Ukraine war live updates: Helicopter crash kills top Ukrainian officials; Zelenskyy pleads for Western tanks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that Western countries should send tanks before Russia’s next offensive.

His comments come as analysts fear the Kremlin could soon launch a new mobilization drive — and once again pile the pressure on the country’s Western allies to deliver heavily armored vehicles to Kyiv.

Speaking via videoconference, Zelenskyy said, “Mobilization of the world must outpace a next military mobilization of our joint enemy.”

“The supplying of Ukraine with air defense systems must outpace Russia’s next missile attacks. The supplies of Western tanks must outpace another invasion of Russian tanks,” he added.

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— Sam Meredith

Flags from Russia and Belarus were banned from the site of the Australian Open after more than one was brought into the stands by spectators on Day 1 of the year’s first Grand Slam tournament.

Normally, flags can be displayed during matches at Melbourne Park. But Tennis Australia reversed that policy for the two countries involved in the invasion of Ukraine that began nearly a year ago.

Athletes from Russia and Belarus were barred from competing at Wimbledon and team events such as the Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup last year because of the war in Ukraine.

— Associated Press

Mayor of Dnipro Borys Filatov said the death toll from a Russian missile strike on a residential building has risen to 45 people.

Filatov said that at least 17 people remain missing in Dnipro and 12 bodies have not been identified, according to an NBC News translation. Another 25 people are recovering in the hospital.

— Amanda Macias

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for announcing a new security package for his country, which includes armored personnel carriers.

“Today the Ukrainian army needs 200 Senator APCs more than ever. Together we are moving towards victory,” Zelenskyy wrote in a tweet.

Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand met with Ukrainian officials in Kyiv and said that Ottawa would buy a U.S. air defense system and donate it to Ukraine.

— Amanda Macias

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that victory in the war in Ukraine was “inevitable” while NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Putin must realize he cannot win on the battlefield.

Speaking to workers at a weapons factory in St. Petersburg, Putin said “victory is assured, I have no doubt about it,” state news agency Tass reported. Putin made the comments on the same day on which he commemorated the 80th anniversary of Soviet forces breaking the Nazi siege of Leningrad (modern-day St. Petersburg, Putin’s hometown).

Meanwhile, NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg commented Wednesday that we have reached a “pivotal moment” in the war.

“President Putin has shown no sign of preparing for peace and therefore he must realize he cannot win on battlefield. This is a pivotal moment in the war and the need for a significant increase in support for Ukraine,” Stoltenberg told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“If we want a negotiated peaceful solution tomorrow we need to provide more weapons today.”

— Holly Ellyatt

International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol believes Russia will lose its energy war with the West.

“Russia will face major difficulties both for oil and gas exports and, in my view, when we look at the next couple of quarters and years, Russia will lose the energy battle,” Birol told CNBC’s Joumanna Bercetche at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

His comments come shortly after an independent report showed that revenues from Russia’s fossil fuel exports collapsed in December, significantly hampering President Vladimir Putin’s ability to finance the war in Ukraine.

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— Sam Meredith

Ukraine’s National Police released footage showing the aftermath of a helicopter crash in Brovary, on the outskirts of Kyiv.

At least 17 people were killed in the incident, including Ukraine’s interior minister and two of his colleagues as well as the six others in the helicopter and four children.

The incident took place near a kindergarten and within a residential area. An investigation into the cause has started. The footage below shows the destruction caused by the crash that some viewers might find distressing.

— Holly Ellyatt

The death toll in the helicopter crash that killed Ukraine’s interior minister and two of his colleagues has been revised down to 17 people, according to the latest update from the country’s emergency service.

“17 dead people have been identified, including 4 children and 9 people who were on board. 25 people were injured (including 11 children), who were hospitalized (information is being clarified),” the State Emergency Service said on Telegram.

It said search-and-rescue operations by units of the SES are ongoing in, with the fate of one child unknown.

— Holly Ellyatt

A helicopter crash in Brovary on the outskirts of Ukrainian capital Kyiv has caused widespread destruction in the vicinity of the crash site, near a kindergarten and residential building.

Ukraine’s Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, First Deputy Minister Yevhenii Yenin and the Interior Ministry’s State Secretary Yurii Lubkovych were killed in the crash, as well as the other six passengers on board the state emergency service helicopter. The cause of the crash is being investigated.

Ukraine’s Emergency Service put the death toll at 16, including three children, saying information about the victims was being clarified. The service said 30 people had been injured, including 12 children.

Saying it was a “black morning” for Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the crash and loss of life as a “terrible tragedy,” and announced an investigation into the cause of the incident.

— Holly Ellyatt

The senior officials of the Ukraine’s Interior Ministry who died this morning in a helicopter crash were on their way to the front line, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the presidential administration, said in a briefing Wednesday.

“The purpose [of the flight] was to make a working visit to one of the hot spots in our country. The Minister of Internal Affairs was heading there,” deputy head of the President’s Office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said at a briefing in comments reported by news agency Ukrinform.

Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, First Deputy Minister Yevheniy Yenin, and State Secretary of the Interior Ministry Yuriy Lubkovych were killed in the crash. Nine people were on board the helicopter and all perished in the crash near a kindergarten and a residential building in Brovary on the outskirts of Kyiv.

— Holly Ellyatt

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has commented on the heliptor crash outside Kyiv that killed several of his colleagues in the Interior Ministry on Wednesday.

“Today, a terrible tragedy occurred in Brovary, Kyiv region. A SES [State Emergency Service] helicopter crashed, and a fire broke out at the crash site,” Zelenskyy posted on Telegram.

“I have instructed the Security Service of Ukraine, in cooperation with the National Police of Ukraine and other authorized bodies, to find out all the circumstances of what happened.”

He said the exact number of victims of the tragedy is currently being established. The head of Kyiv’s regional military administration said earlier that there were 18 known victims, including three children.

Zelenskyy confirmed that officials from the Interior Ministry were on board as he sent his condolences to the victims of the crash.

“Among them [the victims] are Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Denys Monastyrskyi, his first deputy Yevhen Yenin, State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yuri Lubkovych, their assistants and the helicopter crew.” 

“25 people were injured, including 10 children. As of this minute, 3 children died. The pain is unspeakable. The helicopter fell on the territory of one of the kindergartens,” he said, in comments translated by NBC.

“All services are working on the scene of the tragedy,” he added.

— Holly Ellyatt

Tributes to the victims of a helicopter crash near Kyiv that killed Ukraine’s interior minister and 17 other people, including three children, are pouring in, with officials expressing their shock at the incident.

U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget A. Brink tweeted Wednesday that she was “shocked and saddened by the terrible news from Brovary,” where the crash happened this morning.

All nine people on board the helicopter, which belonged to Ukraine’s state emergency service, were killed in the crash, according to the national police chief Ihor Klymenko.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro said his colleagues who had died in the crash, Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi and First Deputy Minister Yevhenii Yenin, were “true Ukrainian patriots.”

The helicopter came down near a kindergarten and residential building with Oleksiy Kuleba, the head of Kyiv’s regional military administration, stating that 29 people are known to have been wounded in the incident, including 15 children. 

Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska looked visibly upset as she attended the World Economic Forum on Wednesday morning. She and other Ukrainian officials observed a one-minute silence as they attended a meeting in Davos.

The cause of the crash is unknown and will be investigated, officials said.

— Holly Ellyatt

The number of victims from a helicopter crash near Kyiv that has killed Ukraine’s interior minister and other top-ranking officials has risen to 18.

As of 10:30 a.m. local time, there are 18 people known to have died, including 3 children, the head of Kyiv’s Regional Military Administration Oleksii Kuleba said Wednesday.

He said around 29 people, including 15 children, were known to have been wounded in the crash, that took place next to a kindergarten and residential building. All emergency services are at the site of the crash, he said.

Tributes to the victims have begun with an advisor to one of the victims, Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, posting his condolences on Twitter.

“Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrskyi, his 1st deputy Yevhen Yenin and Ministry’s state secretary Yurii Lubkovych died today in Kyiv region,” Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to Interior Minister Monastyrskyi said on Twitter.

“My colleagues, my friends. What a tragic loss. Deepest condolences to their families.”

The helicopter belonged to Ukraine’s state emergency service, according to the national police chief Ihor Klymenko.

— Holly Ellyatt

The leadership of Ukraine’s Interior Ministry are reported to have died in a helicopter crash in the town of Brovary near Kyiv, on Wednesday.

“This morning, on January 18, a helicopter of the State Emergency Service crashed in Brovary.  As a result of the crash, the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs died: the minister, the first deputy minister and the state secretary,” the head of the National Police of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko said on Facebook.

The helicopter reportedly fell near a kindergarten and a residential building in the town, with Klymenko saying that 16 people are known to have died, including two children. Nine of the fatalities were on board the helicopter.

Twenty-two victims are in hospital, including 10 children, Klymenko said.

“All specialized and specialized services work on site.  The inspection of the scene is ongoing.”

— Holly Ellyatt

Russian President Vladimir Putin could be ready to announce another round of mobilization as Russia looks to beef up its armed forces in Ukraine.

“Putin may announce a second mobilization wave to expand his army in the coming days — possibly as early as January 18,” analysts at the Institute for the Study of War said Tuesday.

The analysts noted that Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced on Tuesday that Putin will deliver a speech in St. Petersburg (Putin’s hometown) today in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Soviet forces breaking the Nazi siege of Leningrad.

“Putin is fond of using symbolic dates to address the Russian people, and some Russian pro-war milbloggers noted that he will seize this opportunity to either declare mobilization or war with Ukraine,” the ISW analysts said in their daily analysis of the Ukraine war.

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Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on Tuesday said Russia must be given the opportunity to one day rejoin the international system following any peace deal in Ukraine and dialogue with the country must be ongoing.

“This may seem very hollow to nations that have been under Russian pressure for much of the Cold War period,” Kissinger told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, via video link.

However, he said it was important to avoid an escalation of conflict between Russia and the West as a result of it feeling the war had become “against Russia itself.”

This, he said “may cause Russia to reevaluate its historic position, which was an amalgam of an attraction to the culture of Europe and a fear of domination by Europe.”

“The destruction of Russia as a state that can pursue its own policies will open up the vast area of its 11 time zones to internal conflict and to outside intervention at the time when there are 15,000 and more nuclear weapons on its territory.”

Kissinger also said he believed Ukrainian membership in NATO would be an “appropriate outcome” one day, having previously caused a controversy by suggesting that the country should be prepared to cede territory to Russia in order to achieve peace.

Kissinger said Tuesday that the U.S. should continue to provide military support and if necessary intensify that support until a cease-fire line is reached or accepted in preliminary discussions. He also expressed admiration for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the “heroic conduct of the Ukrainian people.”

— Jenni Reid

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about ways to aid Ukraine, according to a White House readout of the call.

“The leaders discussed their steadfast support for Ukraine and condemned Russia’s aggression,” the readout added.

Earlier in the day, Scholz named Boris Pistorius as Germany’s next defense minister after Christine Lambrecht resigned Monday over criticism of her handling of the slow supply of offensive weapons to Ukraine.

— Amanda Macias

Sanctions against Russia have not brought the country’s economy to its knees or ended the war so should stop, Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s minister for foreign affairs, told CNBC.

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Ukraine Minister of Agriculture Mykola Solskyi said that a major share of the country’s corn crop is unharvested as Russia’s war disrupts agricultural work.

Solskyi said that the corn that remains on the stalk will deteriorate up until harvest, according to an NBC News translation.

He added that about 85% of the country’s corn has been harvested so far.

— Amanda Macias

The White House called Russia’s bombing of a missile strike on a residential building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro “brutal and barbaric,” and a violation of international humanitarian law.

“We will continue our work to hold Russian forces accountable,” White House press secretary Karine Jean Pierre said of the attack, which killed at least 40 people and wounded many more.

Pentagon spokesman U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder also condemned the attack, but declined to say whether the missile that hit the residential building was a hypersonic weapon.

— Amanda Macias

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin says that if Russia were to win the war in Ukraine, it should send the message that invading another country leads to gains of land or natural resources.

She says Europe and other Western democracies should send Putin the message that “we will support as long as needed — five years, 10 years, 15 years, whatever it takes — we will support Ukraine, and this will not stop.”

Speaking at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Marin added, “it’s for Ukrainians to decide when they are ready to negotiate when they are ready to make some peace agreement.”

She says “the story might have been very different” if Western allies had acted stronger when Russia illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014. The European Union member that shares a long border with Russia is seeking NATO membership.

Marin says Finland believed it was best to stay out of the alliance for its own security but then it saw “Russia is attacking another neighbor and we cannot rely on that relations anymore, so we have to seek partnership elsewhere.”

All 30 NATO states must approve Finland and Sweden joining the Western military alliance, with just Turkey and Hungary yet to sign on. Turkey is demanding the Nordic countries tighten counterterrorism measures.

— Associated Press

A former commander of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group who fought in Ukraine said he has fled to Norway and is seeking asylum in fear for his life after witnessing the killing and mistreatment of Russian prisoners brought to the frontline.

Andrei Medvedev, who joined the group on July 6, 2022, on a four-month contract, said in a video posted by the Gulagu.net rights group that he had crossed the border into Norway before being detained by Norwegian police.

Medvedev, an orphan who joined the Russian army and served time in prison before joining Wagner, said he had slipped away from the group after witnessing the killing of captured deserters from Wagner.

“I am afraid of dying in agony,” Medvedev told Vladimir Osechkin, founder of the Gulagu.net rights group, which said it had helped Medvedev leave Russia after he approached the group in fear for his life.

He said he crossed the border, climbing through barbed-wire fences and evading a border patrol with dogs, and heard guards firing shots as he ran through a forest and over thin and breaking ice into Norway.

Norwegian police said a foreign citizen had been arrested on the night of Thursday to Friday after illegally crossing the Russian-Norwegian border in the Arctic and was seeking asylum.

His Norwegian lawyer said Medvedev was now in the “Oslo area” but did not give details.

“What is important for him (Medvedev) is that immigration authorities clarify his status as soon as possible,” lawyer Brynjulf Risnes told Reuters.

Medvedev had not yet talked with Norwegian security police and no agreement for an interview had been made, Risnes said. “I am sure that will be a question at some point,” said Risnes, who declined to say where Medvedev was fighting in Ukraine.

“He says he has taken part in battle, which he says were clear battle situations … and that he has not been in contact with civilians,” said Risnes.

— Reuters

Ukraine’s allies need to apply more pressure on Russia through sanctions, Lithuanian President Gitanas Naus?da told CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“Sanctions have some impact on the Russian economy. Sometimes our expectations are higher than [the] real result but it does not mean that sanctions are not effective. They are effective but with a certain time lag,” Naus?da told Joumanna Bercetche.

“Of course the success of Ukraine’s armed forces in the battlefield are just critically important,” Naus?da said, calling for the provision of better air defense systems and tanks to the country.

He also discussed the difficulty of Ukraine getting NATO membership in the near-term due to the ongoing conflict and the need for the alliance to find “guarantees” for the country without membership; and Lithuania’s commitment to strengthening its own armed forces and increasing military spend to 3% of GDP.

— Jenni Reid