January 30, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

The Kremlin said Monday former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s claim about Russian President Vladimir Putin threatening him with a missile in a phone call ahead of Russia's invasion of Ukraine “is a lie.”

Peskov said he's aware of what was discussed during that conversation, but stressed “there were no missile threats.”

According to Peskov, “Speaking about the security challenges for the Russian Federation, Putin noted that in the event of Ukraine joining NATO, the potential deployment of NATO or American missiles near our borders would mean that any missile would reach Moscow in a matter of minutes.”

“If this passage was understood in this way, it is a very awkward situation,” he added.

Johnson told the BBC earlier Monday that Putin threatened him with a missile that “would only take a minute.” The exchange was released as a preview to the documentary "Putin vs the West," scheduled to release later Monday, which examines Putin's interactions with world leaders.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been accused by a Ukrainian presidential advisor of being a "promoter of war, murder and destruction" following the committee's decision to consider ways for Russian athletes to compete in the 2024 Olympic Games.

Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted Monday that the IOC was offering Russia "a platform to promote genocide & encourages their further killings."

In a statement published Wednesday, the IOC emphasized the body’s "strong commitment to the unifying mission of the Olympic movement" and that "no athlete should be prevented from competing just because of their passport."

The IOC went on to say that athletes’ participation under strict conditions, for example participating as "neutral athletes" and not representing their state, should be explored.

For context: Last week, the IOC outlined a multi-step plan for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris and the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan. Athletes' rights group Global Athlete and Ukrainian Athletes responded to the move with a joint statement, saying that the IOC's plan to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes only strengthens "Russia's propaganda machine."

Battles are underway in the south and east of Ukraine as authorities report more casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure on Monday.

Donetsk region

Donetsk region continues to see some of the heaviest fighting. On Monday, the Ukrainian military said that Russian forces are trying to advance toward Lyman, Bakhmut and Avdiivka.

At least one person was killed in the city of Krasnohorivka, said Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the Donetsk region military administration.

Kherson region

Russian forces have fired 42 times in the region in the last 24 hours, the regional military administration said Monday. "The enemy attacked civilian settlements of the region with artillery, MLRS, mortars, tanks, and infantry fighting vehicles," it said.

At least three people were killed by Russian shelling in the city of Kherson on Sunday and eight civilians sustained injuries of varying severity, the regional military administration said.

Kharkiv region

At least one person was killed and three wounded in the city of Kharkiv on Sunday, said Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv region military administration.

Preliminary investigations suggest the missile was fired from an S-300 air defense system, he said.

"The missile hit a 4-story residential building in the Kyivsky district," said Syniehubov. "The upper floors and roof of the building were destroyed, and a large-scale fire broke out."

Kupiansk, Vovchansk, Strilecha, Dvorichna and other towns came under enemy fire, added Syniehubov, with private houses, shops and other buildings damaged.

In Kupiansk, a 41-year-old man was wounded as a result of enemy shelling, he said.

Zaporizhzhia region

The situation remains relatively stable as Russian forces are concentrating on holding occupied territories in the region, the Zaporizhzhia region military administration said Monday. 

Russian shelling damaged residential houses and buildings in various parts of the region, the regional police said.

Russian forces have established a presence in the eastern part of the town of Vuhledar in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, the leader of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) told Russian state media on Monday. 

"Our units continue their advance toward Vuhledar. We can say now that the units have gained a foothold in Vuhledar’s east, and work is underway on its outskirts, too," Denis Pushilin told state channel Russia 24, adding that fighting continues near the town.

Pushilin said that it is too early to say when Vuhledar could be taken under Russian control.

Vuhledar has been the scene of fierce fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces as the town is a major logistics hub and its seizure would help cut off the Ukrainian army's supplies, Pushilin said. 

Yan Gagin, an adviser to Pushilin, told Russian state news agency TASS earlier that the seizure of Vuhledar would make it possible to deliver strikes on the Ukrainian military in several directions.

Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov claims Ukraine is "dragging its feet" on negotiations to create a safety zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Since last fall, Grossi has reiterated the urgency of creating a safety zone around the plant in southeastern Ukraine, which has been under the control of Russian forces since March last year.

Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russian forces of storing heavy weaponry inside the complex and using it as cover to launch attacks, knowing that Kyiv's forces can’t return fire without risking hitting one of the plant’s reactors.

According to RIA, Ryabkov accused Kyiv of giving "the impression that it is using this facility for nuclear blackmail" and claimed the IAEA has no right to interfere in its security. 

The decision by the United States and NATO allies to send tanks to Ukraine has made it "pointless" for Moscow to engage in any talks with Kyiv, Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told state news agency RIA Novosti in an interview released Monday.

"We are willing to consider any serious initiatives to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, but so far no one has articulated them properly," he added.

Ukraine received a boost last week when Germany said it would send 14 of its Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv, while also permitting other countries that possess the Leopards, including Norway, to supply them.

In addition to the Leopards, Ukraine is set to receive heavy armor from both the United States, which is sending 31 M1 Abrams tanks, and the United Kingdom, which has pledged 14 Challenger tanks.

Prisoner swaps: Ryabkov also said Russia and the US will continue negotiations on the exchange of prisoners, but such an ultra-sensitive issue "loves silence," he said, adding there are few realistic options for an "all for all" prisoner exchange, RIA reported. 

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday asked South Korea to reconsider its rule on not exporting weapons to countries in conflict so it could help arm Ukraine in repelling Russia’s invasion.

“I urge the Republic of Korea to continue and to step up the specific issue of military support,” he said in a question and answer session after a speech to the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies in Seoul.

Some context: A South Korean presidential decree that enforces the country’s Foreign Trade Act says its exports can only be used for “peaceful purposes” and “shall not affect international peace, safety maintenance, and national security.”

South Korea is also a signatory to the United Nations’ Arms Trade Treaty, ratified in 2014 with the intention of keeping close control on who gets weapons and under what conditions they can be used.

Read more here.

Former British prime minister Boris Johnson said Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened him with a missile strike in a phone call last year prior to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Johnson told the BBC he warned Putin during the phone call in February 2022 that invading Ukraine would lead to Western sanctions and more NATO troops on Russia's borders.

"[Putin] said, 'Boris, you say that Ukraine is not going to join NATO any time soon.' He said it in English: 'Any time soon. What is any time soon?' And I said, 'Well, it's not going to join NATO for the foreseeable future. You know that perfectly well," Johnson said of the call. 

The exchange was released as a preview to a BBC documentary "Putin vs the West," scheduled for release Monday, which examines the Russian president's interactions with world leaders.

Neither Putin nor the Kremlin have publicly commented on the alleged threat. 

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Dug in amid the rolling hills west of Bakhmut, the tanks of the Ukrainian army's 28th Mechanized Brigade are helping to hold the line against a growing Russian offensive.

They are battered and bruised by nearly a year of combat, but despite their age they are cherished by their crews.

The young tank commander, who goes by the call sign David, sees his unit's role as crucial in holding the line, and preventing a Russian advance towards the straggling industrial town of Konstantinyvka.

The 28th has had a long war already. It was in the south helping to liberate Kherson before being sent half-way across the country. But it prides itself on one of the lowest casualty rates among Ukrainian brigades.

As David talks, the air is split by the sound of outgoing fire from tanks and artillery. A howitzer is in action on the other side of the hill. Their targets are positions held by the Russian mercenary group Wagner south of Bakhmut, several miles away.

But the 28th uses its 125-millimeter shells sparingly. "We have problems with ammunition, we are running low on it," David says. "But that's the only problem we have. We get enough spare parts, our commanders work all the time to sustain and repair the tanks."

Sometimes, all it needs is the appearance of a tank in forward positions to scatter Wagner fighters, who are mostly lightly-armed infantry.

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