January 16, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

By Tara Subramaniam, Leinz Vales, Aditi Sangal, Mike Hayes, Elise Hammond and Maureen Chowdhury, CNN

Updated 3:01 a.m. ET, January 17, 2023
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3:28 p.m. ET, January 16, 2023

Rescuers remove debris in Dnipro as 25 people remain missing

From Denis Lapin in Kyiv

Rescue workers clear rubble from the site of Saturday's Russian missile strike that destroyed an apartment building in Dnipro, Ukraine, on Monday.
Rescue workers clear rubble from the site of Saturday's Russian missile strike that destroyed an apartment building in Dnipro, Ukraine, on Monday. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)

Rescuers in Dnipro, Ukraine, have removed 8,500 metric tons of debris in an effort to rescue victims of Russia’s strike on an apartment block Saturday.

The State Emergencies Service (SES) said that 25 people are still missing.

“Search and rescue operations and dismantling of dangerous structural elements continue,” the SES said on Telegram Monday evening. “Utilities have removed more than 8 thousand 500 tons of construction debris and 41 damaged vehicles.”

The SES said that as of 2 p.m. ET (9 p.m. local), the toll still stood at 40 killed, 77 injured (including 14 children) and 39 rescued. From 47 reports of missing people, 18 have been confirmed dead, four were found alive at relatives’ houses or in the hospital and 25 are still missing.

“Psychologists of the State Emergencies Service provided assistance to 174 victims,” the SES said. “In total, 418 people and 60 units of equipment are engaged in the works, including 65 people and 21 units of equipment from the State Emergencies Service.”

Correction: An earlier version of this post included the wrong amount of debris removed from the Dnipro site. It is 8,500 metric tons.

3:13 p.m. ET, January 16, 2023

Collapse of Ukraine's energy infrastructure could happen at any second, Kyiv mayor says

From CNN’s Allegra Goodwin in London

A high voltage substation stands partially destroyed after a missile strike in central Ukraine in November 2022.
A high voltage substation stands partially destroyed after a missile strike in central Ukraine in November 2022. (Ed Ram/Getty Images)

The collapse of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure “could happen any second,” Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said Monday.

“We don't talk about a collapse, but it can happen any second, because any second Russian rockets can destroy our critical infrastructure in our hometown in Kyiv and not just in Kyiv, in other cities,” he told Reuters in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “We have a deficit of energy around 30% right now in Kyiv," Klitschko added.

Klitschko’s warning comes amid a winter that has seen millions of Ukrainians without access to electricity, water, and central heating as a result of relentless Russian strikes on critical energy infrastructure. 

“Now in Ukraine it's pretty cold – negative 10, negative 20, sometimes in winter negative 30 degrees. And in these weather conditions, to live without electricity, to live without heating is almost impossible, and that's why the situation is critical, we're fighting to survive,” Klitschko said.

12:45 p.m. ET, January 16, 2023

UK defense secretary announces donation of battle tanks for Ukraine — says troops need a new level of support

From CNN's Mick Krever in London

British defense secretary Ben Wallace arrives at Downing Street in London to attend a cabinet meeting in December 2022.
British defense secretary Ben Wallace arrives at Downing Street in London to attend a cabinet meeting in December 2022. (Wiktor Szymanowicz/NurPhoto/AP)

The British defense secretary said Monday that Ukraine needed a “new level of support” to expel Russian troops from its territory, after announcing the donation of main battle tanks for the country.

“President Putin cannot win,” British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in the House of Commons. “But he’s equally certain he can continue inflicting this wanton violence and human suffering until his forces are ejected from their defensive positions and expelled from the country.” 

“That requires a new level of support — the combat power only achieved by combinations of main battle tank squadrons operating alongside divisional artillery groups, and further deep precision fires, enabling targeting of Russian logistics and command nodes at greater distance," he said.

Wallace said that the UK would send “a squadron of Challenger 2 tanks, with armored recovery and repair vehicles” to Ukraine. He called it “the most significant package of combat power to date to accelerate Ukrainian success.”

 It is the first time that western main battle tanks will be sent to Ukraine, Wallace said.

“Today’s package will help accelerate the conclusion of Putin’s occupation and all its brutality, and ensure that in 2023 and beyond if necessary, Ukraine retains its momentum, supported by the international community," the defense secretary added.

He also said that the UK would send Ukraine AS-90 self-propelled artillery, and “hundreds more armored and protective vehicles.”

Wallace called the replacement of Russia’s commander for its war in Ukraine “the visible tip of an iceberg of factionalism in the Russian command.” 

“Putin apparently remains bullish. And with Gerasimov’s deference to the president never in doubt, we now would expect a trend back towards a Russian offensive, no matter how much loss of life accompanies it.”

12:10 p.m. ET, January 16, 2023

Ukraine calls Russia and Belarus aviation exercises a "guise"

From CNN's Denis Lapin in Kyiv and Mick Krever in London

Ukraine’s military warned on Monday that the joint Russia-Belarus aviation drills that began Monday were a “guise.”

“There is a high danger of further Russian air and missile strikes on objects throughout Ukraine,” Ukraine’s General Staff said in its regular evening statement on Monday.

“On Jan. 16, near the Ukrainian border, a joint flight and tactical training of aviation units of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus and Russia, which are part of a regional grouping of troops involving combat aircraft of both countries, began,” it added. “Thus, under the guise of joint training, the enemy has strengthened the combat aviation group in Belarus. In view of this, the threat of missile and air strikes from the airspace of Belarus is growing.”

Kyiv has, for some time, warned that Russia may once again attempt an invasion of Ukraine from Belarus. 

Military exercises in Belarus were “sufficient to threaten Ukraine,” and Kyiv was “closely monitoring what is being transferred from Russia to the territory of Belarus,” Serhii Naev, commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, had said on Dec. 20.

Earlier this month, the Belarusian Ministry of Defense announced that Minsk and Moscow were planning to hold joint aviation drills from January 16 to February 1.

12:27 p.m. ET, January 16, 2023

Ukrainian security service confirms Russian cruise missile hit Dnipro apartment building

From CNN's Olga Voitovych in Kyiv and Mick Krever in London

A resident gathers her belongings a day after Saturday’s missile strike on an apartment building in Dnipro.
A resident gathers her belongings a day after Saturday’s missile strike on an apartment building in Dnipro. (Nicole Tung/The New York Times/Redux)

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said Monday that it had examined the wreckage of the munition that hit an apartment building in the city of Dnipro on Saturday and that it was identified as a cruise missile.

The SBU also named six members of the Russian military whom it claimed were involved in the strike, according to what the agency described as "preliminary investigation" findings.

“As a result of the inspection of the tragedy site, the type of Russian cruise missile Kh-22, which the enemy hit the residential building, was preliminarily confirmed,” the SBU said in a statement Monday.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed Monday that a Ukrainian air-defense missile had hit the apartment building, without presenting evidence.

“Each Russian war crime has a specific perpetrator,” SBU chief Vasyl Maliuk said, in a statement. “The Security Service will identify and publish all of them by name – so that no murderer escapes punishment.”

Some more context: A Russian missile strike on a Dnipro apartment building has left at least 40 people dead, making it one of the deadliest single attacks of the war, and the deadliest in months.

11:15 a.m. ET, January 16, 2023

These pictures show aftermath of deadly Russian missile strike on Ukrainian apartment building

CNN Photo staff

Dnipro is still reeling after a Russian cruise missile struck a nine-story apartment building in the central Ukrainian city on early Saturday afternoon, killing at least 40 people and injuring another 75, with 46 people reported missing.

The core of that building is now gone, transformed into a mountain of jumbled concrete. Apartments were sliced in half when the missile – with a warhead of nearly one metric ton – penetrated all the way to the basement.

Here are some pictures from the ground:

Rescue workers carry the body of a person killed in a Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the southeastern city of Dnipro, Ukraine, on January 16.
Rescue workers carry the body of a person killed in a Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the southeastern city of Dnipro, Ukraine, on January 16. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)

Emergency personnel evacuate a person at the site of the attack in Dnipro, Ukraine, on January 15.
Emergency personnel evacuate a person at the site of the attack in Dnipro, Ukraine, on January 15. (Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)

Emergency workers clear the rubble after a Russian rocket hit a building in the southeastern city of Dnipro, Ukraine, on January 14.
Emergency workers clear the rubble after a Russian rocket hit a building in the southeastern city of Dnipro, Ukraine, on January 14. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)

Rescuers remove rubble and search for people at an apartment block hit by a rocket launched by Russian forces during in Dnipro, Ukraine, on January 14.
Rescuers remove rubble and search for people at an apartment block hit by a rocket launched by Russian forces during in Dnipro, Ukraine, on January 14. (Mykola Miakshykov/Ukrinform/Abaca/Sipa USA/AP)

10:19 a.m. ET, January 16, 2023

Putin tells Turkey's Erdogan that Western weapons are intensifying hostilities in Ukraine 

From CNN's Radina Gigova

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech as he attends a program at the ATO Convention and Exhibition Center in Ankara, Turkey, on January 3.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech as he attends a program at the ATO Convention and Exhibition Center in Ankara, Turkey, on January 3. (Aytac Unal/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call Monday that Western weapons supplies to Ukraine are intensifying hostilities and that Kyiv's rejection of a ceasefire proposed by Russia for the Orthodox Christmas period is an example of Kyiv's "hypocritical policy," according to a statement by the Kremlin. 

"Vladimir Putin drew attention to the destructive line of the Kyiv regime, which relied on the intensification of hostilities with the support of Western sponsors, increasing the volume of transferred weapons and military equipment," the statement reads. "An example of the hypocritical policy of Kyiv was the rejection of the proposal to cease fire for the period of Orthodox Christmas."

"On the initiative of the Turkish side and taking into account recent contacts in Ankara, the commissioners of Russia and Ukraine for human rights will touch upon the issue of the exchange of prisoners, primarily the wounded," the Kremlin said. 

Russian missile strike: The call between Putin and Erdogan came just a few days after a Russian missile hit an apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. The missile strike left at least 40 people dead, making it one of the deadliest single attacks of the war, and the deadliest in months.

The implementation of the package of agreements on the export of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports and the unblocking of food and fertilizer supplies from Russia were also discussed, according to the Kremlin. 

"Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the further comprehensive development of Russian-Turkish cooperation," the Kremlin said, adding "among the priorities is cooperation in the energy sector, including the supply of Russian natural gas and the creation of a regional gas hub in Turkey."

9:54 a.m. ET, January 16, 2023

Germany's economy minister says Putin has failed to destroy German industry with his war in Ukraine

From CNN’s Inke Kappeler in Berlin and Allegra Goodwin in London 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has failed to destroy German industry amid his war in Ukraine, Germany’s economy minister Robert Habeck told a Monday conference.  

“It was Putin's plan to cause a meltdown of German industry, but his plan has failed,” Habeck told the energy conference in Berlin, hosted by the business newspaper Handelsblatt. 

Habeck added he hoped Germany’s energy crisis would be overcome by 2024, adding that thanks to the fast construction of gas import infrastructure, gas storage facilities were expected to be full for 2023 and into the winter of 2024. This would lead to “safe and stable” gas deliveries at “moderate prices,” Habeck added. 

After a short period of freezing temperatures in December, a warm January so far has helped to keep Germany’s gas storage facilities around 90% full, according to the country’s gas network regulator. 

While a shortage of gas this winter seems unlikely, the situation could still deteriorate, according to the network regulator’s website. 

If temperatures drop below zero degrees Celsius, Germany consumes around one percent of its gas storage per day,” Habeck warned. 

“If we succeed in coming out of the winter months with adequate gas storage levels, we won't experience last year's madness again,” he continued. 
8:51 a.m. ET, January 16, 2023

Russia sanctions UK foreign minister

From CNN’s Eve Brennan in London 

Russia has sanctioned the UK foreign Minister James Cleverly, according to a tweet from Cleverly Monday. 

“I've been sanctioned by the Russian government. Good,” he said. “If this is the price for supporting Ukrainian freedom, then I’m happy to be sanctioned.”