#volyn

“The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said Germany is not blocking the export of Leopard 2 tanks as Berlin faces mounting pressure to supply the heavy weapons that Kyiv has been calling for.

Berlin failed to take a decision on the re-export of German-made tanks to Ukraine at Friday’s international defence summit at the US military base of Ramstein in south-west Germany.

Asked about the issue, Borrell told a news conference today:

It seems Germany’s not going to ban the exporting of these weapons, if some EU member states who have them, want to send them.

He also outlined details of the EU’s newly approved military aid package to Ukraine, worth €500m, plus a further €45m for a military training mission for Ukrainian forces.

That brings the EU’s total amount of military support for Ukraine to €3.6bn, he said, adding that the total figure of the bloc’s support to Ukraine – including military, financial, economic and humanitarian aid – now stands at €49bn.”-via The Guardian

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“The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday outlined the bloc's plans to continue supporting Ukraine, saying it reached an agreement to provide an additional 500 million euros ($543.03 million) and additional military training assistance worth 45 million euros ($48.87 million), dedicated to a military training mission for Ukrainian forces.

That brings the EU's total amount of military support for Ukraine, coming via the European Union's intergovernmental fund, to 3.6 billion euros ($3.9 billion), Borrell told reporters in Brussels on Monday.

"Ukraine is resisting with courage and determination," Borrell said in a news conference. "Ukraine has to win this war and we will support in the best possible way." Borrell added that the total figure of the bloc's support to Ukraine, including military, financial, economic and humanitarian aid, now stands at 49 billion euros ($53.21 million).

"Russia continues its systematic barbaric attacks on Ukrainian cities, killing civilians and destroying civilian infrastructures," Borrell said. "We have not seen any genuine willingness from Russia regarding a fair and sustainable peace."”-via CNN

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“Russian artillery shelled a residential building in Sumy Oblast on Jan. 23, killing a woman and wounding two other people, Sumy Oblast Governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky said on Telegram.

Earlier on the same day, Russian artillery also struck the town of Vorozhba, also in Sumy Oblast, destroying another residential building, this time without casualties.

Russian troops regularly shell the settlements of Sumy Oblast located close to the Ukrainian-Russian border with self-propelled artillery, mortars, and other weapons.”-via Kyiv Independent

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“Russia has summoned Estonian Ambassador Margus Laidre, ordering him to leave the country by Feb. 7, followed by Estonia making the same move under "the principle of parity," the Associated Press reported, citing the countries' foreign ministries.

According to the AP, the diplomatic missions in Russia and Estonia will be headed by temporary charges d'affaires, namely subordinate diplomats substituting for absent ambassadors.

Russian Foreign Ministry wrote in its statement that the ambassador's expulsion was a response to Estonia's "new unfriendly step to radically reduce the size of the Russian Embassy in Tallinn." Russian officials added that "the Estonian leadership has purposefully destroyed the entire range of relations with Russia."

Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics announced on Jan. 23 that his country would also downgrade diplomatic relations with Russia "in solidarity with Estonia." He added that Latvia is "demanding Russia to act accordingly."

Earlier in January, Estonia decided to cut down the number of employees at the Russian embassy in Tallinn. From Feb. 1, only eight diplomats and 15 administrative, technical, and service staff members will be able to work in the country.

Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said, cited by the AP, that his country had reduced its bilateral relations with Moscow "to the absolute minimum" since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine started on Feb. 24.

On Jan. 19, the Estonian government announced it would provide Ukraine with a record military aid package worth 113 million euros, increasing its total military assistance to 370 million euros which is more than 1% of Estonian GDP.

The package will include all the 155 mm howitzers Estonia has, Ukraine's General Staff reported, citing Estonian Ambassador Kaimo Kuusk.

Estonia has been one of Ukraine's biggest supporters since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion. The Estonian parliament condemned Russia's illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories and voted to declare Russia "a terrorist regime" on Oct. 18.”-via Kyiv Independent

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“The power deficit in Ukraine's energy system has increased as the consumption rises, the country's state grid operator Ukrenergo reported on Jan. 23. Emergency power outages have been introduced in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, and Volyn oblasts where consumption limits have been exceeded.

The electricity cut-offs may be implemented in other Ukrainian regions as well, Ukrenergo wrote on Telegram.

"Electricity consumption is higher than on Sunday due to the beginning of the working week, as well as a gradual decrease in temperature throughout Ukraine," reads the report.

According to Ukrenergo, Russia's latest mass attack on Ukraine's energy system on Jan. 14 "caused significant damage" to several power units of thermal power plants. "Electricity production at operating power plants cannot fully cover consumption," the operator added.

Another reason for the power deficit, except for Russian strikes, is that more than 10 gigawatts of the capacity are currently inaccessible to the Ukrainian energy system and are under Russian control, according to Ukrenergo.

These capacities used to be produced at the now-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Kakhovka Hydro Power Plant, Luhansk, Enerhodar, and Vuhlehirsk thermal power plants.

The majority of Ukraine's wind and solar power plants are also located in the Russian- occupied territories of the country's south, Ukrenergo wrote.

Russian troops have repeatedly attacked energy infrastructure across Ukraine since early October, killing dozens of people and causing electricity, water, and heating cut-offs.