An A-50, an early warning and control aircraft, was reportedly downed over the Sea of Azov near southern Ukraine, January 14, 2024
Monday’s Coverage: 81 Countries in Davos Summit on Kyiv’s Peace Formula
Map: Institute for the Study of War
UPDATE 1627 GMT:
Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called for more support for the resistance against Russia’s 22 1/2-month invasion.
Zelenskiy said the west, fearing escalation, had cost Ukraine time in its defense.
Putin embodies war….He will not change….We must change. We all must change to the extent that the madness that resides in this man’s head or any other aggressor’s head will not prevail.
Welcoming “positive signals” on financial support from the EU, he expressed hope that the US would approve further aid within weeks.
Republicans in Congress have been blackmailing Kyiv and the Biden Administration, refusing approval of assistance unless draconian measures for the US-Mexico border are also adopted.
UPDATE 1301 GMT:
Polish truckers are suspending their 10-week blockade of three Ukrainian border crossings until March 1.
The truckers agreed the suspension with Poland’s Tusk Government, which took office last month. They have been demanding the reinstatement of a European Union system requiring permits for Ukrainian companies and for European truckers entering Ukraine.
Tuesday’s agreement includes monitoring of solutions developed by Poland and Ukraine over the situation of EU-registered drivers in Ukraine, EU-Ukraine discussions, and European Commission financial support for Polish haulage companies. More road checks will prevent Ukrainian truckers from carrying out services not provided for under the EU-Ukraine agreement.
UPDATE 0948 GMT:
China’s State-owned banks are tightening controls on transactions with Russia becuase of the threat of US punishment over sanctions violations, accoding to “sources familiar with the situation”.
The sources said at least two large Chinese banks have launched a review of their business with Russia, beginning with cross-border transactions and financing of Russian clients. The banks are stopping services to sanctioned companies and to the Russian military-industrial complex.
The checks also affect non-Russian companies doing business with Russia or supplying goods through third countries.
In the past, China’s largest State-owned banks have complied with US sanctions on transactions with Iran and North Korea, fearing they could lose access to dollars.
In December, the US Treasury reportedly served notice that it would punish financial organizations working with Russia, with the prospect of cut-off from the global financial system.
According to the Gaidar Institute, China has increased its purchases from Russia by 69% since 2021, including fuel by 78%, coal by 93%, LNG by 87%, and petroleum products by 200% to 600%. Supplies of Chinese goods to Russia increased by 71%, and the yuan surpassed the dollar as the most traded foreign currency on the Moscow Exchange with a 46% share.
China is Russia’s largest market for raw materials (32% of exports) and for goods (41%). In contrast, Russia accounts for only 3.3% of Chinese exports and is not among Beijing’s top 5 markets.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov tried to brush aside the report of China’s tightened controls: “This is a very, very sensitive area and it is unlikely that anyone will undertake to talk about it – you shouldn’t expect that. We continue to develop relations with China; it’s our very important strategic partner.”
UPDATE 0903 GMT:
Regional officials say Russian attacks killed one civilian and injured 11 others over the past 24 hours.
The fatality was in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. Casualties were also reported in the Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
UPDATE 0847 GMT:
The mayor of Voronezh in southwest Russia has declared a state of emergency, with officials speaking of a Ukraine-launched drone attack.
Voronezh, with more than a million people, is 155 miles from the border with Ukraine. The city is close to a Russian airbase hosting Su-34 fighter-bombers.
Russian news outlet Shot reported at least 15 explosions near the airbase and drone debris falling nearby onto an apartment building. Regional governor Alexander Gusev said a girl was injured.
Mayor Vadim Kstenin said people from an apartment building were evacuated to a nearby school after drone debris started a fire and blew out windows.
The Russian Defense Ministry declared that forces destroyed five drones and intercepted three others over Voronezh, and that they intercepted four drones in the nearby Belgorod region.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine has dealt another blow to Russia’s air forces, downing two more warplanes on Sunday night.
An A-50 radar early-warning plane was downed and an IL-22M airborne command aircraft heavily damaged during their mission over the Sea of Azov.
All crew were killed on the A-50, which detects air defenses and coordinates targets for bombing and missile strikes. Sending out an SOS, the Il-22 made an emergency landing at an airfield in Anapa in the Krasnodar region in southwest Russia.
The commander of Ukraine’s military, Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, hailed the “perfectly planned and executed operation.”
He did not explain how Ukraine targeted and struck the warplanes.
The operations continue Kyiv’s challenge to the role of Russia’s airpower in Vladimir Putin’s 22 1/2-month invasion. Within days in December, Ukrainian air defenses downed five Russian warplanes — four Su-24s and an Su-30SM — over the Black Sea and southern Ukraine.
Last week an Su-24 jet was burnt out at an airbase near the Russian city of Chelyabinsk. Ukraine’s intelligence services claimed the operation, while Russian authorities arrested a teenager.
Russian officials said they have “no information”. Unsettled military bloggers speculated that the warplanes were hit by friendly fire or shot down by British special forces using surface-to-air missiles.
Russia has only six working A-50s in service. Last February pro-Ukrainian partisans in Belarus damaged another A-50 on an airbase near Minsk.
Ukraine Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said the A-50 was “the priority target” but added that the Il-22 had been damaged beyond repair.
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