Victorious news of 336th day of war: Leopards come to Ukraine, Wagner cemetery is growing in Russia, and Odesa’s center is now under UNESCO protection

ECHR recognizes that Russia occupied part of Donbas in 2014

The European Court of Human Rights has officially established that the territories in eastern Ukraine seized by separatists have been under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation since May 11, 2014.

The ECHR cites the presence of the Russian military in eastern Ukraine since April 2014 and the large-scale deployment of Russian troops since August 2014 at the latest. Thus, the court has the right to consider Ukraine's claim against Russia over the war in Donbas.

The court has recognized most of the Ukrainian government's complaints as admissible and will proceed to consider them on the merits. The Netherlands' lawsuit against Russia over the downing of the MH17 airliner was added to the Ukrainian one. 

Germany agrees to provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine

The German government has finally agreed to provide Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks. The Bundeswehr will supply 14 Leopards to Ukraine, and training of the Ukrainian military on these tanks will begin in early February. 

Germany also allowed other countries to transfer their stocks of Leopard 2 tanks. In particular, Poland had previously declared its readiness to transfer them. Following Germany's decision, Spain also agreed to provide Ukraine with tanks, although its foreign minister had recently stated that he did not see such a possibility. 

The US will give Ukraine 31 Abrams tanks 

US President Joe Biden has announced that Ukraine will receive 31 Abrams tanks to boost its capacity to fight invading Russian forces.

"Today, I'm announcing that the United States will be sending 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, the equivalent of one Ukrainian battalion. It will enhance Ukraine's capacity to defend its territories and achieve its strategic objectives. Abrams tanks are the most capable tanks in the world. We will begin to train Ukrainian troops on these issues of sustainment, logistics and maintenance as soon as possible," US President Joe Biden said at a press conference.

The White House will offer Ukraine M1 Abrams tanks despite the previous claims that the vehicles consume too much fuel and are difficult for Ukrainian defenders to master.

Historic center of Odesa is now under UNESCO protection 

The UN cultural agency UNESCO has designated the historic center of Odesa as a World Heritage Site in Danger. The center of Odesa has been included in the Main List of World Heritage Sites. The decision was made at a UNESCO session in Paris.

The status, awarded by a UNESCO panel meeting in Paris, is designed to help protect Odesa’s cultural heritage, which has been under threat since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and enable access to financial and technical international aid, Reuters reports.

Cemetery for Wagner PMC fighters in Russia has grown sevenfold

The New York Times has published satellite images showing that the Wagner PMC’s cemetery in the village of Molkin has grown sevenfold in 2 months. As of January 24, there are approximately 170 burials in the cemetery, compared to half as many on November 24. 

Locals say there may be more dead, as some of the soldiers were cremated. The New York Times checked 21 memorial walls in a chapel near the cemetery.

"We identified 21 walls in total at the chapel, each containing 42 compartments, suggesting that hundreds of deceased Wagner fighters are either interred or, at the very least, memorialized at the chapel," the report said.

Ukrainian anti-aircraft gunners eliminate Russian Su-25

The Russian Air Force continues to diminish. On January 25, the Ukrainian Air Force destroyed a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft and an Orlan-10 drone. Over the past 3 days, this has been the 4th Su-25 fighter jet shot down by the Ukrainian Air Force. The defense forces also managed to destroy a Russian Ka-52 helicopter.

Ukrainian aviation launched 14 strikes on Russia’s personnel concentrations and 2 strikes on the positions of its anti-aircraft missile systems over the last day.  And Ukrainian missile and artillery units hit 1 Russian control center, 9 manpower concentrations and 3 ammunition depots.