Ukraine Briefly

January 27, 2023

Ukraine, Briefly

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This week, Russia launched a new round of missile attacks on Ukraine, killing at least 11 people, just after the United States and Germany announced plans to send combat tanks to help Ukraine’s beleaguered military, Axios reported. Explosions rocked Kyiv Thursday morning, with the missile strikes leaving one dead and two wounded in the city, according to Ukrainian officials. The strikes followed the decision to send tanks to Kyiv after pressure from NATO allies and Ukraine to supply the advanced armored vehicles as Ukrainian troops prepare for a possible new Russian offensive. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the announcement but said he had asked NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg for more assistance, CNBC added. The additional help includes the delivery of F-16 fighter jets.

The tank delivery comes as a number of senior Ukrainian officials have resigned as Zelenskyy begins a shake-up of personnel across his government, according to the BBC. The president has already banned state officials from leaving the country unless on authorized business. Some of the officials resigned because they were involved in bribery claims or were found to be buying food at inflated prices, and one individual was accused of living a lavish lifestyle.

Also this week:

• Russia and neighboring Estonia, a NATO member, announced Monday that they will remove each other’s ambassadors by early next month, in a fresh display of hostility over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Voice of America noted.

• Meanwhile, economists and analysts warned that war-ravaged Ukraine will need a debt deal to win the coming peace, Eoin Drea, a senior research officer at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, wrote in Politico. He added that if Kyiv is to have a realistic chance of recovering from the conflict, the agreement should entail massive debt restructuring and the transfer of tens of billions of euros in non-repayable grants.

• The United Nations cultural organization UNESCO added the historic center of Ukraine’s port city of Odesa, often described as “the pearl of the Black Sea,” to its World Heritage List, despite opposition from Russia, Agence France-Presse reported. Russia has repeatedly attempted to delay the vote to recognize the site’s “outstanding universal value” and “the duty of all humanity to protect it.” Zelenskyy, who requested the listing in October to shield the city from Russian bombardment, welcomed the decision. But in a blow to the Ukrainian leader, the International Olympic Committee said it would allow Russians to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics as neutral athletes, the Associated Press added.

• The Doomsday Clock has been adjusted to 90 seconds to midnight, indicating a period of “unprecedented danger,” largely because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sky News wrote. It brings it 10 seconds closer to midnight, the closest it has ever been to a global catastrophe. Since 2020, it had been at 100 seconds to midnight.

This story originally appeared in the January 27, 2023 newsletter, Interior Thoughts.