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Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives in Kiev

07:30 | Yesterday the Dutch parliamentarians from the foreign affairs committee visited Kiev. This was reported by the presidential office of President Zelensky. “You see a photo of the Dutch foreign affairs committee’s MPs who in any case were in Kiev yesterday to speak in Zelensky’s office,” Europe reporter Geert Jan Hahn told BNR.

This is the state of affairs on Tuesday 7 February 2023

According to Ukraine, Russian forces are trying to block Ukrainian forces fighting in the east Donbass region. Moscow is reportedly gathering additional troops there for an offensive expected in the coming weeks, possibly targeting the Luhansk region. “The struggle for the region is intensifying,” said Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of Donetsk. In Luhansk, fellow governor Serhiy Haidai said that shelling had decreased because “the Russians have saved ammunition for a large-scale offensive”.

Around the city Bachmoth and in the nearby towns of Soledar and Vuhledar, heavy fighting continued for weeks, Ukraine’s presidential office said. Russia continues to make little progress in its efforts to encircle the town of Bachmut in the Donbas, according to the British MoD. “As multiple alternative supply routes remain available to Ukrainian forces across the country, Bachmoet is increasingly isolated,” the ministry said on Twitter.

The western part of the region Luhansk it will likely be at the heart of any new Russian offensive, said Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, which is preparing to take over the defense ministry. In an interview with the Financial Times, he said the offensive would most likely be launched by “proper mechanized brigades” rather than Wagner’s poorly trained reservists and mercenaries, who have suffered heavy casualties in recent fighting.

Ukraine had to deal with this winter temperatures of -20°C and at the same time with a humanitarian crisis as Russia has hit important civilian infrastructure, the analysis shows. The Dnipro, Donetsk and Kharkiv areas are particularly vulnerable, according to the research. Some areas host tens of thousands of displaced people during the winter, while critical infrastructure, including energy and housing, is targeted by Russian missiles and artillery.

Any replacement of the Defense Minister of UkraineOleksii Reznikov will not take place this week, said David Arakhamia, the head of Volodymyr Zelensky’s party, yesterday. “We are awaiting the appointment of the heads of the Interior Ministry and the Security Service of Ukraine,” he wrote on social media. On Sunday night, Arakhamia said Kyrylo Budanov would replace Reznikov as defense minister. The announcement came after a massive corruption scandal at the defense ministry.

THE UN Secretary GeneralAntónio Guterres has warned that the world is facing a “greater war” over Ukraine. Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly a few weeks before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Guterres said: “Prospects for peace continue to diminish. The risk of further escalation and bloodshed continues to increase.”

THE EU legislator it is preparing plans to host Volodymyr Zelensky should he decide to come to Brussels to attend an EU summit later this week, reports said. The Ukrainian leader is expected to speak at a special session of the European Parliament, writes the Financial Times, adding that the proposed plan is subject to security problems that could derail Zelensky’s trip.

Germany’s plan for haste two Leopard 2 tank battalions by European allies and sending them to Ukraine is proceeding more slowly than expected. Several states have yet to decide whether they can do without vehicles from their own stocks. In Europe, apart from Berlin, only Poland and Portugal have so far made concrete commitments to contribute to Leopard 2 tanks. Ukrainian soldiers were to be trained on Leopard 2 tanks in Germany and Poland starting this week. “Germany’s commitment remains,” government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner said on Monday.

THE Prime Minister of NorwayJonas Gahr Støre has proposed that his country provide about NOK 75 billion in aid to Ukraine over a five-year period. By 2023, half of the aid will go towards financing Kiev’s military needs, and the rest for humanitarian purposes. The announcement comes after the Store government came under pressure to increase aid to Ukraine, after it earned billions in extra oil and gas revenue from the war in Russia.

CanadaDefense Minister Anita Anand shared an image of the first Canadian-donated Leopard tank to arrive in Poland. “Together with our allies, we will soon train the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the use of this equipment,” she tweeted.

The head of the United Nations Nuclear WatchdogRafael Grossi will not meet President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow this week, the Kremlin said. Grossi is expected to meet with officials at Russia’s state nuclear company Rosatom and the foreign ministry, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that Moscow expects a “substantive dialogue”.

THE Russia’s oil and gas revenues it fell 46% in January compared to the same month in 2022, influenced by the cap on oil exports imposed by Western allies following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s finance ministry said budget revenues in January were 35% lower than in the same month in 2022, the last month before Russia sent troops to Ukraine.

THE Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, he worked for Soviet intelligence in the 1970s while living in Switzerland. Codenamed “Michailov” and officially in Geneva as a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church to the World Council of Churches (CEC), Kirill’s mission was to influence and incite the council to condemn the United States and its allies, yes law. .