- 4:37 pm: Moscow: 14 killed in Ukrainian attack on hospital in eastern Ukraine
- 16:13: ➤ Kyiv: Russia prepares an offensive on the anniversary of the beginning of the war
- 13:48: London accuses Moscow of misinformation about the number of victims
- 10:26 am: Russia deports children from occupied Kherson to Crimea
- 03:30: UNHCR: Russian missile strikes do not trigger new flight movement
- 1:03 am: Ambassador: Israel is helping Ukraine “behind the scenes”
➤ Ukrainian data: Russia is preparing a new offensive on the anniversary of the beginning of the war
According to Ukrainian sources, Russia is preparing a new offensive for the anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine. “It’s no secret” that the Russian army is preparing a new wave of attacks for February 24, Secretary of the Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov told Radio Svoboda.
According to Ukrainian reports, Russian troops have recently stepped up their attacks in eastern Ukraine. Particularly massive attacks are reported in the two cities of Wuhledar and Bachmut; Both sides reported heavy fighting around Wuhledar on Friday.
Only recently did Russian soldiers and fighters from the Wagner mercenary group take over the small town of Soledar, north of Bakhmut. It was the first notable victory for Russian forces and their allies after several setbacks in recent months.
According to the US-based Institute for the Study of War, Moscow is trying to disperse outnumbered Ukrainian forces with attacks to “create the conditions for a decisive offensive campaign”.
Russia has mobilized hundreds of thousands of reservists and convicts to try to break through the Ukrainian lines and take over all of Donbass, a vast industrial and coal area in eastern Ukraine. (AFP)
Summary of the situation:
Since February 24, 2022, Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine from the air and from the ground. Shortly before, President Vladimir Putin questioned Ukraine’s right to exist as an independent state and recognized the so-called People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.
Since then, the Ukrainian army has been fighting the invaders as best it could. Thousands of dead are reported on both sides, but the exact number of soldiers and civilians has not been independently verified. The fact is: the humanitarian situation in Ukraine is getting worse by the day.
The UNHCR refugee agency has registered more than 17.6 million border crossings from Ukraine (as of January 17). Refugees are mostly women and children, as men aged between 18 and 60 are not allowed to leave the country. According to UNHCR, more than 9.5 million border crossings into Ukraine were recorded during this period (up to 17 January).
The EU and US reacted with sanctions. They are also supplying arms to Ukraine, and Germany is also supporting Ukraine with arms deliveries. Ukraine also received Gepard-class tanks from Germany. (dpa)
Russia’s Attack on Ukraine: Frontline Story Through the Year
© dpa infographic GmbH
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The other reports on the war in Ukraine of January 28
Moscow: 14 killed in Ukrainian attack on hospital in eastern Ukraine
Russia has accused the Ukrainian army of killing 14 people in an attack on a hospital in eastern Ukraine. The Russian army said in a statement that another 24 people were wounded. The Ukrainian army hit a local hospital in the town of Novoaydar in the Luhansk region on Saturday morning with Himar rocket launchers, it said.
The attack said 14 people died and 24 were injured – the victims were “among patients and medical staff”. (AFP)
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London accuses Moscow of misinformation about the number of victims
According to British intelligence services, Russia is intentionally misrepresenting the number of casualties in the war against Ukraine. The Ministry of Defense in London referred on Saturday to findings of a Ukrainian attack on a Russian military base in the Donetsk region on New Year’s Eve. Subsequently, Russia reported the deaths of 89 soldiers. According to British secret services, however, there is a high probability that more than 300 victims died.
For London, this illustrates a “spread of misinformation in all Russian public statements”. The report said this was caused by deliberate lies that were dismissed by high-ranking officials and inaccurate reporting by lower-level officials who wanted to downplay their own shortcomings for fear of being fired.
In the specific case of New Year’s Eve, Russia probably decided to take the unusual step of naming a specific number of victims because there was so much criticism from Russian commanders that comment became inevitable. The British Ministry of Defense published daily information on the course of the war since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine eleven months ago. Moscow accuses London of a disinformation campaign. (dpa)
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Scholz: “Always keep an eye on Germany’s security”
After the promise of German Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) assured that Germany’s security was “always in sight”. He promises that, Scholz said in his “KanzlerKompakt” video message posted in Berlin on Saturday. You can learn more about this topic here. (dpa)
Western main battle tanks for Ukraine
© dpa infographic GmbH
Russia deports children from occupied Kherson to Crimea
According to a report, children from the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Kherson region are apparently deported to the Russian-occupied peninsula of Crimea. In its current assessment of the situation in Ukraine, the US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) refers to an investigation by the Russian opposition magazine “Verstka”. The magazine analyzed photos posted on a Russian adoption website and found 14 children aged between two and five who are from Kherson. They were housed at the Jolotschka orphanage in Simferopol, Crimea.
According to the report, the official work of the Jolochka orphanage provides for the education of children in “patriotism and citizenship”, claiming that “Crimea is located in the south of Russia”. It is also about creating an “awareness of being a citizen of multinational Russia”.
Conditions at the orphanage are considered catastrophic. The Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported about Jolochka in 2020. Thus, the children cared for there were severely malnourished and neglected by the orphanage administration. According to reports, Russian media described the facility as a “child concentration camp” in 2020.
The Crimean Peninsula’s affiliation with international law has been contested since it was occupied and annexed by Russia in 2014. Ukraine and the international community continue to consider Crimea to be part of Ukrainian territory. (lh)
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UNHCR: Russian missile attacks do not cause new displacements
According to the United Nations, the currently violent Russian rocket attacks did not trigger any new large-scale flights from Ukraine. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, told the German Press Agency in Kyiv on Friday. During a visit to the neighboring Republic of Moldova, authorities confirmed to him that there are currently no more people leaving Ukraine.
However, because of winter, fewer people have returned to Ukraine than before Russian missile attacks on Ukraine’s power system began last October. “Winter is very difficult with conflict in some regions,” said the 65-year-old. This is not very encouraging for many people. In all, Grandi spent six days in Ukraine and visited the cities of Odessa, Mykolaiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhia, Kharkiv and Poltava.
The UN estimates the number of people fleeing Ukraine at nearly eight million. There are also around 6.5 million internally displaced people. “You can make a comparison with Bosnia and the Balkans, but the flow of refugees was not so great, despite the conflict lasting several years”, emphasized the UN diplomat.
Grandi found words of praise for Germany, which has taken in the second highest number of Ukrainian refugees after Poland. “It’s obviously very well organized,” he said. According to the federal government, more than a million Ukrainians have found shelter in Germany. Shortly before the outbreak of war last February, the Federal Republic was well prepared on the basis of past experience. Furthermore, Germany is one of the main donors to the commission. “I think Germany has given UNHCR more than €80 million since the start of the war,” said Grandi. The UN is very grateful for this. (dpa)
Updated on 01/27/2023 09:49 am
Ukrainian authorities have reported Russian rocket attacks on large parts of the country. Moscow sees the West’s promised main battle tanks as evidence of growing involvement in the conflict.
Ambassador: Israel is helping Ukraine ‘behind the scenes’
According to Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, his country supports Ukraine attacked by Russia more than is publicly known. Israel is helping, “but behind the scenes and much more than is known”, the diplomat told the newspapers of the Funke media group (Saturday).
He asked for understanding for Israeli reluctance on the matter: “We have the Russians in Syria. As you know, the Israeli army regularly prevents Iran’s weapons deliveries to Syria and Lebanon. This includes Iranian drones and missiles that Russia in Ukraine uses, “said Prosor. He also stated that there is a large Jewish community in Russia. “Those are the two main reasons we keep a low profile.”
While Israel has repeatedly condemned Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, new foreign minister Eli Cohen recently promised Kyiv that humanitarian aid would continue. Overall, however, the country has remained rather cautious and has so far strictly refused arms deliveries to Ukraine. Among other things, Russia has a huge influence on the situation in Syria. In the neighboring country, Israel wants to prevent its archenemy Iran and militias allied to it, such as Hezbollah, from expanding their military influence. (dpa)
With material from dpa, Portal and AFP
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