Live Updates
At least 45 people, including six children, have died after a Russian missile struck an apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro over the weekend, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service. Many others remain missing.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack a war crime, saying it will be under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
The Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed plans to increase its army to 1.5 million service members within the next three years.
The U.N. Security Council met Tuesday to discuss “threats to international peace and security.” Netherlands’ Prime Minister also met with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House to discuss continued support for Ukraine.
Earlier this week, the U.S. began a new training program for Ukrainian soldiers in Germany.
Rescuers of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine operate at the site of a missile strike and a high-rise residential building destruction on January 15, 2023 in Dnipro, Ukraine.
Yurii Stefanyak/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
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Over 1,000 People Homeless After Dnipro Strike
More than 1,000 people are now homeless after Russia’s weekend attack on apartment buildings in Dnipro, according to the United Nations.
A spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Ukraine said aid workers are helping Ukrainians impacted by the latest attack.
The January 14 missile strike hit a residential building in Dnipro, causing what officials have identified as the deadliest strike for civilians since the early days of Russia’s war with Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said Tuesday at least 45 people died in the attack, including six children. More than 70 other individuals were injured, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Over 1,000 people have been made homeless as a result of the attack that hit a residential building in Dnipro last Saturday. It was one of the deadliest attacks in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion. Aid workers are supporting those affected: https://t.co/rJp1FPJLOv pic.twitter.com/UMSBFyUt5g
— Saviano Abreu (@savianoabreu) January 17, 2023
U.N. officials are stepping in to assist those who were impacted by the strike in Dnipro and other Ukrainians impacted by Russian strikes in recent days, OCHA said on Monday. That assistance includes providing people with blankets, hygiene supplies and other critical items.
The World Health Organization is also stepping in to provide people with medicine, OCHA said. Meanwhile, U.N. officials are working with the families who lost their homes to help them find temporary residences.
Ukrainian Troops Training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma
The Pentagon confirms Ukrainian troops have begun training on Patriot missile systems at Fort Sill in Oklahoma.
During a press briefing Tuesday, Defense Department spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said 90 to 100 Ukrainians will be trained on the use of the air defense system. He added that the training will last “several months.”
Ryder said this is the only group of soldiers coming to train at the base, but the U.S. will maintain an open dialogue, as Fort Sill has the capacity to train many different nations on the system.
Media access to the base and the training are limited as the Pentagon takes into account several operations safety issues, Ryder said.
This comes as Ukrainian officials continue to ask western allies for more air defense systems. Both Germany and the Netherlands have agreed to join the U.S. in sending Patriot systems to Ukraine.
The Pentagon also confirmed that Defense Secretary Llyod Austin will travel to Berlin to meet with his German counterpart ahead of this week’s Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
Zelensky’s Office Reports Over 9,000 Civilian Deaths
More than 9,000 civilians have died in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began nearly 11 months ago, a spokesperson for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office said Tuesday.
Ukraine alleges Russia has committed about 80,000 war crimes since the war began. More than 9,000 civilians have been killed, according to Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelenksy’s office. That number of civilian deaths includes 453 children, he said.
During a virtual address delivered at the start of a meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Yermak told Ukraine’s international partners that the war’s “tragedy scale is much greater,” with officials uncovering possible evidence of torture in “nearly every” village that has been reclaimed by Ukraine after being temporarily occupied by Russian troops.
Yermak is calling for a special international tribunal to investigate civilian deaths and other alleged war crimes carried out over the course of the conflict.
“No victory is complete without restoration of justice,” Yermak said Tuesday in Davos. “That means the guilty must be punished, and the damages they have caused must be compensated. The repetition of crime must be prevented.”
Spoke in Davos at the opening of the discussion program of the “Ukraine is You” project. Emphasized the importance of creating a Special international tribunal on the crime of the RF aggression against 🇺🇦. It should help bring the RF leadership and all its criminals to justice. pic.twitter.com/ddgcV43ooZ
— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) January 17, 2023
The United Nations’ (UN) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said UN officials have confirmed at least 7,031 civilian deaths thus far, at least 433 of whom were children. More than 11,300 other civilians have been injured over the course of the war, according to an OHCHR casualty update released on Monday.
The OHCHR has warned the total number of civilian casualties is likely “considerably higher” than the numbers its office releases due to reporting delays.
Russia to Make UN Security Council ‘Uncomfortable’
The United Nations Security Council is meeting now to address “threats to national peace and security.”
This meeting comes after a deadly strike on an apartment building in Ukraine killed more than 40 people, including children, over the weekend.
Russia called for the UNSC meeting to discuss the shelling of the Donbas region of Ukraine back in December.
The UNSC meeting began at 3 p.m. ET Tuesday and is streaming live on the United Nations website.
During the meeting, Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, maintained that the Kremlin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine is justified.
He decried anti-Russian sentiment in Ukraine, called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s rule a “dictatorship,” and accused the leadership of perpetuating religious turmoil in Ukraine.
Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s envoy to the United Nations, said he would not expand on what will happen during the meeting, saying Russia will let “our opponents stay in the dark.”
Polyanskiy also accused the “western sponsors of Ukraine” in body of pushing “anti-Russian” sentiment during discussion about the war in Ukraine.
He said that following a previous “anti-Russian session,” Russia “will seek to initiate a meeting on a topic that’s uncomfortable for them.”
“There will be interesting speakers and facts,” Polyanskiy said. “As you know, at such meetings, unlike the formal meetings of the Security Council, we can demonstrate video and photo materials.”
Netherlands to Send Patriot Air Defense System to Ukraine
The Netherlands will send a Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine.
During a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House Tuesday, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced his country intends to join the U.S. and Germany in sending a Patriot Air Defense System to Ukraine. » …
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