Photo : Reuters/DailySabah
Photo : Reuters/DailySabah
War in Ukraine: Day 705
By Padmashree Anandhan
War on the Ground
On 29 January, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s President asked Germany to lead the initiative to consolidate the EU member states in providing support to Ukraine. Highlighting the concerns over the US and growing resistance in the US congress he stressed on Germany’s economy and its economic relations with other countries as link to bring them together. Zelenskyy also reported on the decline in his income. Since the war began, he has disclosed his income to vouch transparency following corruption scandal in his government. Till now his family has an income of UAH 10.8 in 2021 and UAH 3.7 in 2022.
On 29 January, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported on embezzlement of USD 40 million from the defence ministry official linked to a Ukrainian arms firm, Lviv Arsenal. This amount was allotted to purchase 100,000 mortar shells and according to SBU, five have been charged and one detained on the offence and are expected to face up to 12 years of prison if found guilty.
On 29 January, Ukrainian forces stressed on its aim to expand its hold into the eastern bank of the Dnipro River which is currently occupied by Russia. After November 2022, Ukrainian forces have not made substantial progress in southern Kherson and the forces report that Russia continues to push forward.
The Moscow View
Claims by Russia
On 29 January, Russian air defences claimed on countering a drone attack targeted on Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery located in Yaroslavl, northeast of Moscow. According to Mikhail Yevrayev, Governor of Yaroslavl, no fire or casualties were recorded. The attack was observed as a continuity to the series of drone attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure which have paused fuel production. Some of the previous attacks include “Rosneft's Tuapse oil refinery in southern Russia on the Black Sea and a Baltic fuel export terminal and processing complex at the port of Ust-Luga.”
The West View
Responses from the US and Europe
On 29 January, Victor Orban, Hungary’s Prime Minister indicated his willingness to support Ukraine from the EU budget. Orban had initially blocked the revision of the EU budget which comprised aid to Ukraine which led to planning of an emergency summit on 01 February. Ahead of the summit, Hungary’s shifted stance would mean using of the EU budget to aid Ukraine. The proposed budget comes to EUR 50 billion.
On 29 January, Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State issued warning over Ukraine losing control of what it had gained in the last two years due to lose in funding. The statement comes as Joe Biden, the US President struggles to get approval from the US Congress. He said: “Without it, simply put, everything that Ukrainians achieved, and that we've helped them achieve, will be in jeopardy.”
References
“Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy calls on Germany to rally aid,” Deutsche Welle, 29 January 2024
“'Significant Russian Losses' As Kyiv Aims to Expand Dnipro Foothold,” KyivPost, 29 January 2024
“Drone Strike Targets Oil Refinery in Central Russia’s Yaroslavl Region,” The Moscow Times, 29 January 2024
“Hungary open to using EU budget for Ukraine aid package, Orban's adviser says,” Swissinfo, 29 January 2024