January 18, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

By Tara Subramaniam, Kathryn Snowdon, Jack Guy, Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt and Leinz Vales, CNN

Updated 12:25 a.m. ET, January 19, 2023

52 Posts

Sort by

2:34 p.m. ET, January 18, 2023

UN nuclear watchdog finalizes deployment of permanent missions to Ukrainian power plants

From CNN's Yulia Kesaieva in Kyiv and Lauren Kent

The UN nuclear watchdog finalized the deployment of permanent missions to Ukrainian power plants — including the plants in Rivne, Chornobyl, and south Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian prime minister following his meeting with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Wednesday.

The IAEA mission at Khmelnytsky nuclear power plant will also be functioning soon, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at a press conference, with all the missions' work continuing during wartime and afterward to restore any damage.

The IAEA continues to expand its presence in Ukraine, Director General Rafael Grossi said.

Following the meeting, Shmyhal said, "For the first time in the history of mankind, nuclear facilities have become an element of an offensive military strategy," adding that Grossi pledged the IAEA's full support in "our efforts to ensure nuclear safety," including at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Remember: Zaporizhzhia, with six reactors, is the largest nuclear power station in Europe. The area, and the nuclear complex, has been under Russian control since the beginning of the war. Grossi and other nuclear experts have been concerned about the threat of a nuclear accident amid shelling around the plant.

Shmyhal said Ukraine has asked that the control of the Zaporizhzhia facility be returned to Ukrainian authorities and that there is a "complete withdrawal" of Russian troops and Rosatom personnel from the plant. Grossi assured Ukraine that the IAEA would never recognize Russia as the owner of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant., according to Shmyhal.

The prime minister added that Ukraine will "continue to insist on limiting Russia's rights and privileges in the IAEA and terminating cooperation with Russia in the nuclear sphere."

2:34 p.m. ET, January 18, 2023

Blinken offers condolences following deadly Ukraine helicopter crash

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler

Antony Blinken speaks during the United States Conference of Mayors winter meeting on January 18 in Washington, DC. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered “deep sorrow and condolences” following a deadly helicopter crash in Brovary, Ukraine.

Blinken noted that the crash “took the lives of senior officials in the government of Ukraine, including the Minister of Interior, the Deputy Minister, colleagues with whom we’ve worked very, very closely.”

“A couple of them left behind small children. They have been heroic in their efforts in defense of Ukraine against the Russian aggression and we stand with our friends in Ukraine in mourning their loss and recommitting to the efforts that we’re making to help Ukraine defend itself against this aggression,” Blinken said at the State Department Wednesday.

2:26 p.m. ET, January 18, 2023

NATO chief is confident that Turkey will finalize accession process for Finland and Sweden

From CNN’s Allegra Goodwin in London

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday expressed his confidence that Turkey would finalize the process for Nordic countries Finland and Sweden to join the US-led military alliance.

“I'm confident that Turkey will finalize the accession process for Finland and Sweden,” Stoltenberg said at a World Economic Forum panel in Davos, Switzerland, adding he did not know when this would be.

This would be the “fastest accession process in NATO’s modern history,” he noted. “Normally, accession to NATO takes years. It’s less than a year since Finland and Sweden applied.”

Remember: NATO decisions are made by consensus, which means all 30 alliance member states must approve the two nations joining. Turkey is the only member that has voiced opposition to their membership, on the grounds of terror concerns.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in video remarks to the forum Wednesday again reiterated his desire for Ukraine to join NATO, saying that the alliance "is the best security guarantee for us, for our country, for our kids."

2:14 p.m. ET, January 18, 2023

British Foreign Office: "UK and the US stand united against Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine"

From CNN's Lauren Kent in London

Following the United Kingdom's foreign secretary's visit with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington, DC, Wednesday, the British Foreign Office tweeted a message of bilateral support to end the war in Ukraine.

"The UK and the US stand united against Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine. Foreign Secretary @JamesCleverly met @SecBlinken in Washington DC where they agreed to deepen our two countries’ diplomatic and security ties to ensure that, in the end, the Ukrainian people will win," the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office tweeted.

View the tweet:

2:29 p.m. ET, January 18, 2023

Biden sends condolences to Ukraine following helicopter crash

From CNN's Betsy Klein

Rescuers work the scene of a helicopter crash in Brovary, Ukraine, on January 18. (STR/NurPhoto/Getty Images)

US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden in a statement Wednesday expressed their “deepest condolences” following the helicopter crash that killed at least 14 people in Ukraine.

“Jill and I send our deepest condolences to the families of all those killed in the tragic helicopter crash in Ukraine this morning, including Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrskyy and other senior Ukrainian government officials. Our hearts are also with the dozens of civilians who were killed or injured, including precious children, and their families. We grieve with all those who are mourning this heartbreaking tragedy,” Biden said in the statement.

Biden called Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky a “reformer and patriot” and praised his involvement “in the preservation of Ukraine’s democracy—both its defense against Russian aggression, and the vital work of reforms to strengthen Ukraine’s institutions through this war and into the future.”

Monastyrskyy, Biden said, “championed the will of the Ukrainian people” as he vowed to “continue to honor that legacy through efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s institutions, and in our unfailing partnership with the people of Ukraine to keep the flame of freedom bright.”

Separately, the Biden administration on Wednesday also expressed condolences “for this devastating loss today of their interior minister and so many civilian lives, including children.”

John Kirby, national security council director for strategic communications, told CNN’s MJ Lee Wednesday that a cause of the crash has not yet been determined as Ukraine investigates.

“I don't have any notion right now as to what caused that crash to occur. Ukraine is investigating. We certainly aren't going to get ahead of them in their efforts. But again, we send our deepest condolences to everybody there,” Kirby said.

1:40 p.m. ET, January 18, 2023

NATO should prepare for the "long haul" as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, alliance's deputy chief says

From CNN’s Allegra Goodwin

Mircea Geoană speaks to the media in Berlin, Germany, on May 15. (Janine Schmitz/Photothek/Getty Images)

NATO’s Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană on Wednesday warned that the alliance must be prepared “for the long haul” with regards to Russia's war on Ukraine.

Addressing defense chiefs at a NATO military committee meeting in Brussels, Geoană said allies should invest more in defense, ramp up their capacity to manufacture weapons and ammunition, and “prepare for potential future wars.”

Echoing a warning issued previously by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Geoană said that "underestimating Russia is dangerous.” He said Russian President Vladimir Putin had already mobilized more than 200,000 additional troops.

“We have no indication that Putin’s goals have changed. So we must be prepared for the long haul. 2023 will be a difficult year. And we need to support Ukraine for as long as it takes,” he said.

1:38 p.m. ET, January 18, 2023

Ukraine's military says Russia continues to focus its "main efforts" on offensive in eastern city of Bakhmut

From CNN's Yulia Kesaieva in Kyiv

Ukrainian servicemen inspect a residential building damaged during a Russian military strike in Bakhmut, Ukraine, on January 17. (Mykola Synelnykov/Reuters)

Ukraine’s military said on Wednesday that Russia continues to focus its "main efforts" on an offensive in the direction of the city of Bakhmut, which is in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.

Russia has not abandoned "its intention to capture the Donetsk region," Ukraine’s General Staff said in its regular evening statement on Wednesday.

Some background: Bakhmut is perhaps the most contested and kinetic part of the 1,300-kilometer (800 mile) front line in Ukraine and the scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the war.

Fighting around Bakhmut has raged for months, and Ukrainian officials previously told CNN that only 10% of the pre-war population remains in the city.

"In the Bakhmut sector, the areas of 13 settlements came under fire," Ukraine’s General Staff said on Wednesday. "Among them are Verkhniokamyanske, Bilohorivka, Vesele, Soledar, Krasna Hora, Bakhmut, Klishchiivka, Kurdiumivka and Druzhba in Donetsk region."

Ukraine’s General Staff update also said that Russia's offensives in Avdiivka and in parts of Zaporizhzhia have been unsuccessful, and claimed that Russia is "on the defensive" in Novopavlivka and Kherson.

'I won't leave': Civilians struggle on with daily life despite battle for Bakhmut | CNN

1:15 p.m. ET, January 18, 2023

15 people remain hospitalized following Brovary crash, according to Ukrainian health minister

From Yulia Kesaieva in Kyiv

A general view of the site of the helicopter crash in Brovary on January 18. (Viacheslav Ratynskyi/Reuters)

Fifteen people are still being treated in the hospital due to the helicopter crash in a Kyiv suburb that killed at least 14 on Wednesday, according to Ukraine's Minister of Health Viktor Liashko.

Initially, 24 people were hospitalized, but several have been released to go home under the supervision of a family physician, Liashko said.

Ten out of the 15 people still hospitalized have been admitted to the Kyiv Medical Burn Center, including six adults and four kids, the health minister added.

"The doctors are working on stabilizing them," Liashko said. "We are also cooperating with parents in order to assist with all required documents to send the children to European clinics for further treatment after the severe patients would be stabilized. It does not mean we are unable to provide the needed treatment, it just means that our hospitals need to always have availability for those who suffered during the war."

The crash, which occurred near a kindergarten in the Kyiv region, killed the leadership team of Ukraine’s interior ministry, including Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky.

The Ukrainian Security Services has launched an investigation into the crash.

A woman cries next to a memorial for victims near the site of the helicopter crash in Brovary on Wednesday. (Nacho Doce/Reuters)

12:33 p.m. ET, January 18, 2023

Zelensky reaffirms Ukraine's priority of joining NATO: The alliance is "the best security guarantee for us"

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky talks from a video screen to participants at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday. (Markus Schreiber/AP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday again reiterated his desire for Ukraine to join NATO, telling leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum that the alliance is the "best security guarantee for us."

"Security guarantees are among the top priorities for us," Zelenksy said virtually via a translator in response to a question from CNN's Fareed Zakaria. "We understand that at the moment, we're not there yet, unfortunately, Russia does understand this well, and they do their damnedest to not make it easy for us to join. But we are on the way toward NATO, because NATO is the best security guarantee for us, for our country, for our kids."

On Tuesday, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said that while Ukraine must be supported, Russia should be given the opportunity to be a member of the global order.

Asked about Kissinger's remarks regarding Russia's place in the world, Zelensky said "Russia has already earned a place among terrorists."

"Our priority today, our political task today is to see the different political leaders and figures, those who are still very relevant or have been relevant until recently, for them to be able to recognize the great mistake that Putin committed, for them to recognize this is Russia's aggression," Zelensky added.