNN reported that German officials indicated they wouldn’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 agreed to send its M1 Abrams tanks to Kyiv.

Western allies met at Ramstein Air Base in Germany Friday where Germany failed to agree to supply Ukraine with Leopard 2 main battle tanks after days of negotiations.

Here are the latest developments:

Military assistance progress: 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.

Leopard 2 tanks are seen as a vital, modern military vehicle that would bolster Kyiv’s forces as the war with Russia approaches the one-year mark.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said there is “no alternative” to sending main battle tanks to Ukraine. And the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zbigniew Rau, said Ukraine is paying with blood for the West’s hesitation.

Biden ensured Friday that “Ukraine is going to get all the help they need” when a reporter asked if he supports Poland’s goal to send the German-made tanks to Ukraine.

In a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky and other government officials in Ukraine Friday, US Sens. Lindsey Graham, Richard Blumenthal and Sheldon Whitehouse urged both the US and Germany to send tanks. They’re part of a growing group of officials applying pressure on Germany to step up its military aid and pleas from Kyiv for more weapons.

Ex-Navy SEAL killed: Daniel W. Swift, who was a Special Warfare Operator 1st Class, was killed Wednesday in Ukraine, the Navy said in a statement. Swift deserted the military on March 11, 2019.

Aid announcements: The Netherlands will send two launchers and rockets for Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, the country’s Ministry of Defense said Friday. And in Germany, newly appointed Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced a $1.08 billion military aid package Friday for Ukraine. 

Escalation warning: 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 a statement. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley reiterated Friday that Russia’s war in Ukraine will likely “end in a negotiation” and not on the battlefield.

Wagner Group designation: The US Treasury Department will designate the Russian mercenary organization Wagner Group as a “transnational criminal organization,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby announced Friday. The Treasury will also impose new sanctions next week against the group and its global allies, the White House said.

Civil Guards stand by the yacht called Tango in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, on April 4, 2022.

The Justice Department announced charges Friday against Russian and British businessmen accused of helping a Russian oligarch, Viktor Vekselberg, hide his ownership of a luxury yacht in violation of US sanctions. 

Vladislav Osipov, a dual Russian and Swiss national, and Richard Masters, a United Kingdom national, both face charges for conspiracy to defraud the United States and to commit offenses against the United States, violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and money laundering. 

The seizure, conducted by DOJ’s Task force KleptoCapture, is one of the most recent moves by the US to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his closest allies over his war in Ukraine. It is one of several yacht seizures since the task force was established last March. 

Masters, who ran a yacht management company in Spain, allegedly used a fake name for the yacht so that it would remain unnoticed by US institutions, allowing for what prosecutors say was “hundreds of thousands of dollars of transactions” for the yacht that otherwise would not have been permitted. 

Masters and Osipov, according to the indictment, also helped equip the luxury yacht with new internet, technology, weather forecasting, computing systems, satellite television and teleconferencing software – all from products made in the US. 

Osipov, who worked for Vekselberg, allegedly hid Vekselberg’s ownership of the $90 million yacht using shell companies and conspiring to avoid US sanctions. 

Vekselberg’s yacht was seized by Spanish law enforcement in April at the request of US officials, based on alleged money laundering, violations of sanctions statutes and bank fraud. Federal agents also searched several homes in the US linked to Vekselberg – who has close ties to Putin – in September. 

According to the Justice Department, Masters was arrested in Spain on Friday and will be extradited to the United States. Osipiv has not yet been arrested. 

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky poses for a picture with US Sens. Lindsey Graham, Richard Blumenthal and Sheldon Whitehouse during a meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday.

Sens. Lindsey Graham, Richard Blumenthal and Sheldon Whitehouse met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and other government officials in Ukraine Friday, according to Graham’s office.

The meeting comes as Germany failed to reach agreement with its key Western allies on sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine after days of negotiations.

Leopard 2 tanks are seen as a vital, modern military vehicle that would bolster Kyiv’s forces as the war with Russia approaches the one-year mark.

“To the Germans: Send tanks to Ukraine because they need them. It is in your own national interest that Putin loses in Ukraine. To the Biden Administration: Send American tanks so that others will follow our lead,” Graham said, according to the statement.

President Joe Biden talks with reporters after speaking in the East Room of the White House on Friday.

US President Joe Biden responded to a shouted question about whether he supports sending Leopard tanks to Ukraine, saying that the country will receive “all the help” it needs to fight against Russian troops.

As he was leaving a White House event, Biden said, “Ukraine is going to get all the help they need” when a reporter asked if he supports Poland’s goal to send the German-made tanks to Ukraine.

Let’s recap: 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.

“They have us over a barrel,” a senior Biden administration official told CNN on 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.

But on Friday, defense ministers from the US and Germany denied any “linkage” between the US potentially sending the M1 Abrams tanks and Germany sending or allowing the transfer of the Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

A former US Navy SEAL, who deserted the military nearly four years ago, was killed fighting in Ukraine, according to a military spokesperson.  

Daniel W. Swift, who was a Special Warfare Operator 1st Class, was killed Wednesday in Ukraine, the Navy said in a statement. Swift deserted the military on March 11, 2019.

The statement did not provide specifics on how Swift found himself involved in the combat.

Swift had his Trident pin removed, a Navy official said, a severe step taken after a Trident Review Board determines a sailor no longer lives up to the requirements of being a Navy SEAL.

The US State Department confirmed the recent death of a US citizen fighting in Ukraine but offered no further details on the circumstances.

“We are in touch with his family and providing all possible consular assistance,” a State Department spokesperson said. “Out of respect for the privacy of the family during this difficult time, we have nothing further to add.”

Swift joined the Navy in 2005 and completed Navy SEAL training in 2006, according to his service record provided by the Navy. During his time in the military, he earned awards and decorations for service in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

His record also contains an unexplained break in service from the beginning of 2014 to the end of 2015. His last assignment was a West Coast Special Warfare Unit, which started in August 2016.

CNN’s Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.

Poland's Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau addresses a press conference in Finland in 2022.

The Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zbigniew Rau, says Ukraine is paying with blood for the West’s hesitation on the supply of Leopard 2 main battle tanks.

Some background: Introduced in 1979, the German-made Leopard 2 tanks are seen as a vital, modern military vehicle that would bolster Kyiv’s forces. In total, there are around 2,000 Leopard 2 vehicles spread across Europe, at different levels of readiness.

However, 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.

This month, Germany said it would transfer infantry fighting vehicles to Kyiv.

The Netherlands will send two launchers and rockets for Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, the country’s Ministry of Defense said in a Friday statement. 

It comes after Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced the country’s plans to join the US and Germany in sending the Patriot system to Ukraine in a meeting with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday. 

Arrangements were made to accelerate the process during the Ukraine Defense Contact Group that took place at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday, according to the statement. 

Training on Patriots: The Pentagon said Tuesday that Ukrainian troops would begin training on the Patriot missile system this week at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, where the US conducts its own training on operating and maintaining the advanced air defense system. Fort Sill is one of the Army’s four basic training locations and home to the field artillery school, which has been training service members for more than a century.

CNN’s Duarte Mendonca and Lindsay Isaac contributed reporting to this post.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius attends a meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday.

Newly appointed German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Friday announced a $1.08 billion military aid package for Ukraine. 

Pistorius made the announcement on the sidelines of the Ukraine contact group meeting at Ramstein air base in Germany, a spokesperson for the German Ministry of Defense confirmed to CNN. The spokesperson did not give details on what the aid package would include.

Pressure on Germany: The frustration felt by some NATO members toward Germany has bolstered a narrative in some corners that Berlin has been slower than its Western counterparts in offering support to Ukraine.

Germany failed to reach agreement with its key Western allies on sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine Friday, calling on the US to send its own M1 Abrams tanks.

Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov called the Ramstein meeting “great” despite Western allies failing to agree to supply Ukraine with Leopard main battle tanks.

Calling it “a great meeting of friends,” Reznikov tweeted his confidence that “the Ukrainian army will receive more weapons and ammo. We will win. Evil will be defeated.”

See the tweet:

After allies failed to agree on equipment supply at a summit in Ramstein, Germany, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said there is “no alternative” to sending main battle tanks to Ukraine.

“We will still have to fight for the supply of modern tanks, but every day, we make it more obvious there is no alternative to making the decision on tanks,” Zelensky said in his nightly address on Friday. “The partners are firm in their attitude. They will support Ukraine as much as necessary for our victory.”

Ukraine was strengthened after what he called a “diplomatic marathon” since his trip to Washington late in 2022, with allies supplying additional artillery, “several hundred” armored vehicles, rockets for multiple launch rocket systems and anti-aircraft weapons, Zelensky added, thanking the US for announcing its biggest defense packages yet.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov called the Ramstein meeting “great” despite lack of agreement among western allies on supplying Ukraine with the Leopard 2 tanks. 

He expressed confidence that Ukraine will secure more weapons and ammunition. “The Ukrainian army will receive more weapons and ammo. We will win. Evil will be defeated.”

A Polish Leopard 2 tank seen in Germany 2022 during a military exercise.

Germany failed to reach an agreement with its key Western allies on sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, despite growing pressure from NATO and Kyiv to step up its military aid ahead of a potential Russian spring offensive.

Leopard 2 tanks are seen as a vital, modern military vehicle that would bolster Kyiv’s forces as the war with Russia approaches the one-year mark.

But Germany has batted back claims it is dragging its feet on providing military support to Ukraine, and has called on the US to send its own tanks across the Atlantic and into Ukraine.

Why Leopard 2 tanks are so important: Thirteen European countries, including Poland and Finland, are already in possession of modern German Leopard 2 tanks, which were introduced in 1979 and have been upgraded several times since, according to the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank.

Many of them have agreed to re-export some tanks to Kyiv, but require Germany’s permission. Representatives for those countries that own Leopard tanks met on the sidelines of a meeting at Ramstein air base in Germany, according to the Portuguese Ministry of Defense.

In total, there are around 2,000 Leopard 2 vehicles spread across Europe, at different levels of readiness.

Each tank contains a 120mm Smoothbore gun, and a 7.62mm machine gun. It can reach speeds of 70 km per hour, or 50 km per hour when off-road, making maneuverability one of its key features. There is also an all-around protection from threats, including improvised explosive devices, mines or anti-tank fire, according to its German manufacturer, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann.

The vast number of units already based near Ukraine, and the Leopard’s relatively low-maintenance demands compared to other models, lead experts to believe the tanks could help Ukraine quickly.

Why is Germany dragging its feet on Ukraine aid? The frustration felt by some NATO members toward Germany has bolstered a narrative in some corners that Berlin has been slower than its Western counterparts in offering support to Ukraine.

Germany had been expected to announce a decision on sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine on Friday, but instead said it needed more time.

Additionally, the appointment of Boris Pistorius as Germany’s new defense minister this week has raised questions given his previous stances on Russia.

Polish leader Mateusz Morawiecki cited Pistorius’ previous support for easing sanctions against Russia along with his relationship with “close associate” Gerhard Schröder. The former German chancellor was forced to give up his office at the German Parliament (Bundestag) for failing to sever his Russian business ties following Moscow’s invasion.

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The US Treasury Department will designate the Russian mercenary organization Wagner Group as a “transnational criminal organization,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby announced Friday.

The Treasury will also impose new sanctions next week against the group and its global allies, the White House said.

Arms from North Korea: Along with the new sanctions, the US has released newly declassified photos of Russian railcars traveling from Russia to North Korea and back in November, in what the US believes was the initial delivery of infantry rockets and missiles for use by Wagner Group in Ukraine. 

While the US does not believe the equipment has yet changed battlefield dynamics, it expects more weapons systems deliveries from North Korea to Russia, Kirby said. Russia has also been receiving equipment, including drones, from Iran, as its military supplies have dwindled over the course of the war.

“The arms transfers from (North Korea) are in direct violation of United Nations Security Council resolution,” Kirby said, adding that the US has shared its intelligence with the Security Council’s DPRK sanctions committee panel of experts. 

A senior western intelligence official echoed that assessment Friday, telling reporters that the West is “certainly concerned that North Korea might plan to expand and deliver more military equipment or to sustain those deliveries.”

Wagner’s role in Ukraine: More broadly, the US assesses that tensions between the Russian Defense Ministry and Wagner are increasing as Russian President Vladimir Putin increasingly relies on Wagner to carry out operations in Ukraine. There are around 50,000 Wagner Group fighters currently deployed to Ukraine, according to Kirby, including 10,000 contractors as 40,000 convicts. 

A Polish Leopard 2 pictured during an international military exercise in Germany in 2022.

Representatives of the countries that own the German-made Leopard 2 tank met on the sidelines of the Ukraine contact group meeting at Ramstein air base in Germany. The meeting was called by Poland and Ukraine, according to Portugal’s defense ministry.

Even as Germany has not authorized such a move, Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said he hopes to create a coalition of countries of countries that own these tanks in order to send them to Ukraine.

“In Ramstein, we talked also among the 15 countries that use Leopard tanks,” Błaszczak said according to a tweet by the Polish Ministry of Defense. “Our discussion was devoted to equipping Ukraine precisely with these heavy tanks.”

Błaszczak acknowledged a decision on sending the equipment to Ukraine had yet to be agreed but added “further meetings” had been arranged. “We are consistently strengthening this coalition,” the official said.

Portugal, as part of the meeting, offered “training in this typology of fighting vehicle and expressed the Portuguese government’s willingness to identify, in coordination with its partners, ways of supporting Ukraine with this capacity,” its defense ministry’s statement said.

Separately, Portugal also said it pledged 14 M113 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine along with eight high-power electrical generators, 120mm ammunition and medical equipment.

The ministry added that it would take part in an EU military support mission that would provide training to Ukrainian troops in Germany: Portuguese trainers will be on the ground from February to train Ukrainian soldiers on disarming explosives, combat medical assistance, nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological defense and lastly military instruction. 

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley attends a news conference at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley reiterated Friday that Russia’s war in Ukraine will likely “end in a negotiation” and not on the battlefield.

“What can happen is a continued defense, stabilizing the front,” Milley added. “I think it’s possible to clearly do that. I think depending on the delivery and training of all of this equipment. I do think it’s very, very possible for the Ukrainians to run a significant tactical or even operational level offensive operation to liberate as much Ukrainian territory as possible.”

Prior to the key meeting on military aid for Ukraine, the Pentagon announced a $2.5 billion Ukraine security package, including for the first time Stryker armored vehicles and more Bradley fighting vehicles that could be used against any potential Russian offensive in Ukraine this spring.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a news conference at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin denied there was any “linkage” between the US potentially sending M1 Abrams tanks and Germany sending or allowing the transfer of Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

“I think you heard the German minister of defense say earlier today that there’s no linkage between providing M1’s [Abrams] and providing Leopards, and I think he was pretty clear about that,” Austin said at a press conference after the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at Ramstein, Germany. “So this notion of unlocking, you know, in my mind, it’s not an issue.”

Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Friday denied any tie between the two countries’ tanks. When asked about the issue during an interview with German public broadcaster ARD Thursday, Pistorius said he was “not aware of such an arrangement.”  

The head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, is bullish that his country will receive all the military aid it has not yet gotten.

Yermak’s remarks come after Germany’s defense minister said there has been no decision about green-lighting German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks to be sent to Ukraine during a meeting of Western allies at Ramstein Air Base. 

Other support packages were agreed to in the days leading up to and during the meeting. 

Poland's Minister of Defense Mariusz Blaszczak delivers a statement at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday.

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said Friday he remains optimistic that allies will reach an agreement on deliveries of Leopard tanks to Ukraine even though a decision still hasn’t been made. 

“I see hope, because the ministers of 15 countries met today on the sidelines of today’s conference and talked about it,” Blaszczak told reporters at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. 

“I am convinced that building this coalition will be successful, just as the issue of transferring Patriot systems to Ukraine was successful,” Blaszczak said, adding a discussion on this subject was also raised by Poland after the incident in the village of Przewodów, near the Ukrainian border, where a missile caused an explosion and killed two civilians. 

When asked whether Poland would hand over the German-made Leopard tanks it possesses — even if Berlin did not agree — he said he would raise this issue during a meeting with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius soon. 

“Today’s meeting was a very good conversation,” adding that there were speeches from Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and high-level US military leadders.

During his speech at the meeting in Germany, Blaszczak said he announced Poland will provide Ukraine with additional infantry fighting vehicles and T-72 tanks.