RT News - January 15th 2023 Late

Russian troops edge closer to taking the strategic city of Artyomovsk in the Donetsk Republic, after seizing control of the nearby town of Soledar following months of intense fighting.

A family of a Russian POW is being extorted by his captors, demanding $25,000 for his safe release and have threatened to kill him if they don't receive the money. The family have released the footage of the call. Russia has been asking Kiev to adhere to the Geneva conventions for humane treatment of captive soldiers for some time. **warning** some distressing images.

Dozens of passengers die in a plane crash near Nepal's international airport, the country's worst air disaster in 3 decades. Pres. Putin has sent condolences to Nepal's president Bidhya Devi Bhandari.

Beijing says Africa shouldn't become an arena for competition between world powers as China's new Foreign Minister wraps up his five-nation trip across the continent.

Parents of young Serbian football players are attacked by a group of people with knives in Bosnia, in an alleged hate crime. RT hears from eyewitnesses.

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1) --- Moscow provides details on latest missile strikes against Ukraine
2) --- Russian economy is stable – Putin
2a) --- Russian forex reserves keep growing
3) --- Gas market to remain volatile for years – Qatar
4) --- Putin provides assessment of Ukraine campaign
5) --- Ukraine is a ‘de facto’ NATO member – Kiev
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15 Jan, 2023 15:57

1) --- Moscow provides details on latest missile strikes against Ukraine

The most recent barrage targeted Kiev’s military command and control sites, as well as associated energy facilities, MOD has said

The Russian Defense Ministry has said that the latest missile strikes against Ukraine on Saturday hit “all assigned targets.” Earlier, Kiev’s officials reported that the country’s power grid had been damaged in several regions on the same day.

“On January 14, 2023, a missile attack was carried out on the military command and control system of Ukraine and associated energy facilities. All assigned targets have been hit. The objectives have been reached,” the military said in its statement on Sunday.

Multiple strikes were reported by Ukrainian officials and media outlets on Saturday, with Energy Minister German Galushchenko claiming Russian missiles made it through to multiple energy infrastructure sites across the country. Ukraine’s largest private energy operator, DTEK, said that two of its thermal power stations came under attack. Footage circulating online suggests at least one of the facilities sustained heavy damage, with its main machinery hall destroyed.

A residential building was heavily damaged amid the strikes in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnepr (previously known as Dnepropetrovsk), according to videos published on social media. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that some 25 civilians were killed and 73 were injured. Kiev officials have laid the blame on Moscow, but given differing accounts about what transpired.

Moscow ramped up its strikes against Kiev’s infrastructure in early October of last year, citing repeated Ukrainian sabotage on Russian soil. The attacks followed the bombing of the Crimean Bridge, which Moscow blamed on the Ukrainian military intelligence service and its Western partners. The attack was widely celebrated by top Ukrainian officials and the country’s postal service even released a commemorative stamp hours after the blast. One road section of the bridge was severely damaged, killing three civilians. However, Ukraine denied involvement.

Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, citing Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to stop the fighting in Donbass and give Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. Brokered by Germany and France, they were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian president Pyotr Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and “create powerful armed forces.”

Shortly before hostilities started, the Kremlin recognized the Donbass republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. Last September, Donetsk and Lugansk, as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, were incorporated into Russia following referendums.
https://www.rt.com/russia/569912-ukraine-latest-missile-barrage/
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15 Jan, 2023 13:25

2) --- Russian economy is stable – Putin

The head of state says he expects inflation to drop to 5% in the first quarter of the year

The Russian economy is in better shape than previously expected, and is on course for further stabilization, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Russia 1 TV channel on Sunday.

According to the head of state, all major economic indicators point to a further stabilization of the country’s economy.

“The situation in the economy is stable, moreover, it is much better than what not only our opponents, but even we ourselves predicted…One of the main indicators – unemployment – is at a historic low. Inflation is lower than expected and is displaying a downward trend,” Putin said.

He noted that inflation is expected to slow from the current 11.9% to around 5% in the first quarter of the year.

“Apart from everything else, industrial production is on the rise, as well as agriculture and construction. So on the whole, the situation here is not just stable, but I think quite satisfactory, if not good,” Putin continued.

Annual inflation in Russia in 2022 came in lower than previously predicted – both the Central Bank and the Ministry of Economic Development expected the indicator to surpass 12%. Consumer prices soared in the first half of last year, after the start of the Ukraine crisis and Western anti-Russia sanctions that followed. Inflation peaked in April at 17.83%, but gradually subsided in the following months. Western economists last year predicted inflation in the country would surpass 20%.
https://www.rt.com/business/569902-russian-economy-stable-putin/
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15 Jan, 2023 06:01

2a) --- Russian forex reserves keep growing

The country’s holdings surged by more than $14 billion in December, according to the Central Bank

Russia continues to grow its foreign currency reserves, which surpassed $580 billion in December, the Bank of Russia announced this week.

According to the regulator, holdings amounted to $581.9 billion as of January 1, rising by 2.6% or $14.7 billion month-on-month due to a positive revaluation of currencies.

The figure, however, is lower than a year ago – on January 1, 2022, the country’s international reserves stood at $630.6 billion, and later reached a historical maximum of $643.2 billion on February 18.

Russia’s forex reserves consist of monetary gold, Special Drawing Rights (SDR) within the IMF and foreign currency held within the country, as well as Chinese yuan assets.

Roughly half of the holdings were frozen by Western central banks in early March as part of anti-Russia sanctions over the Ukraine conflict. In addition to freezing the funds, Western countries banned operations related to their management.

On November 30, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed to create an investment fund from frozen Russian assets and blocked funds that belong to Russian businessmen, and use the profits for the post-conflict restoration of Ukraine.

Moscow has repeatedly called the freezing of its assets “theft” and warned that it contradicts international law.

“Russian authorities are considering all possible legal mechanisms to regain access to Russian foreign assets and are ready to take decisive steps to protect national property,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a press briefing on Thursday. She called the West’s seizing of Russian assets a “gross encroachment on sovereign property” and warned of an “adequate response.”
https://www.rt.com/business/569823-russian-forex-reserves-growing/
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15 Jan, 2023 09:15

3) --- Gas market to remain volatile for years – Qatar

Diversification efforts will help, but Russian gas will eventually return to Europe, the energy minister says

Global natural gas markets will remain unstable for the next several years due to a shortage of supply amid rising demand, Qatar’s energy minister and head of QatarEnergy, Saad Al Kaabi, said at an Atlantic Council conference in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

According to Al Kaabi, despite the current drop in European gas prices, largely due to mild weather, the region is likely to struggle to refill gas stockpiles for next winter given the lack of supplies from Russia.

“It’s going to be a volatile situation for some time to come. We’re bringing a lot of gas to the market, but it’s not enough… Luckily [the EU] hasn’t had a very high demand for gas due to the warmer weather. The issue is what’s going to happen when they want to replenish their storages this coming year,” he stated, adding that he does not expect any additional gas volumes to enter the market until at least 2027.

Al Kaabi believes that despite the efforts to diversify supplies, European countries will eventually return to Russian gas due to the lack of alternative sources.

“Russian gas will return to Europe when Russia and the EU somehow manage to resolve the situation, although the [European] countries will likely make their sources of hydrocarbons more diverse and stop relying on Russia 100%... But Russian gas is going back, in my view, to Europe, and it will be a great benefit for the gas sector and the entire European market, and help stabilize prices,” he said

Gas prices in Europe soared last year following the launch of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine and the subsequent Western sanctions on Moscow. Until 2022, Russia had been the region’s largest gas supplier. But now deliveries are greatly diminished and the situation is further exacerbated by an incident in September that rendered the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, a major route for Russian gas deliveries, inoperable.

The consequent surge in prices subsided towards the end of the year amid increased imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from countries including Qatar, and the relatively warm weather. However, prices remain far above historical averages and analysts say they could soar again once China fully reopens its economy after the pandemic lockdowns, raising global demand.
https://www.rt.com/business/569888-gas-market-volatile-qatar/
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15 Jan, 2023 15:19

4) --- Putin provides assessment of Ukraine campaign

There are “positive dynamics” in Moscow’s military operation in the neighboring country, the Russian president told the media

Russian President Vladimir Putin has provided a positive assessment of the battlefield developments of the military operation in Ukraine. His comment came days after Russian forces seized the strategic town of Soledar in Donbass.

In an interview with the news channel Rossiya 1 aired on Sunday, Putin said: “The dynamics are positive. Everything is developing within the framework of the Defense Ministry’s and the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s plan.”

He also expressed hope that “our fighters will further please us with their results.”

On Friday, Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the capture of the strategic Donbass town of Soledar, which had been the scene of heavy fighting. The military noted that this achievement is “important for the continuation of successful offensive actions.”

Officials explained that the seizure of Soledar could pave the way for the cutting of supply lines to Ukrainian forces in the nearby city of Artyomovsk, which Kiev renamed Bakhmut.

Both sides have reported heavy fighting near Artyomovsk in recent months. The city is a key logistics hub for Ukrainian troops in Donbass, while for Russia its capture would open a path to other important Ukrainian-controlled towns.
https://www.rt.com/russia/569909-putin-ukraine-positive-dynamics/
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13 Jan, 2023 15:21

5) --- Ukraine is a ‘de facto’ NATO member – Kiev

Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov is confident his country will receive western heavy tanks and jets

Ukraine is already a “de facto” member of NATO, Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov told the BBC in an interview published on Friday. The minister added that he was “sure” Kiev’s formal accession to the alliance was not far off.

“Ukraine as a country, and the armed forces of Ukraine, became [a] member of NATO. De facto, not de jure. Because we have weaponry, and the understanding of how to use it,” Reznikov said.

He told the outlet he was certain Kiev would soon receive more powerful equipment from the West, including western-made battle tanks and fighter jets.

The US and its allies have been reluctant to send heavier armament to Ukraine, with some arguing such a move could risk escalation and drag them directly into the ongoing conflict. Reznikov brushed off such concerns, branding them a mere formality.

“This concern about the next level of escalation, for me, is some kind of protocol,” the minister said. He also denied that his comments could be seen as controversial amid the West’s attempt to avoid being viewed as a party to the fighting.

Why [would it be] controversial? It's true. It's a fact,” he said, commenting on Kiev’s relations with NATO and the West’s military support of Ukraine. “I'm sure that in the near future, we'll become a member of NATO, de jure,” the minister added.

Moscow regards Ukraine’s potential NATO accession as a threat to its national security and has named establishing a neutral status for the country as one of the goals of the military offensive launched in February last year.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky claimed that Ukraine had become a de facto NATO member as early as in June 2022. He also filed a NATO membership application in September of the same year and called for a fast-track accession process.

The military bloc itself, however, has been less eager to consider such a prospect. In November, NATO reiterated its pledge to accept Ukraine at some point, but said the issue was not on the agenda for the time being. In spring 2022, French European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune said the process could take decades, while Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said too many NATO members were against the idea altogether.
https://www.rt.com/russia/569827-ukraine-de-facto-nato-member/
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