Tanks that Britain has pledged to send to Ukraine "will burn" in battle, the Kremlin warned on Monday as Russia and Belarus began air drills, stoking fears in Kyiv and the West that Moscow could use its ally to launch a new offensive. On the ground, Ukrainian officials said the death toll from Russia's missile strike on a residential building in Dnipro had risen to at least 40, with hopes of finding survivors in the rubble rapidly fading. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
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05:15am: UN watchdog optimistic about Ukraine nuclear plant protection
The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said on Monday he hoped to make progress on a safe zone deal around the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia plant in Ukraine, but stressed it was a tough negotiation.
Russian forces in March captured the Soviet-era plant, Europe's largest, soon after their invasion of Ukraine. It has repeatedly come under fire in recent months, raising fears of a nuclear disaster.
"The situation around the plant continues to be very, very dangerous," Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told reporters during a visit to Ukraine. "A nuclear accident, an accident with serious radiological consequences, is in nobody's interest."
Russia downplayed the IAEA's visit and its powers.
05:00am: Russian flags banned at Australian Open tennis after Ukraine complaint
Russian and Belarusian flags have been banned from the Melbourne Park precinct during the Australian Open after a complaint from the Ukraine ambassador to the country.
Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ukraine's ambassador to Australia and New Zealand, posted a picture showing a Russian flag hanging from a bush beside the court where his compatriot Kateryna Baindl was playing her first-round match on Monday.
"I strongly condemn the public display of the Russian flag during the game of the Ukrainian tennis player Kateryna Baindl at the Australian Open today," he wrote on Twitter.
"I call on Tennis Australia to immediately enforce its 'neutral flag' policy."
Tennis Australia responded on Tuesday by banning the flags of the two countries.
"Flags from Russia and Belarus are banned onsite at the Australian Open," Tennis Australia said in a statement.
"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."
10:30pm: Zelensky says decision-making on Ukraine arms supplies needs to speed up
The deadly attack on an apartment building in the central city of Dnipro shows the need for faster and better coordinated decisions on supplying arms for Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address Monday.
“What happened in Dnipro, the fact that Russia is preparing new attempts to seize the initiative in the war, the fact that the nature of military action at the front requires new decisions on arms supplies – only underscores how important it is to coordinate all the efforts of the coalition defending Ukraine and freedom,” Zelensky said. “And to speed up decision-making.”
6:49pm: Russia has ‘cannibalised’ the Belarusian military
Belarus on Monday began joint air force drills with Russia, describing them as being purely defensive in nature, but fuelling concerns that Moscow might be pushing Minsk to join the war in Ukraine. However, FRANCE 24’s Luke Shrago says that Belarus's military is not really in a position to join the conflict.
Reporting from Kyiv, Shrago said Russia has in the past year “cannibalised” the Belarusian military “for armoured vehicles, for tanks, and for parts to try to keep its own war effort going, so Belarus is not particularly in a state to carry out such operations".
“On top of that, its’ own military is [only] 40,000-50,000 troops strong and is an army more geared to carry out counter-terror operations,” he said.
In addition, the current weather conditions – waterlogged and swampy lands – are not ideal for carrying out another Russian invasion from Belarus.
But, Shrago noted, with Lukashenko having been cornered by sanctions to the point that he now “has nowhere else to turn” begs the question: “How long will he be able to resist saying no to Putin?”
Watch Shrago’s full report in the video below.
5:38pm: Tearful Ukrainians mourn victims of Dnipro attack
Tearful neighbours and local residents left flowers and cuddly toys at a makeshift memorial near an apartment block in the city of Dnipro where Ukrainian officials say at least 40 people were killed in a Russian missile strike.
A soldier staggered away, wiping away tears, after laying flowers on the seat of a transport shelter turned into a temporary monument to the victims of Saturday’s attack. A candle burned beside the growing pile of toys and bouquets.
“We came here to look, pay our respects. It is very tough, such a shame about lives lost,” 63-year-old Viktoria told Reuters. “I want to say ‘Rest in Peace’ to all those who died and ‘Keep strong’ to all those who survived. It is very sad, such a shame about lives lost. Any of us could have been there.”
3:45pm: UN says more than 7,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine
More than 7,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia invaded its neighbor last February, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
“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,” it said in a statement.
The UN rights office said it had confirmed 7,031 civilian deaths but believes actual casualty tolls are “considerably higher” given the pending corroboration of many reports and the inaccessibility of areas where intense fighting is taking place. Most of the recorded civilian deaths occurred in government-held areas of Ukraine.
3:40pm: Putin slams growing Western arms deliveries to Ukraine
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin slammed Kyiv’s “destructive” policies and growing Western arms supplies to Ukraine in a Monday phone call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Kremlin said.
“Vladimir Putin drew attention to the destructive line of the Kyiv regime, which has bet on the intensification of hostilities with the support of Western sponsors, who are ramping up the supplies of weapons and military equipment,” it said.
2:47pm: Germany calls for special tribunal against Russia over Ukraine war
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has called for the establishment of a special international tribunal to prosecute Russian leaders over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
What is needed is “a tribunal that can investigate the Russian leadership and put them on trial”, she said in a keynote speech at the Academy of International Law in The Hague, where the International Criminal Court (ICC) is based.
The Ukrainian government is concerned that Russia cannot be prosecuted for its aggression before the ICC, as it can deal only with cases in which the plaintiff and the defendant are members of the court, or a case is referred by the UN Security Council. Russia is not a member of the ICC, and, as one of the five world power who are veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council, could block any referral to the ICC.
2:17pm: Swedish EU presidency says Russian strike on Dnipro a ‘war crime’
Russia’s weekend strike on a residential block in Dnipro, which killed at least 40 people, constitutes a “war crime”, EU presidency holder Sweden said on Monday.
“The Swedish government condemns in the strongest terms Russia’s continuing systemic attack against civilians ... including Saturday’s missile strike on an apartment block in Dnipro,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told reporters, adding that “intentional attacks against civilians are war crimes”.
12:45pm: Death toll in Ukraine's Dnipro continues to rise, Russia denies attack
The death toll at an apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro that was hit during a Russian missile attack has risen from 35 to 40, with 30 people still unaccounted for, a local city official said.
The official, Gennadiy Korban, said on the Telegram messaging app that 75 people were wounded in the strike on Saturday, including 14 children.
Ukraine says the building was struck by a Russian Kh-22 missile that it doesn't have the air defences to shoot down.
The Kremlin told reporters Monday its forces were not responsible for the attack and pointed to an unsubstantiated theory circulating on social media that Ukrainian air defence systems had caused the damage.
"The Russian armed forces do not strike residential buildings or social infrastructure. They strike military targets," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said
11:45: Ukraine expects first tranche of EU support package this week
Ukraine expects to receive the first 3-billion-euro ($3.25 billion) tranche of an 18-billion-euro support package from the European Union this week, Ukraine's prime minister has said.
"Ukraine and the EU have just signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the provision of 18 billion (euros) in macro-financial assistance," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal wrote on Twitter.
He thanked European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her deputy, Valdis Dombrovskis, for the agreement, saying that it would "help (Ukraine) to further maintain macroeconomic stability."
11:15am: Kremlin says British tanks sent to Ukraine 'will burn'
Tanks that Britain has pledged to send to Ukraine to fight Russia's invading forces "will burn" in battle, the Kremlin has warned.
Britain said on Saturday it would send 14 of its Challenger 2 main battle tanks as well as other advanced artillery support in the coming weeks.
"They are using this country [Ukraine] as a tool to achieve their anti-Russian goals," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, adding: "These tanks are burning and will burn just like the rest."
Peskov said the new supplies from countries like Britain and Poland would not change the situation on the ground.
10:30am: German defence minister offers to quit amid pressure to step up Ukraine aid
German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht has offered to resign amid mouting scepticism about her ability to bring the German army into shape against the backdrop of the Ukraine war.
"Today I asked the chancellor to dismiss me from the office of federal minister of defence," Lambrecht, a member of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD), has said a the statement.
Her decision to step down comes as Germany is under pressure to approve an increase in international military support for Kyiv, and Germany's defence capabilities have been called into question after several Puma infantry tanks were put out of service during a recent military drill.
9:55am: Drones shot down over Crimea's Sevastopol, says Russian-appointed governor
Russian anti-aircraft defences have shot down seven drones over the city of Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula, the city's Russian-installed governor has said on the Telegram messenger app.
Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said all the drones were downed over the sea, with no damage to any infrastructure. He denied reports in Ukrainian media that there were explosions in the city, and said air defences were continuing to monitor the skies.
The city has come under attack repeatedly since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Moscow blaming Kyiv for the attacks. Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
8:30am: Hopes fade for dozens missing in Russian attack on Dnipro civilians
Hopes of pulling any more survivors from the rubble of an apartment block in the city of Dnipro are rapidly fading, two days after the building was hit in a major Russian missile attack.
Local officials say 35 people have been confirmed dead so far and more than 30 are in hospital, including 12 in a serious condition. Between 30 to 40 people could still be trapped under debris.
Ukraine's Air Force said the apartment block was struck by a Russian Kh-22 missile, which is known to be inaccurate and that Ukraine lacks the air defences to shoot down.
FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg reports on the shock, horror and bitterness felt by many Ukrainians following the latest civilian massacre caused by Russia's invasion.
8:15am: Traffic halted in Bosphorus as cargo ship from Ukraine is grounded
Traffic in Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait is currently suspended due to a grounded cargo ship from Ukraine, shipping agents Tribeca has said.
Television footage showed the bow of the cargo ship MKK 1, carrying 13,000 tonnes of peas, grounded close to the coastline on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, with several tugs sent to provide assistance.
Tribeca said the Palau-flagged general cargo ship was grounded at Acarburnu at the northern end of the strait as it headed southbound. It said no damage or spill was reported.
The Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul, which runs the UN-brokered Black Sea grain deal operations, said at the weekend the ship was travelling from Pivdennyi to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Mersin.
7:10am: Russia starts joint air drills with ally Belarus
Russia and Belarus have started joint air force drills that are scheduled to last until February 1, the Belarusian defence ministry has said.
Belarus says its air force drills with Russia are defensive in nature to prepare for possible combat missions, but the move comes as concerns grow that Moscow is pushing Minsk to join the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine has continuously warned of possible attacks from Belarus, but the Kremlin has denied that it has been pressuring Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to take a more active role in the conflict in Ukraine. Minsk has said it will not enter the war.
6:00am: Russian oil shipped to Asia in Chinese supertankers amid ship shortage
At least four Chinese-owned supertankers are shipping Russian Urals crude to China, according to trading sources and tracking data, as Moscow seeks vessels for exports after a G7 oil price cap restricted the use of Western cargo services and insurance.
China, the world's top oil importer, has continued buying Russian oil despite Western sanctions, after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping launched what they called a no-limit partnership before the war in Ukraine.
The sources said a fifth supertanker, or very large crude carrier (VLCC), was shipping crude to India, which like China has continued buying Russian oil sold at a discount as many Western buyers turn to other suppliers.
All five shipments were scheduled between Dec. 22 and Jan.23, according to the sources and Eikon ship tracking data.
5:45am: Ukraine's tennis star Kostyuk won't shake hands with Russian, Belarusian players
As Russian missiles continue to pound her country, Ukraine's number two tennis player Marta Kostyuk says she will not shake hands with tour rivals from Russia and Belarus who she feels have not done enough to speak out against the invasion.
The 20-year-old Kyiv native generated headlines last year when she refused the customary handshake at the net with former world number one Victoria Azarenka after the Belarusian beat her at the U.S. Open.
Belarus is being used as a key staging ground for Russia's war in Ukraine, which Moscow terms a "special operation".
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)
