Closing summary
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, said it was “impossible” to take away from Russia the military gains it had made in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s parliament has passed a law creating an electronic registry for the purposes of mobilisation, Yaroslav Zhelezniak, a member of parliament, said.
Helping Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion should be done in a way that doesn’t harm the EU’s budget, Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has said. He told a news conference: “If we want to help Ukraine, which I think we need to do, we have to do it in a way that doesn’t harm the EU’s budget.”
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said the west should show unity and called for more support for Ukraine to ensure that Russia does not prevail, Reuters reported. In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Zelenskiy said that the west’s fears about escalation had lost Kyiv time in its struggle against Russia.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said in Davos today that Europe needs to continue backing Kyiv, citing the need for “predictable” funding. “We must continue to empower their resistance. Ukrainians need predictable financing throughout 2024 and beyond,” she said.
Authorities in Ukraine’s north-east region of Kharkiv urged residents of more than two dozen villages near the frontline to evacuate because of worsening Russian attacks in the area.
Putin will receive North Korea’s foreign minister, Choe Son-hui, on Tuesday evening, the Kremlin said. Pyongyang’s top diplomat is in Russia for a three-day visit and is holding talks with Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, on Tuesday during the day.
The mayor of the southern Russian city of Voronezh declared a state of emergency on Tuesday after what officials said was a Ukraine-launched drone attack, the Reuters reported this morning.
Putin: It is 'impossible' to take away military gains made in Ukraine from Russia
Vladimir Putin said it was “impossible” to take away from Russia the military gains it had made in Ukraine, Reuters reports.
Talking about possible peace talks, the Russian president also said in televised comments that ideas put forward by Ukraine were “prohibitive formulas for the peace process”.
Ukraine says it will not rest until every Russian soldier is ejected from its territory.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s 10-point peace plan calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities and the restoration of Ukraine’s state borders with Russia.
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Reuters has some comments given by Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, who met Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, earlier today (see post at 14.43 for more details).
Fico said Slovakia supported Hungary in fighting for its interests and that his government would not support any measures limiting Budapest’s rights inside the EU.
He said Orbán had a “legitimate” fight in his opposition to EU budget changes and signalled support at the upcoming summit.
“The Slovak government will support proposals the premier of Hungary has already put forward or will put forward,” Fico said.
Ukraine's parliament passes law to create electronic conscription registry
Ukraine’s parliament has passed a law creating an electronic registry for the purposes of mobilisation, Yaroslav Zhelezniak, a member of parliament, said.
As the military seeks to replenish its ranks amid the full-scale war with Russia, the government submitted a draft law on mobilisation and military service to the parliament on 25 December, outlining plans for further conscription and tightening restrictions on draft evaders. ‘
The bill passed on 16 January does not address the larger issue of mobilization but aims to improve the digitalization of Ukraine’s army.
The new legislation will create a single digital registry for conscription purposes that will have all the relevant information easily accessible to those overseeing mobilisation.
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Orbán: helping Ukraine should be done in a way that doesn't harm EU's budget
Helping Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion should be done in a way that doesn’t harm the EU’s budget, Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has said.
He told journalists at a news conference:
If we want to help Ukraine, which I think we need to do, we have to do it in a way that doesn’t harm the EU’s budget.
But to give away 50 billion euros from the EU budget for four years in advance is a violation of the EU’s sovereignty and national interests. We do not even know what will happen in a quarter of a year.
Orbán said any financial facility for Ukraine should be separate from the EU budget, adding that Hungary’s proposal for creating such a mechanism was based on allocating aid on the basis of gross national income.
“If Brussels accepts this, then there’ll be help for Ukraine, outside the budget,” he was quoted by Reuters as saying. “If not, then I’ll be sad to halt this process,” Orbán added.
Orbán was speaking after meeting Slovakia’s populist prime minister, Robert Fico, who like his Hungarian counterpart has said there is no military solution to the war in Ukraine.
The Hungarian prime minister has been accused of holding European backing for Ukraine hostage over billions of euros of EU funding for Hungary frozen over a range of rule-of-law disputes.
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Ukraine’s state customs service said that Polish truck drivers who had been blocking several crossings on the Polish-Ukrainian border lifted their blockade at one of them on Tuesday.
“Today, Polish strikers unblocked the Korczowa-Krakowiets checkpoint. As of this hour, about 300 trucks are queueing to enter Ukraine from the Polish side,” the service wrote on Telegram.
Some Polish drivers had been demanding that the EU reinstate a system whereby Ukrainian companies need permits to operate in the bloc (and the same for European truckers entering Ukraine).
The truckers also want empty trucks from the EU to be excluded from an electronic queueing system in Ukraine.
Zelenskiy calls for western unity to stop Russia
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said the west should show unity and called for more support for Ukraine to ensure that Russia does not prevail, Reuters reports.
In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Zelenskiy said that the west’s fears about escalation had lost Kyiv time in its struggle against Russia.
“In fact, Putin embodies war … He will not change … We must change. We all must change to the extent that the madness that resides in this man’s head or any other aggressor’s head will not prevail,” Zelenskiy said.
He also said that he had received “positive signals” on financial support from the EU, and that he hoped that the US would approve further aid within weeks.
US Congress last month failed to approve $50bn (£39bn) in security aid for Ukraine as negotiators fell short of a deal.
Ukraine is separately waiting to receive a €50bn (£43.5bn) package from the EU, delivery of which has looked uncertain after Hungary blocked the EU from approving the aid.
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Estonia’s internal security service has detained a Russian citizen accused of spying for Moscow, according to an official statement.
“On 3 January, the internal security service detained Russian citizen Viacheslav Morozov, suspected of carrying out and supporting espionage against Estonia,” the security service and state prosecutors said in the joint statement.
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Here are some of the latest images from the news wires, with a focus on the World Economic Forum in Davos:
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Europe needs to continue backing Kyiv, Ursula von der Leyen tells Davos
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said in Davos today that Europe needs to continue backing Kyiv, citing the need for “predictable” funding.
We must continue to empower their resistance. Ukrainians need predictable financing throughout 2024 and beyond.
They need a sustained supply of weapons to defend Ukraine and regain its rightful territory. They need capabilities to deter future attacks by Russia. And they also need hope. They need to know that, with their struggle, they will earn a better future for their children.
And Ukraine’s better future is called Europe.
Read more from the Europe live blog here.
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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussed defence cooperation between Ukraine and the US with secretary of state Antony Blinken in Davos on Tuesday.
In a statement published on the presidential Telegram channel, Zelenskiy said:
Air defense and long-range capabilities are particularly important for our state.
Polish truckers who have blockaded some border crossings with Ukraine since November will suspend their protest until 1 March after signing an agreement with the government, the infrastructure minister has said.
Polish drivers had been demanding that the EU reinstate a system whereby Ukrainian companies need permits to operate in the bloc and the same for European truckers entering Ukraine, Reuters reports.
The truckers also want empty trucks from the EU to be excluded from an electronic queueing system in Ukraine.
The infrastructure minister, Dariusz Klimczak, said:
We’ve signed an agreement. The outcome of the agreement will be the discontinuation of protests at road border crossings in three towns: Korczowa, Hrebenne, Dorohusk.
The protest will be stopped till 1 March.
Tomasz Borkowski of the Committee to Protect Transporters and Transport Employers told Reuters before the signing ceremony that the protest would be suspended from 11am on Wednesday.
“We agreed certain conditions, we will give the government time to work as it is a new government,” he said.
The main points of the agreement include monitoring of solutions worked out jointly by Poland and Ukraine to ease the situation of EU-registered drivers in Ukraine, talks with the bloc regarding its agreement with Ukraine and talks with the European Commission on financial support for Polish haulage companies.
The deal provides for more road checks to stop Ukrainian truckers from carrying out services not provided for under the EU-Ukraine agreement.
Edyta Ozygala, one of the leaders of the truckers’ protest in Dorohusk, said the action could be renewed at any time if the agreed conditions were not met fully. “If the effects are unsatisfactory, we will come back,” she said.
Ukraine says the blockade has caused serious economic losses and hampered its war effort. It says cross-border transportation has increased because of the war and the fact that its main export and imports routes through the Black Sea were blocked.
“The key reason for the growth in the number of transportations by Ukrainian hauliers is the response to the consequences of the Russian armed aggression,” the deputy prime minister, Oleksandr Kubrakov, said in a social media post on Monday. “Transportations of fuel, humanitarian and military cargo take up about 20% of total traffic.”
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Volodymyr Zelenskiy has met JP Morgan executives and other international investors to discuss Ukraine’s economic status and to encourage investments to help rebuild the country at the World Economic Forum.
I attended the 'CEOs for Ukraine' meeting at #WEF2024.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 16, 2024
I highlighted Ukraine's economic growth exceeding 5% in 2023, as well as optimistic forecasts for 2024. I encouraged the participants to invest in Ukraine and contribute to its recovery. It is important to be in Ukraine, to… pic.twitter.com/FehxZ0ojKu
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The German economy minister, Robert Habeck, said on Tuesday he aimed to convince policymakers in Davos to join Germany’s efforts to provide companies with investment guarantees in Ukraine as part of reconstruction efforts.
With a view to helping rebuild the war-battered country, Germany is providing guarantees that back the capital of German companies investing in Ukraine, according to Reuters. If factories were to be damaged or destroyed in missile attacks, for example, the German state would be liable for those investments.
On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, Habeck, who also serves as vice-chancellor, told reporters:
I have decided to explain this again in detail today and perhaps ask my colleagues from the other countries to do the same.
The Green politician described the scheme as a “tremendously successful step”, which showed that Germany believed and trusted Ukraine to successfully survive this difficult situation.
Investment guarantees for 14 companies with a total cover volume €280m ($305m) have been granted so far, according to the Economics Ministry. Applications of further companies were being processed, it said.
Meetings with Volodymyr Zelenskiy and members of his cabinet as well as representatives of the business community would take centre stage during his visit to Davos, Habeck said.
Habeck also said he welcomed a global peace summit on Ukraine hosted by Switzerland at the request of Zelenskiy.
Talking is always good, and if Switzerland has created a forum for this then I can only welcome it.
If Vladimir Putin were to “successfully conclude the war against Ukraine from his point of view”, Ukraine’s closest neighbours would be threatened in the coming years, Habeck said.
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Here is European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen’s special address at the World Economic Forum.
Global competition is intensifying.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) January 16, 2024
It makes the theme of this #WEF24 meeting even more relevant.
Rebuilding Trust.
This is not a time for conflicts.
But the time to drive global collaboration.
Businesses have a crucial role to play ↓ https://t.co/6hTmx14Atf
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The west must not let up supplying Ukraine with weapons and money if it wants Kyiv to succeed in its war against Russia, the European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, warned on Tuesday.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, she told business leaders:
Ukraine can prevail in this war but we must continue to empower their resistance.
She urged Kyiv’s western allies to continue their arms deliveries and financial support of Ukraine, Reuters reports.
Ukrainians need predictable financing throughout 2024 and beyond. They need a sufficient and sustained supply of weapons to defend Ukraine and regain its rightful territory.
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The Kremlin has declined to comment on a Bloomberg report that Chinese state-owned banks are tightening curbs on funding to Russian clients for fear of US secondary sanctions, describing it as a highly sensitive topic.
Asked about the report, the spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said it was a matter for the companies and departments involved, and not for the Kremlin, Reuters reports.
He said:
This is a very, very sensitive area and it is unlikely that anyone will undertake to talk about it – you shouldn’t expect that.
We continue to develop relations with China; it’s our very important strategic partner.
Peskov said this was reflected in the higher-than-expected volume of bilateral trade with China, adding “we have confidently surpassed 200bn (dollars) and continue to grow”.
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Ukraine urges civilians to leave villages near north-east front
Authorities in Ukraine’s north-east region of Kharkiv have urged residents of more than two dozen villages near the frontline to evacuate because of worsening Russian attacks in the area, Agence France-Presse reports.
Russian forces captured swathes of the Kharkiv region shortly after invading Ukraine in February 2022, and have kept up efforts to control the region despite losing ground there.
“Given the security situation, we are introducing mandatory evacuation of the population from the Kindrashivska and Kurylivska communities of the Kupiansk district,” the Kharkiv regional governor announced on social media.
Oleg Sinegubov said the order would affect about 3,043 people in the settlements, including 279 children.
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North Korea’s foreign minister, Choe Son-hui, has said during her visit to Moscow on Tuesday that ties with Russia were developing in line with the plans of the two countries’ leaders, according to Reuters.
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Putin to receive North Korean foreign minister on Tuesday evening, Kremlin says
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, will receive North Korea’s foreign minister, Choe Son-hui, on Tuesday evening, the Kremlin has said.
Pyongyang’s top diplomat is in Russia for a three-day visit and is holding talks with Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, on Tuesday during the day, Reuters reports.
The Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said Lavrov and his North Korean counterpart would meet Putin later in the day to update him on the progress of those talks.
The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia was developing relations with “our partner” North Korea in all areas and would build on agreements reached between the countries’ leaders when they met at a Russian space launch centre last year.
In September, Putin welcomed the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, to the Vostochny space launch facility in Russia’s far east and promised to help North Korea build satellites.
Separately, Russia is reported to be looking to North Korea and Iran to replenish its stockpiles of weaponry, including Soviet-era artillery shells and loitering munitions.
South Korean intelligence officials said in November that Pyongyang had shipped more than 1m artillery shells to Russia.
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Volodymyr Zelenskiy is due to give a special address to the World Economic Forum at 2.15pm CET/1.15pm GMT.
You can follow our Davos live blog to keep up with the latest developments:
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Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said he has met Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, in Davos and discussed the frontline situation and the need to bolster Ukrainian air defences, among other topics.
I met with NATO Secretary General @JensStoltenberg in Davos to thank the Alliance for its steadfast support.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 16, 2024
We discussed the situation on the front lines. I informed the Secretary General of Russia's recent mass air strikes and emphasized the need to further strengthen… pic.twitter.com/yXkPgSpPel
Nato said last week that member states had outlined plans to provide “billions of euros of further capabilities” in 2024 to Ukraine.
“Nato strongly condemns Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian civilians, including with weapons from North Korea and Iran,” Stoltenberg said.
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Images distributed by the Voronezh governor, Alexander Gusev, showed a damaged residential building where a young girl was reportedly injured by fragments of a drone that was shot down.
“The girl, born in 2013, suffered cut wounds to her arm, leg and neck. Medical assistance was provided at the scene,” he said in a statement, according to AFP.
The mayor of the region’s main city, also called Voronezh, said a state of emergency had temporarily been introduced in the aftermath of the attacks (see post at for more details at 08.13)
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Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, in an interview made public on Monday, said there had been times when he had felt the urge to “punch in the face” his Russian opposite number, Sergei Lavrov, in talks at the start of Moscow’s invasion.
Kuleba’s brief remarks were part of an hour-long informal interview with a Ukrainian video blogger. “The most difficult talks are those in which you feel simply that you want to go and punch your opposite number in the nose, but you really can’t do that,” he said.
“And I can say that this occurred two or three times. One occasion was with Lavrov in [the Turkish resort of] Antalya in spring of 2022.”
Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met for several rounds of talks in the weeks after the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
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Summary
Hello, this is day 692 of Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As we resume our live coverage, here are the major developments:
The Russian city of Voronezh was placed under a state of emergency on Tuesday morning after what officials said was a Ukraine-launched drone attack. Russian fighter-bombers used to attack Ukraine are based near Voronezh.
Ukraine said it shot down a Russian A-50 spy plane and Il-22 command aircraft in the area of the Sea of Azov. Gen Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s military commander in chief, said: “Ukraine’s air force destroyed an enemy A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft and an enemy IL-22 air control centre. I am grateful to the air force for the perfectly planned and executed operation in the Azov Sea region!”
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, arrived in Switzerland to participate in the World Economic Forum in Davos and meet Swiss officials. On Sunday, Ukraine pushed ahead with its peace formula to end nearly two years of war with Russia with a meeting in Davos of national security advisers from around the world.
China must be involved in efforts to end the war between Ukraine and Russia, Switzerland’s co-chair of the Davos meeting Ignazio Cassis said.
Russia is mobilising about 1,000-1,100 recruits to its armed forces every day, Vadym Skibitsky, the deputy head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR), said in an interview with RBC-Ukraine. The UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Russia had probably “substantially inflated” the number of people it says have joined the country’s armed forces, with recruits being disproportionately drawn from impoverished and rural communities.
Russia said it had given more than 200 Ukrainian prisoners of war lengthy prison sentences, with some getting a life sentence, AFP reported. The state-run outlet RT quoted an investigative committee source as saying 242 soldiers were sentenced in occupied Ukraine.
The Kremlin said Russia was developing relations with “our partner” North Korea in all areas and would build on the agreements reached between the countries’ leaders when they met at a Russian space launch centre in 2023.
The UN and its partners appealed for $4.2bn (£3.3bn) from donors to support communities in Ukraine devastated by the war, as well as Ukrainian refugees, in 2024. The UN aid chief, Martin Griffiths, urged diplomats in Geneva: “Please do not forget Ukraine while there are many other places in the world that grab our attention.”
The UK announced that it would send 20,000 service personnel to one of Nato’s largest military exercises since the cold war.
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Officials declare state of emergency in Russian city of Voronezh after 'Ukraine drone attack'
The mayor of the southern Russian city of Voronezh declared a state of emergency on Tuesday after what officials said was a Ukraine-launched drone attack, the Reuters news agency said this morning.
Russia has an airbase near Voronezh city, where some Sukhoi Su-34s fighter-bomber planes are based, according to Russian media. Russia uses them to bomb Ukraine.
The Russian news outlet Shot reported that at least 15 blasts were heard near the airbase and some drone debris fell nearby on to an apartment building.
People from at least one apartment building were evacuated to a nearby school after drone debris started a fire and blew out windows, said the Russian mayor, Vadim Kstenin.
Windows in other buildings were also shattered, he said. “The introduced state of emergency in the city will … allow for a prompt implementation of measures to replace them.”
The governor of the region, Alexander Gusev, said a girl was injured when drone debris fell on to her apartment building.
The Russian defence ministry said it had destroyed five drones and intercepted three others overnight over the Voronezh region, which borders Ukraine. Voronezh city is the administrative centre of the region. The ministry also said it intercepted four drones in the nearby Russian Belgorod region.
Voronezh, a city of more than a million people, lies 155 miles (250km) from the border with Ukraine. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
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