Here is the situation as it stands on Sunday, January 22, 2023:

Fighting

• Russian troops have increased shelling of Ukraine’s eastern regions outside the main front line in the Donbas industrial area, according to officials from Zaporizhia and Sumy regions.
• Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has urged Kyiv’s allies to “think faster” about stepping up their military support, a day after they failed to agree on sending battle tanks Kyiv says it needs.
• Germany’s new defence minister Boris Pistorius plans to visit Ukraine soon as Berlin faces pressure to allow the shipment of German-made tanks to Ukraine.
• Senior US officials are advising Ukraine to hold off on launching a major offensive against Russian forces until the latest supply of US weaponry is in place and training has been provided, a senior Biden administration official said.
• The US will impose additional sanctions next week against Russian private military company the Wagner Group, which US officials say has been helping Russia’s military in the Ukraine war, the White House said.
• The head of Wagner published a letter to the White House asking what crime his company was accused of.

Diplomacy

• Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is considering visiting Kyiv in February and holding talks with President Zelenskyy.

Economy

• Western countries are working to structure price caps on Russian refined petroleum products to ensure a continued flow of Russian diesel, but the markets are complicated and there is a chance things do not go to plan.