Tuesday, January 31

Russia’s war against Ukraine

UK Defense Ministry: Russia doesn’t rule out another wave of mobilization. “The Russian leadership highly likely continues to search for ways to meet the high number of personnel required to resource any future major offensive in Ukraine while minimizing domestic dissent,” the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on Jan. 30.

Russian media: Moscow moves additional troops to Kursk Oblast. Russia has deployed more troops and military equipment to its Kursk Oblast, which borders Ukraine, Kursk Oblast Governor Roman Starovoit said on Jan. 30, as reported by Russian state-controlled Interfax news agency.

Current weather conditions may complicate Russia’s usage of kamikaze drones. Current windy weather conditions may limit Russia’s usage of kamikaze drones for attacking Ukraine in the near future, Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for the Southern Operational Command, said on Jan. 30.

ISW: Sources continue to indicate Russia preparing for imminent offensive. Western, Ukrainian, and Russian sources continue to indicate that Russia is preparing for an imminent offensive, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest update on Jan. 30.

General Staff: Russia turns 2 maternity hospitals in Luhansk into field hospitals. It is now only possible to give birth at the Luhansk Regional Perinatal Center, “where there is a catastrophic lack of places, as well as risks and unfavorable conditions for childbirth,” the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported in its morning briefing.

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Ukraine war latest: Zelensky visits southern Ukraine as the military continues efforts to liberate the rest of Kherson Oblast.

Southern Operational Command spokeswoman Natalia Humeniuk said on television that Ukrainian forces were conducting a “quite powerful” operation on the east bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast.

Photo: President’s Office

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The human cost of Russia’s war

Russian attacks across 9 Ukrainian oblasts kill 5, injure 13 over past 24 hours. Russian attacks were reported in Donetsk, Kherson, Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Luhansk oblasts in the east, south, and north of Ukraine.

General Staff: Russia has lost 126,650 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Jan. 30 that Russia had also lost 3,201 tanks, 6,369 armored fighting vehicles, 5,041 vehicles and fuel tanks, 2,196 artillery systems, 453 multiple launch rocket systems, 221 air defense systems, 293 airplanes, 284 helicopters, 1,947 drones, and 18 boats.

International response

President’s Office: Poland ready to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighters in coordination with NATO. Poland is ready to provide Ukraine with long-requested F-16 fighter jets in coordination with NATO, President’s Office head Andrii Yermak said on Jan. 30. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters that the transfer of any aircraft to Ukraine could happen only in agreement with NATO countries and Poland “will act in full coordination” with its allies.

CNN: Biden says US won’t send F-16 jets to Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden said on Jan. 30 that he wouldn’t send American fighter jets to Ukraine, even though the U.S. is ramping up military assistance in the form of artillery and tanks.

Macron does not rule out sending fighter jets to Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Jan. 30 that he does not rule out sending fighter jets to Ukraine. However, he said multiple conditions must be met before doing so.

US Transportation Command: Over 60 Bradley fighting vehicles en route to Ukraine. U.S. Transportation Command reported on Jan. 30 that they are delivering the first shipment of Bradley Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine as part of the United States $2.85 billion military aid agreement announced earlier this year. The shipment — containing more than 60 Bradleys — left the city of North Charleston, South Carolina, last week.

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Wallace: Ukraine to receive British Challenger 2 tanks before summer. Ukraine will receive the 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks pledged by the U.K. “this side of the summer,” U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on Jan. 30.

France, Australia launch joint artillery shell production for Ukraine. France and Australia intend to produce several thousand artillery shells for Ukraine in a joint multi-million dollar project, French Defense Minister Sébastian Lecornu said on Jan. 30.

NATO chief: North Korea provides Russia with missiles. North Korea is supplying missiles to Russia for its war against Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin in Seoul on Jan. 29.

Reuters: Russia, Iran link banking systems amid Western sanctions. Tehran and Moscow signed a deal on Jan. 29, connecting their interbank communication and transfer systems to stimulate trade and financial transactions, Reuters reported.

Reuters: Brazil’s Lula stops short of condemning Russian invasion during Scholz visit. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Jan. 30 said Russia made a mistake invading Ukraine but refused to condemn the full-scale invasion during a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

In other news

Ukraine moves up in global corruption rating. Ukraine earned 33 points out of 100 in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2022, one point higher than the year before. “Although it still scores low, war-torn Ukraine is one of few significant improvers on the CPI, having gained eight points since 2013,” Transparency International wrote in an article published on its website.

Media: 2 ministers to be dismissed from Ukrainian government. Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported on Jan. 30, citing unnamed sources, that the Minister of Youth and Sports, Vadym Gutzeit, and the Minister of Strategic Industries, Pavlo Riabikin, are due to be dismissed in the nearest future.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Dinara Khalilova, Toma Istomina, Teah Pelechaty, Anhelina Shamlii, Thaisa Semenova, Natalia Datskevych, Olena Goncharova, and Lili Bivings

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