January 17, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

By Kathleen Magramo, Sana Noor Haq, Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt, Leinz Vales, Maureen Chowdhury and Tori B. Powell, CNN

Updated 12:43 a.m. ET, January 18, 2023
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6:50 a.m. ET, January 17, 2023

Putin supports plan to increase Russian armed forces to 1.5 million

From CNN’s Anna Chernova

Moscow is planning to increase its armed forces due to the “proxy war” that the West is waging, as Russia's faltering invasion of Ukraine approaches eleven months.

Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu announced earlier Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin had made a decision to increase the strength of the Russian Armed Forces to 1.5 million servicemen.

“Conceptually, Putin agreed” with the suggestions that were announced by the country's defence ministry, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

The details of the military expansion are yet to be finalized, Peskov said.

Previous Russian mobilization efforts: In September, Russia conducted a partial mobilization of its citizens after suffering a series of major setbacks on the battlefields of Ukraine. Officials suspended the mobilization in November, citing that the draft’s target of recruiting 300,000 personnel had been met.

That same month, Putin signed into law to conscript citizens with unexpunged or outstanding convictions for murder, robbery, larceny, drug trafficking and other serious crimes under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation to be called up for military service to mobilize.

“This is due to the war that the countries of the collective West are waging," Peskov added.

"The proxy war includes both elements of indirect participation in hostilities, and elements of economy, financial, legal war,” he commented.

Diplomatic relations between the Kremlin and Western leaders are historically low, as allies of Kyiv including the US, the UK and the European Union, have leveled economic sanctions against Russia in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

CNN's Uliana Pavlova contributed to this post.

7:07 a.m. ET, January 17, 2023

Olena Zelenska puts Ukraine under the spotlight at Davos

From CNN's Sebastian Shukla and Alex Hardie

Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska addresses the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on January 17.
Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska addresses the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on January 17. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)

Olena Zelenska said Russia's assault against Ukraine is contributing to "the collapse of the world as we know it," as politicians, business moguls and billionaires congregated at the World Economic Forum Monday.

“We are facing the collapse of the world as we know it, the way we are accustomed to it or to what we aspire," the Ukrainian first lady said Tuesday during a speech in Davos, Switzerland.

“Russian aggression was never intended to restrict itself to the Ukrainian borders, this work will go further and make the crisis wider if the aggressor does not lose," she added.

Zelenska also referenced the deadly attack in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro Saturday, when a Russian cruise missile hit an apartment building and killed at least 44 people.

“These ordinary people at home on a Saturday — that's enough reason for Russia to kill," she said of the strike.

“There is nothing off limits for Russia. As we speak, in our city of Dnipro, people are still working and sorting through the debris of a residential area, of a house that was destroyed by an anti-ship missile. This missile was built to destroy aircraft carriers and was used against the civilian infrastructure."

Watch here:

4:52 a.m. ET, January 17, 2023

Dnipro apartment strike death toll rises to 44

From CNN’s Maria Kostenko

Forty-four people have died following a Russian cruise missile strike on an apartment block in Dnipro over the weekend, according to the city's mayor.

Mayor Borys Filatov gave the new death toll on social media on Tuesday. The count rose since the earlier announcement that 41 people had died, including four children, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Presidential Administration.

Filatov did not immediately provide the ages of the three other bodies that have been discovered since.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack by Moscow was a "war crime" and pledged to bring its perpetrators to justice in his evening address Monday.

Also on Monday, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported that 7,000 civilians have died in Ukraine since the beginning of the war on February 24. 2022. 

OHCHR added that they believed “most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects, including shelling from heavy artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, missiles and air strikes.”

CNN's Sebastian Shukla contributed reporting.

4:16 a.m. ET, January 17, 2023

Discovery of child's body brings Dnipro apartment death toll to 41

From CNN’s Maria Kostenko and Sebastian Shukla

Firefighters conducting search and rescue operations at a residential building hit by a missile on January 15, in Dnipro, Ukraine.
Firefighters conducting search and rescue operations at a residential building hit by a missile on January 15, in Dnipro, Ukraine. (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images)

A child's body was found in the wreckage of an apartment building in Dnipro on Tuesday, raising the death toll from a Russian missile strike Saturday to 41, according to Ukrainian officials. 

“At 9.46 this morning, the body of one dead child was pulled out from under the rubble of a destroyed residential building on the 4th floor,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Kyrylo Tymoshenko said on Telegram.

The strike is one of the deadliest single attacks of the war and is now confirmed to have killed at least four children.

Earlier Tuesday, a Ukrainian military official said 25 residents remain missing after 90% of the destroyed apartment block was “dismantled.”

Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration head Valentyn Reznichenko said 28 victims remain in hospital, 10 of them seriously injured.

On Monday the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that 7,000 civilians have died in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion on Feb. 24 last year. 

3:37 a.m. ET, January 17, 2023

Australian Open organizers ban Russia, Belarus flags

From CNN's George Ramsay and Angus Watson

A Russian flag is seen during the first round match between Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia and Kateryna Baindl of Ukraine at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, on January 16.
A Russian flag is seen during the first round match between Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia and Kateryna Baindl of Ukraine at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, on January 16. (Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/AP)

Tennis Australia announced on Tuesday that fans will no longer be allowed to bring the Russian or the Belarusian flag to the site of the Australian Open.

The decision comes after Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia “strongly condemn[ed]” the Russian flag being displayed in the stands at the grand slam.

Tennis Australia wrote in its statement:

“Flags from Russia and Belarus are banned onsite at the Australian Open.
“Our initial policy was that fans could bring them in but could not use them to cause disruption. Yesterday we had an incident where a flag was placed courtside.
“The ban is effective immediately. We will continue to work with the players and our fans to ensure the best possible environment to enjoy the tennis.”

The flag was seen during the first-round match between Ukraine’s Kateryna Baindl and Russia’s Kamilla Rakhimova in Melbourne.

Read more here.

3:29 a.m. ET, January 17, 2023

High-level US delegation met with top Ukrainian officials in Kyiv

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler

Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak held a briefing for the US delegation headed by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Ukraine's counteraction to Russia's invasion on January 16 in Kyiv.
Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak held a briefing for the US delegation headed by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Ukraine's counteraction to Russia's invasion on January 16 in Kyiv. (President of Ukraine)

A high-level US delegation met Monday in Kyiv with top Ukrainian officials "to reaffirm the United States’ strong and steadfast commitment to Ukraine and its defense against Russia’s unprovoked aggression," according to a State Department readout. 

Here's who was on the US delegation:

  • Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman
  • Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer
  • Undersecretary of Defense Colin Kahl

Here's who they met with in Ukraine:

  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
  • Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal
  • Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov
  • Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov
  • Ukrenergo CEO Volodymyr Kudrytskyi

"Prior to the visit, the delegation made stops in Germany and Poland to review U.S. security assistance to Ukraine," the readout said. 

During the meetings, the leaders talked about how international assistance "has helped stabilize Ukraine's economy" as well as how the US and Ukraine could continue to have an economic and trade relationship when the war is over, according to the readout.

Leaders also discussed efforts to repair Ukraine's energy infrastructure, it added.

2:22 a.m. ET, January 17, 2023

IAEA chief marks permanent presence at Ukrainian nuclear plant

From CNN's Mick Krever

Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks during a meeting at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant near Yuzhnoukrainsk on January 16.
Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks during a meeting at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant near Yuzhnoukrainsk on January 16. (Nacho Doce/Reuters)

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Monday visited the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant to mark the permanent presence of the UN nuclear watchdog at the site.

The head of the agency is in Ukraine this week to "establish a continuous presence of nuclear safety and security experts at all the country’s nuclear power facilities," the IAEA previously announced.

“Now we are setting this permanent presence here,” Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a video posted to his Twitter account. “I think it is highly symbolic that we start this cold evening here, but with a warm spirit and with great determination.”

While the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant already has IAEA team members on location, experts will also be stationed at the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant in western Ukraine in "the coming days," the IAEA said in a statement on Saturday, ahead of the director's visit.

Grossi will also visit the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant, as well as Chernobyl. Two IAEA members are expected to be posted at each site, the watchdog said.

8:00 p.m. ET, January 16, 2023

Former Wagner commander flees to Norway and seeks asylum

From CNN's Mick Krever and Katharina Krebs

A former commander in Russia’s Wagner private military company has fled to Norway and is seeking asylum after crossing that country’s arctic border, according to Norwegian police and a Russian activist.

Andrei Medvedev, in an interview with a Russian activist who helps people seek asylum abroad, said that he feared for his life after refusing to renew his service with Wagner.

Medvedev said that after completing his contract, and refusing to serve another, he was afraid of being executed in the same manner as Yevgeny Nuzhin — a defector from Wagner who was killed on camera with a sledgehammer.

“We were just thrown to fight like cannon fodder,” he told Vladimir Osechkin, head of Gulagu.net, a human rights advocacy group, in a conversation published on YouTube.

A spokesperson for Norway’s Police Security Service confirmed to CNN Monday that Medvedev was in Norway and seeking asylum.

“This is so far a local police investigation,” Eirik Veum told CNN. “But the Security Service, we are informed, and follow the investigation of course.”

Some background: Wagner, headed by Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, has emerged as a key player in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — recently doing much of the fighting in the small eastern town of Soledar.

The mercenary group is often described as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s off-the-books troops. It has expanded its footprint globally since its creation in 2014, and has been accused of war crimes in Africa, Syria and Ukraine.

Read more here.

8:24 p.m. ET, January 16, 2023

Ukrainian troops have arrived at US Army base in Oklahoma for Patriot training

From CNN's Oren Liebermann

Ukrainian troops have arrived at Fort Sill in Oklahoma to begin training on the Patriot missile system, the US Army base announced Monday. 

CNN was first to report that the training was set to begin as soon as this week.

Fort Sill is home to the Fires Center of Excellence where the US conducts Patriot training for its own military and other countries.  

“The same instructors who teach U.S., allied and partner nations will conduct the Ukrainian training, and these classes will not detract from the ongoing training missions at Fort Sill,” the base said in a statement. 

The training will take “several months” on the advanced but complex long-range aerial defense system, according to Pentagon officials. It’s not clear how much the military can accelerate the training program.