Home › Security › Reading the battlefield and aid, 25 January 2023
Reading the battlefield and aid, 25 January 2023
Summary
Reports from 19 to 21 January 2023 combined Russian territorial claims, new Swedish equipment pledges and US action against the Wagner Group.
What did the days leading up to 25 January 2023 show about the direction of the war? Reports from 19 to 21 January pointed to pressure on the ground, expanding Western support and a tightening of financial measures against Russian actors.
Russian claims in the south and east
On 20 January, Russia claimed it had captured the village of Klishchiivka in Donetsk Oblast, south of Bakhmut, and the village of Lobkove in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The following day, the Russian military said it had launched offensive operations in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and had taken more advantageous lines and positions. These were Russian assertions, and the reports describe them as such.
Sweden adds heavy equipment
On 19 January, Swedish Defence Minister Pål Jonson announced Sweden's latest military support package for Ukraine. It included the self-propelled Archer Artillery System, 50 Combat Vehicle 90 infantry fighting vehicles and NLAW anti-tank missiles. The package combined artillery, armoured infantry transport and anti-tank weapons.
Washington targets Wagner
On 20 January, the US Department of the Treasury designated the Russian paramilitary organisation Wagner Group as a transnational criminal organisation. The designation allows provisions for international sanctions.
What the sequence showed
Taken together, the reports from those days set Russian claims of local advances near Bakhmut and in Zaporizhzhia Oblast alongside concrete Western steps: new equipment commitments from Sweden and a sanctions-enabling designation from the United States. The reports did not establish how the Russian claims would play out on the ground, and the Swedish and American measures were announced as separate actions.
