Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy calls for fast tank deliveries

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged more heavy weapons deliveries from the West following the latest Russian missile attack on Dnipro.

In his nightly video address late Monday, Zelenskyy said, "A new defense aid package has been announced — exactly what is needed: Main battle tanks, other armored vehicles and artillery."

Zelenskyy also called for speedier delivery of battle tanks from Western allies.

The Ukrainian president said he expected decisions on further arms deliveries during the World Economic Forum in Davos, which kicked off on Monday, and also from the Ukraine Contact Group in Ramstein, slated to begin on Friday at the US air base in Germany.

Polish President Andrzej Duda, speaking at WEF, said efforts to build an international coalition that could send "at least an armored brigade'' to Ukraine "will take some time."

Poland had offered to provide around 14 Leopards, but needed Germany's approval to export them.

Leaders and ministers from Finland, Lithuania, and Britain have urged Berlin to greenlight the export of German-made Leopards to Ukraine.

"We hope that the producer of those tanks, Germany, will also participate in this, in my opinion, very, very, very good idea," Duda said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's, who is speaking at Davos on Wednesday, has said Germany will "weigh every step carefully'' and consult with its allies on further weapons deliveries to Ukraine.

On Monday, Zelenskyy also asked the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE), the world's largest regional security organization, to do more about Ukrainians he says have been taken forcibly to Russia.

"No international organization has found the strength to gain access to the places of detention of our prisoners in Russia yet. This must be corrected," the president asserted.

Ukraine hopes Scholz will announce tank deliveries at WEF

Ukraine is eagerly awaiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Wednesday, one of its delegates told DW.

"I hope tomorrow Chancellor Scholz, during his address on the World Economic Forum, will announce that Germany finally supports the delivery of tanks to Ukraine and will take an active part in this," Oleksiy Goncharenko, a Ukrainian member of parliament in Davos said on Tuesday. 

He said Ukraine wants to "finish this war and to finish it quickly."

"It's absolutely possible, what we need for this just to provide Ukraine with modern weaponry, leopard power tanks, long-range missiles to HIMARS, heavy drones, fighters and Ukraine will finish everything in months and that will be in the benefit of the whole world," he said.

Goncharenko said he hoped Polish President Andrzej Duda's efforts to build an international coalition that could send an armored brigade to Ukraine would come true. "I hope that Germany will be very important part of this coalition," he said.

Asked whether he thought Scholz would have good news about tank deliveries to Ukraine when he speaks at WEF, Goncharenko said, "fingers crossed, I hope so, we are looking for tomorrow's announcement and tomorrow's speech of Chancellor Scholz."

Top US general and Ukraine army chief hold first in-person meeting

The United States and Ukraine's top military leaders met face-to-face for the first time on Tuesday. General Mark Milley, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his Ukrainian counterpart, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, met at an undisclosed location in Poland near the border of Ukraine. 

A spokesman for Milley said the two generals felt it was important to meet in person. 

"These guys have been talking on a very regular basis for about a year now, and they've gotten to know each other," Colonel Dave Butler said.

"They've talked in detail about the defense that Ukraine is trying to do against Russia's aggression. And it's important when you have two military professionals looking each other in the eye and talking about very, very important topics, there's a difference,'' he added.

The meeting comes as the international community ramps up military assistance to Ukraine, including expanded training of Ukrainian troops and delivery of air defense systems and other weapons. 

Biden and Scholz discuss 'ongoing assistance to Ukraine'

US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz discussed the Ukraine war during a Tuesday phone call.

In a readout of the call, the White House said the two leaders "discussed their steadfast support to Ukraine and condemned Russia's aggression."

They also spoke about their ongoing assistance to Ukraine. Last week Biden and Scholz agreed that Germany and the US would supply armored personnel carriers to Ukraine. 

Tuesday's call comes as Scholz faces rising pressure from his European partners to authorize the export of German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine. The German leader is scheduled to speak at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday.

On Friday, the Ukraine Contact Group is due to meet at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to discuss further support for Kyiv.

The Netherlands 'intends' to send Patriot missile system to Ukraine

The Netherlands will send a Patriot air defense system to Ukraine, Prime Minister Mark Rutte has said, according to the Dutch news agency ANP.

Rutte made the commitment during a meeting with United States President Joe Biden in Washington.

"We have the intention to join what you're doing with Germany on the Patriots project, the air-defense system. I think that is important and we joined that," Rutte told Biden in the White House, adding that he had "discussed it also this morning" with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Over the past few weeks, the US and Germany have said they would supply Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine.

According to ANP, Rutte had spoken by telephone with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the decision.

Steinmeier assures Zelenskyy of Germany's support

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier assured Ukraine of Germany's continued support in a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Steinmeier's Cerstin Gammelin said on Twitter.

"We support Ukraine politically, humanitarianly, financially, militarily — with what we can and what is necessary, coordinated with our allies," Steinmeier said in the video call.

"Thank you for the comprehensive assistance ... that made our army stronger, for the financial support," Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app following the video call.

Ukraine ends search for survivors in Dnipro, death toll hits 44

Ukraine called off search and rescue operations through the destroyed remains of an apartment building in the city of Dnipro, where at least 44 people were killed in a Russian missile attack on Saturday. 

Despite the search being called off, Ukraine's state emergency services have said at 20 people are still unaccounted after Saturday's attack and that the 44 confirmed dead included five children. Thirty-nine people had been rescued from the rubble and a total of 79 had been injured, authorities said.

The attack was the deadliest targeting civilians since the start a three-month Russian missile bombardment campaign Moscow claims is targeting Ukrainian infrastructure. Ukraine says the apartment building was struck by a Russian Kh-22 missile. 

Russia to make 'major changes' to armed forces from 2023 to 2026

Russia said that it would make "major changes" to its armed forces from 2023 to 2026, promising to shake up its military structure after months of setbacks on the battlefield in Ukraine.

In addition to administrative reforms, the Russian Defense Ministry said it would strengthen the combat capabilities of its naval, aerospace and strategic missile forces.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said, "Only by strengthening the key structural components of the Armed Forces is it possible to guarantee the military security of the state and protect new entities and critical facilities of the Russian Federation." 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the changes had been made necessary by the "proxy war" being conducted in Ukraine by the West, which has been sending increasingly heavy weaponry to Ukraine to help it resist Russian forces.

Serbia's Vucic urges Wagner to stop recruiting citizens

Serbian President Aleksander Vucic urged Moscow to stop efforts to recruit Serbs to fight as part of the Wagner paramilitary group in Ukraine.

"Why do you, from Wagner, call anyone from Serbia when you know that it is against our regulations?" Vucic said in an interview with Serbian broadcaster Happy TV. He also denied allegations that Wagner has a presence in Serbia.

Serbian citizens are prohibited by law from participating in conflicts in other countries. Several people have been sentenced under the law.

The Reuters news agency cited observers as saying that dozens of Serbs have signed up to fight in Ukraine since 2014.

Sympathies for Moscow are common among nationalists in Serbia and ethnic Serbian populations in neighboring countries. Earlier this month, Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik awarded Putin a medal of honor.

Over 9,000 civilians killed in Ukraine since Russia invaded — Yermak

Andriy Yermak, Ukraine's president's chief of staff, told the World Economic Forum in Davos that more than 9,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia's full scale invasion in February 2022.

"We have registered 80,000 crimes committed by Russian invaders and over 9,000 civilians have been killed, including 453 children," he said.

"We will not forgive a single torture or life taken. Each criminal will be held accountable," Yermak added, reiterating that Ukraine wants a special international tribunal to try Russian political leaders and reparations for the destruction caused by Russia's invasion.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) said on Monday that more than 7,000 civilians had been killed in Ukraine since Russia invaded.

Poland's Duda calls for increased weapons supplies for Kyiv

Polish President Andrzej Duda asked for allies to speed up weapons supplies while speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

"We hope and we are trying to organize a bigger support for Ukraine. So we hope that there are a few partners, a few allies, who will give tanks to Ukraine," he said.

"We hope the producer of these Leopard tanks  Germany  will also participate in this."

Former Wagner member seeks asylum in Norway after fleeing Russia

A man claiming to be a former commander of Russia's Wagner mercenary group who had fought in Ukraine has fled to Norway and is seeking asylum .

Twenty-six-year-old Andrei Medvedev had been arrested for illegally crossing the border to Norway near the Pasvikdalen valley last week.

Rights group Gulagu.net has posted several interviews with Medvedev, including one after fleeing into Norway, where he describes his escape.

"When I was on the ice (at the border), I heard dogs barking, I turned around, I saw people with torches, about 150 meters (500 feet) away, running in my direction," he said.

"I heard two shots, the bullets whizzed by," he added.

The rights group said it had helped Medvedev to leave Russia after he approached them, concerned for his life.

"I am afraid of dying in agony," Medvedev told Vladimir Osechkin, founder of the Gulagu.net rights group.

According to Gulagu.net, Medvedev is an orphan who joined the Russian army and served time in jail before joining the Russian mercenary group on a four-month contract in July 2022.

Medvedev claims he had served as a unit commander for between five and ten soldiers.

He also claims to have witnessed executions of captured deserters from Wagner.

Medvedev's lawyer, Brynjulf Risnes, told news agency AFP that his client was no longer in police custody, but at a "safe place" while his case was being scrutinized.

Risnes added that Medvedev is  suspected of "illegal entry" into Norway.

"If he gets asylum in Norway that accusation will be dropped automatically," the lawyer said. 

British foreign minister seeks to bolster Ukraine support on US, Canada visit

During his North American tour, Britain's Foreign Minister James Cleverly will seek to boost support for Ukraine.

Cleverly's trip to the United States and Canada will begin on Tuesday ahead of the first anniversary of Russia's war in Ukraine.

Over the weekend, Britain promised to send 14 Challenger 2 tanks and other heavy weaponry to Kyiv.

On Monday, Cleverly had said that he had been sanctioned by the Russian government. The foreign minister added that if the move was the cost for supporting Ukraine, he was happy to be sanctioned.

Later in the day Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Cleverly was yet to answer for his support of Ukraine.

"Dear James, you don't understand," Zakharova said on her Telegram messaging app. "This is for the anti-Russian course and personal sanctions. But you still have to answer for the support of the Kyiv regime and neo-Nazism."

EU Commission chief vows 'steadfast support' for Kyiv

European Commission Ursula von der Leyen vowed that the EU would continue its "steadfast support to Ukraine" in comments made at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

"There will be no let-up in our steadfast support to Ukraine, from helping to restore power, heating and water, to preparing for the long-term effort of reconstruction," she said.

"We are in it -- for as long as it takes and stand with our Ukrainian friends."

UN nuclear watchdog hopeful about Ukraine nuclear plant protection

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, has said that he hoped to make progress on a safe zone agreement around the Russia-controlled Zaporizhzhia plant in Ukraine.

The UN nuclear watchdog chief added that it would be a tough negotiation.

"The situation around the plant continues to be very, very dangerous,"  Grossi told the media during a visit to Ukraine.

"A nuclear accident, an accident with serious radiological consequences, is in nobody's interest."

Russia, Belarus flags banned at Australian Open

Tennis Australia has banned flags from Russia and Belarus from the site of the Australian Open after Ukraine's ambassador called for action when they were seen among the spectators on the first day of the Grand Slam tournament.

"Flags from Russia and Belarus are banned onsite at the Australian Open," Tennis Australia said in its statement on Tuesday.

"Our initial policy was that fans could bring them in but could not use them to cause disruption. Yesterday, we had an incident where a flag was placed courtside," it said.

"The ban is effective immediately. We will continue to work with the players and our fans to ensure the best possible environment to enjoy the tennis."

Meanwhile, Russia has deemed the ban an "unacceptable politicization of sports".