The 341st day of the Ukrainian war. Latest information [papildināts 22:56]

Live text broadcast – short and concise about the most important things in the Ukrainian war on January 30. Ukraine has been heroically defending its land against the aggressor’s invasion for 11 months.

22:56 Norway wants to deliver the promised Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine at the end of March. This was announced by the head of the Norwegian Ministry of Defense, Bjorn Arild Gram, reports “France 24”. According to him, the issue of the amount of equipment is still being discussed.

22:30 Military expert Oleg Zhdanov said that the intention of the Russian political leadership to resume the offensive on the symbolic date of the full-scale invasion, February 24, may play a cruel joke on the Russian Federation.

On the air of “Espresso”, he explained that the readiness of the Russian troops does not correspond to the scale that the Russian Federation is talking about.

22:00 Ukraine plans to spend 20 billion hryvnias (502 million euros) on the purchase of drones this year, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said.

“The development of the Ukrainian drone market is one of the main areas of activity of the Ministry of Defense,” the minister said on Facebook on Monday.

“After consultations with the General Staff and trials, the Ministry of Defense has concluded 16 contracts with domestic unmanned aircraft manufacturers,” said Reznikov.

“In 2023, we will increase the procurement of unmanned aerial vehicles for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We plan to allocate approximately 20 billion hryvnias to this segment. This is only the beginning. Because it is not only about aerial reconnaissance,” he explained.

The purchase of drones for a wide range of applications is being considered. They are both attack drones and drones for artillery adjustment and ammunition deliveries, as well as for the evacuation of the wounded.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Army announced earlier that drone companies are being formed.

Such formations will be the first in the world, the military leadership of Ukraine said.

21:24 France and Australia will jointly provide Ukraine with the 155 millimeter shells needed for artillery weapons supplied by the West since the start of Russia’s full-scale war, French and Australian defense ministers Sebastien Lecorny and Richard Marles said on Monday.

“Several thousand 155-millimeter projectiles will be jointly produced” by French arms company Nexter, Lecorny said.

The cost of the plan will be “several million dollars,” Marles said.

“Nexter” will be produced, but the gunpowder will be supplied by Australia, the French minister said.

The West supplies Ukraine with various types of artillery weapons that fire 155 millimeter projectiles, including French CAESAR howitzers, British M777 and German Panzerhaubitze 2000.

20:52 Today, the Russian invaders carried out four missile strikes and launched more than 10 attacks from multiple missile launchers on the civilian infrastructure of Ochakov.

This is stated in the summary of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at 18:00. The threat of Russian air and missile strikes across Ukraine is noted to remain high.

“The enemy continues to carry out offensive operations in the directions of Limansk, Bakhmut, Avdeyevka and Novopavlovsk. In other directions, the Russians are defending themselves,” the report said.

20:23 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi commented on the possible offensive of new Russian invaders.

“Revenge, it is understandable. Frankly, we already believe that the revenge in Donbass has not stopped. And it is constantly intensifying there, intensifying every day. Every day they have new groups of military personnel, or we see an increase in their number.

19:54 The Russian occupiers are forming defense lines around the airfield in the temporarily occupied Berdyansk. There are aircraft in the area.

“Defense Express” analysts examined satellite images taken on January 27. The photo shows that defense lines, including trenches and anti-tank frames, have been installed along the perimeter of the airfield for 15 km.

19:23 NATO sees signs that Russia is preparing for a new offensive against Ukraine. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: “There are no signs that President Putin and the authorities in Moscow are preparing for peace.”

19:03 Since the beginning of the Russian occupation, about a thousand citizens have been kidnapped in Melitopol. Several thousand were forcibly relocated to other regions or to Russia. This was announced by the mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fyodorov, during the briefing.

According to Fyodorov, the Russians also illegally took at least 3,500 prisoners who were in local correctional facilities to Crimea.

18:00. The Slovenian authorities announced on Monday that the national intelligence service arrested two people on suspicion of espionage, while the media reported that the detainees worked for Russia.

17:05. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged South Korea to provide military support to Ukraine and urged Seoul to review its policy of refraining from arms exports to countries in conflict. According to Stoltenberg, there is an acute need for ammunition.

15:45. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has awakened the European princess sleeping in the glass mountain of prosperity, European Parliament (EP) member Sandra Kalniete (JV) said at the opening of the Academy of Democracy in Riga Palace. She points out that the Academy of Democracy is needed, because this is a difficult time for democracy, which is scary in Latvia, Europe and the world. According to Kalniete, it is shocking to know that in the 21st century there are fewer democratic countries than non-democratic ones. On the other hand, right here, across the border of Latvia, there are two aggressive dictatorships – Russia and Belarus, where human rights are suppressed with the most brutal methods, and any deviation from the regime’s official “truths” is locked.

14:40. The US will deliver Abrams tanks to Ukraine only at the end of 2023 or at the beginning of 2024, reports the newspaper “The Washington Post”. Such a delay will occur due to the fact that the tanks will not be taken from the US military stocks, but will be specially purchased for the needs of Ukraine.

12.43. Latvia and Slovakia are like-minded partners, and both countries also provide strong support to Ukraine, said Speaker of the Saeima Edvards Smiltēns (AS) during a meeting with the Slovak Ambassador to Latvia Ladislav Babčanas today. Discussing the war started by Russia in Ukraine, Smiltēns noted that both Latvia and Slovakia are trying to help Ukraine in different ways and feel the consequences of the war. The ambassador confirmed Slovakia’s commitment to increase the support provided to Ukraine, including in the military field.

11.42. The adviser of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Mihailo Podoliak, accused the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday that it is promoting the war in Ukraine with the intention of finding opportunities for Russian athletes to return to international competition.

“The IOC is an enabler of war, murder and destruction. The IOC watches with pleasure as Russia destroys Ukraine, and then offers Russia a platform to advertise genocide and encourages it to commit further murders,” Podoliak wrote on Twitter.

10.48. Three people were killed in rocket attacks by Russian troops on the Kherson region on Sunday, reports pravda.com.ua.

09.04. The loss of Russian troops in Ukraine has reached 126,650 soldiers by Monday morning, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army. According to the data of the General Staff, 490 invaders were destroyed during the day.

Since the start of the re-invasion on February 24, Russia has lost 3,201 tanks, 6,369 armored personnel carriers, 2,196 cannons, 453 multi-charge rocket launchers, 221 anti-aircraft artillery systems, 293 aircraft, 284 helicopters, 1,947 unmanned aerial vehicles, 796 cruise missiles, 5,041 vehicles and tankers, and 18 tankers. , as well as 199 units of specialized equipment.

08.30. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has ordered 105 reconnaissance drones “Vector” from the German manufacturer “Quantum-Systems”, the company announced. The order is financed by the German government.

08.02. The main factor why Ukraine has lost time to launch a major counteroffensive against Russian troops is the delay in the delivery of Western-style long-range multi-launch rocket systems, air defense systems and tanks, according to analysts at the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

07.11. The highest spiritual leader of the Kalmykian Buddhists, shajinlama (supreme lama), Telo Tulku Rinpoche (secular name – Erdni Ombadikovs), has announced his resignation from the office of shajinlama after the decision of the Ministry of Justice of Russia to include him in the register of “foreign agents”.

Russia’s Justice Ministry last week placed Ombadikov on the foreign agent register after he condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in an interview in October, saying that justice was on Ukraine’s side.

06.02. Efforts to ensure that the athletes of the aggressor country Russia can participate in next year’s Summer Olympic Games in Paris can be seen as an attempt to show the world that terror can be acceptable, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said in a video call on Sunday evening.

05.11. A woman was killed and three people were injured when an S-300 missile fired by Russian troops hit a four-story residential building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Sunday evening, Oleh Sinehubov, the head of the Kharkiv region administration, announced on Monday.

01.41. Agriculture Minister Didzis Šmits (AS) will discuss the impact of the war in Ukraine on agriculture and food production at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council of the European Union (EU) today. The ministry states that in Brussels, the member states, together with the European Commission and Sweden, as the presiding country in the EU Council, will discuss the impact of the energy crisis and Russia’s war in Ukraine on the agricultural and food production sectors and possible solutions to the problems.

00.10. Behind the decision to dramatically increase military aid to Ukraine lies concern in some Western capitals that time could be an advantage on Russia’s side, The Wall Street Journal reports. These concerns suggest that Ukraine soon needs strong Western weapons to continue the momentum gained during last year’s counteroffensive.