Russia-Ukraine War at a Glance: What We Know on Day 329 of the Invasion

  • A search and rescue operation has been completed in the rubble of the Russian missile attack on an apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. the authorities said. The death toll currently stands at 45, including one child, said the head of the military administration of the Dnepropetrovsk region. At least 19 people are still missing and another 79 are injured, according to local officials. A makeshift memorial to the victims of the Russian missile attack has surfaced in Moscow.

  • Ukraine’s presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych has tendered his resignation after a public outcry over comments he made that the Russian missile that hit the building in Dnipro was shot down by Ukraine. The Ukrainian Air Force says the apartment complex was hit by a Russian Kh-22 missile, which Kyiv does not have the equipment to launch.

  • Russia has announced that it will make “major changes” to its armed forces from 2023 to 2026. promised to shake up its military structure after months of setbacks on the battlefield in Ukraine. In addition to administrative changes, the Department of Defense announced it would strengthen the combat capabilities of its naval, aerospace and strategic missile forces. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the changes were necessitated by the “proxy war” waged by the West in Ukraine.

  • According to Ukraine data, more than 9,000 civilians, including 453 children, have been killed in Ukraine since the Russian invasion last February. Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential staff, said at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos: “We will not forgive anyone [act of] torture or life taken. Every criminal will be held accountable.”

  • Ukraine’s top general Valerii Zaluzhnyi spoke for the first time face-to-face with his US counterpart, General Mark Milley, near the Ukraine-Polish border. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with Zaluzhnyi for a few hours on Tuesday at an undisclosed location in southeastern Poland. The couple have spoken frequently over the past year but have never met.

  • Ukraine has urged world leaders to step up efforts to remove Vladimir Putin’s troops from their soil as its war with Russia dominated the first full day of the global elite gathering in Davos. With war clouding prospects for the global economy in 2023, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Julia Svyrydenko called on allies to step up shipments of military equipment so Russia can be defeated more quickly. Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska, in a special address, urged participants at the World Economic Forum to use their influence to end Russian aggression.

  • Chancellor Olaf Scholz elected the little-known Boris Pistorius as Germany’s new defense minister on Tuesday. giving him the responsibility of leading the armed forces through an era of momentous change. The appointment follows Christine Lambrecht’s resignation at a crucial time for the ministry as Germany is under intense pressure to send main battle tanks to Ukraine.

  • Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has told Joe Biden that the Netherlands will offer Patriot missiles to Ukraine. The Netherlands, together with the US and Germany, will send the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine, Rutte Biden said at the White House. Biden thanked Rutte for being “very, very steadfast” in supporting Ukraine.

  • British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has justified the delivery of Challenger tanks to Ukraine. He said it was designed to bring the war to a quick end and there was a moral imperative to end the war soon because of the casualties and costs. His comments seemed to encourage the US to increase its own arms shipments.

  • Finland is ready to support Ukraine for “as long as necessary”, said his Prime Minister Sanna Marin. “I think the only message we need to send is that we will support Ukraine for as long as necessary. One year, two years, five years, 10 years, 15 years,” said Marin in Davos.

  • British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, along with counterparts from Poland and the Baltic countries, will make a final attempt to put pressure on Germany in Estonia to authorize the shipment of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine this week. Defense sources said one purpose of Thursday’s meeting was to “encourage the Germans” if Berlin hadn’t made a decision by then.

  • The EU executive has confirmed it will release €3 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine. the first tranche of a €18 billion fund designed to help keep essential public services running during the winter. The money will pay wages and pensions in the public sector and keep schools and hospitals running, said the President of the European Commission. Ursula von der Leyensaid in Davos.

  • A former commander of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, who applied for asylum in Norway last week, has spoken of how he “fears for his life”. Andrey Medvedev, 26, said in an interview with the Guardian last month that he had witnessed the summary killing of Wagner fighters in Ukraine who were accused by their own commanders of disobeying orders.

  • Serbia’s president has urged Russia to stop recruiting Serbs to fight alongside his Wagner group in Ukraine. Aleksandar Vučić criticized Russian websites and social media groups for posting ads in Serbian calling for volunteers to join their ranks. He denied reports that the Wagner group had a presence in Serbia, where pro-Kremlin and ultra-nationalist organizations have supported the invasion of Ukraine.