The Pentagon said 90 to 100 Ukrainian soldiers will come to a US Army base in Oklahoma for training starting next week on operating and maintaining the complicated Patriot air defense system the US is providing.
(Bloomberg) — The Pentagon said 90 to 100 Ukrainian soldiers will come to a US Army base in Oklahoma for training starting next week on operating and maintaining the complicated Patriot air defense system the US is providing.
In eastern Ukraine, Russian mercenary forces mounted a concentrated assault on a key frontline town, a siege that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his troops were holding off in an “extremely difficult” military exchange.
The Kremlin had positioned the most experienced units from the Wagner military-contracting company near the town of Soledar in the eastern Donetsk region, according to Ukrainian operational command spokesman Serhiy Cherevatyi. Ukrainian forces were holding the line following 86 artillery attacks “of various caliber,” he said.
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Key Developments
- Russia’s Budget Gap Surges to Record as War Hits Finances
- Ukraine’s Inflation Steadies on Price Cuts Amid Blackout Fears
- Ukrainians Rush to Relocate Businesses to Poland After Invasion
- Russia to Try to Limit Oil Discounts With Market Principles
- China Scoops Up Rare Russian Oil as Top Buyer Boosts Imports
On the Ground
Ukrainian forces repelled attacks near 13 settlements throughout the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions over the past day, including Soledar, the General Staff said in its morning update on Facebook. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said the assault on Soledar followed previous unsuccessful attempts to capture it, resulting in heavy losses. Zelenskiy said in his nightly address that the resilience of the Ukrainian troops allowed his country to gain additional time, pointing out that “there are almost no whole walls left” to defend the settlement. Russian forces also shelled civilian infrastructure in the cities of Kharkiv, Kherson, Kramatorsk and Ochakiv over the past day, the Ukrainian military said.
(All times CET)
US Says It’s Working With EU, Ukraine to Prevent Weapons Diversion (10:03 p.m.)
The US is working with the European Union and Ukraine to prevent the weapons pouring into Ukraine from being diverted into the international arms market, a State Department official told reporters.
While the US focuses its efforts on protecting portable and high-tech weapons, the EU is concentrating on small arms and light weapons, said the official, who briefed on condition of anonymity.
The official dismissed reports of large-scale diversions of western military equipment as Russian disinformation and said the US isn’t aware of any credible reports of weapons shipments going astray.
Germany’s Baerbock Pledges Support After Visiting Kharkiv (9:48 p.m.)
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited Kharkiv to underscore Berlin’s commitment to supporting Ukraine “all the way.”
“Besieged, bombed, liberated — this city is a symbol of Russia’s aggression and for Ukraine’s unbreakable will to live in freedom from oppression,” she said in a tweet.
Zelenskiy Say Allies Can Show Russia Escalation Won’t Work (9:18 p.m.)
A global effort to stop Russia’s aggression is urgent, “especially now, when Russia is accumulating forces for another escalation,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address to the nation.
“Together with our partners we can do and we are doing everything possible to make Russian rulers understand that any escalation is not going to help them,” the Ukrainian leader said.
US to Train Ukrainian Soldiers on Patriot System in Oklahoma (7:22 p.m.)
The US will start training Ukrainian soldiers on the Patriot missile system at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, next week, Brigadier General Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters.
The US will train about 90 to 100 Ukrainians, the number needed to operate and maintain the complex air-defense system the US is sending to Ukraine.
The training would normally take several months, but the US is considering ways to speed it up by incorporating classroom work and simulation, Ryder said. Germany hasn’t announced plans for training on the Patriot system it’s contributing.
Canada to Buy a US-Made Nasams System for Ukraine (7 p.m.)
Canada will buy a U.S.-manufactured air defense system for Ukraine, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday after a meeting with US President Joe Biden in Mexico City.
Trudeau’s office said Canada will purchase the National Advanced Surface-to-Air System, a medium-range defense system. It wasn’t immediately clear how quickly it can be delivered to Ukraine for use.
Germany’s Baerbock Makes Visit to Eastern City of Kharkiv (4:36 p.m.)
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made an unannounced visit to the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, from which Ukrainian forces pushed back Russian troops last year, in a show of solidarity with residents confronting a winter in war.
Citing Ukraine’s aspirations to join the European Union, Baerbock said in a statement that she would discuss advances made by the country toward membership. “The government wants to make concrete offers to strengthen the rule of law, independent institutions and the fight against corruption — as well as moving closer to meeting EU standards,” she said in a statement.
Ukraine Seeks to Seize Assets Linked to Russian Billionaire (4:31 p.m.)
Ukraine’s Justice Ministry signaled that it aims to seize assets it claims are controlled by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, filing a suit against him in the nation’s top anti-corruption court.
The government will seek to confiscate assets that Deripaska can influence directly or through intermediaries in Ukraine, the ministry said, accusing him of “supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime” and supplying military manufacturers. A spokesman for Deripaska, who doesn’t have direct or controlling stakes in entities that own the Ukrainian assets, declined to comment.
Ukraine’s Inflation Steadies on Price Cuts Amid Blackout Fears (2:30 p.m.)
Ukraine’s wartime inflation steadied last month as retailers cut prices for perishable goods after Russian attacks on the nation’s power grid triggered concerns that staple foods would spoil.
Consumer prices rose 26.6% from a year earlier in December, the State Statistics Service said. The result was below the 27.4% forecast in a survey. A better-than-expected harvest of vegetables and fruits last fall also helped, the central bank said in a statement to Bloomberg.
Russia’s Budget Gap Surges to Record as War Hits Finances (1:24 p.m.)
Russia’s federal budget deficit widened to a record in December as revenues plunged amid restrictions on oil exports and spending on the invasion of Ukraine grew.
The fiscal gap reached a record 3.9 trillion rubles ($56 billion) last month, according to Bloomberg calculations based on preliminary government data released Tuesday. That brought the full-year shortfall to about 3.3 trillion rubles, reversing a surplus in the 11 months of the year. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov later confirmed the full-year figure, which he said amounted to 2.3% of gross domestic product, in televised comments at a government meeting.
EU Plans New Sanctions and Signs Accord With NATO (1 p.m.)
Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, told reporters in Brussels that the bloc plans further sanctions against countries like Belarus and Iran that “militarily support Russia’s war.”
Von der Leyen, with Charles Michel of the European Council and NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, earlier signed a cooperation agreement between the EU and the alliance. The agreement “recognizes the value of a more capable European defense that contributes positively to our security and is complementary to and interoperable with NATO,” Stoltenberg said.
The leaders said the EU and NATO were determined to work more closely on issues including resilience, protecting critical infrastructures, space and the security impact of climate change.
Ukraine Suspects Russia Used Missiles to Hit World War I Mine Landfill (1 p.m.)
A Russian attack on Ochakiv in southern Ukraine on Monday hit an old depot full of World War I sea mines, the governor of Ukraine’s Mykolayiv region, Vitaliy Kim, said on Telegram.
According to preliminary data cited by Kim, Russia may have used supersonic Kinzhal missiles to hit the concrete-covered landfill on the seashore. The resulting massive detonation wounded 15 people and damaged more than 200 buildings, mainly breaking windows and roofs, according to Kim.
Russian Independent TV Network Gets Dutch Broadcast License (1 p.m.)
Russia’s most prominent independent TV channel, Dozhd, or ‘Rain,’ received a license to broadcast in the Netherlands after Latvia revoked its permit last month for a program that appeared to advocate sending supplies to mobilized Russian troops fighting in Ukraine.
The journalist later apologized and was fired. Like several other independent media outlets, Dozhd fled Russia after the start of the war and initially set up operations in Latvia. Dozhd applied for the Dutch license on Dec. 6, the same day Latvia revoked its license, and was granted a five-year license on Dec. 22, according to a statement by the Dutch media authority.
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