Navigating The Ukraine Crisis

A UK guy who fought for Ukraine was imprisoned by Russia for 19 years.

• According to the court press service, James Scott Rhys Anderson was found guilty of both “mercenary activities” and a “terrorist act.”
• A Russian court has sentenced a British citizen who was taken prisoner by Russia while defending Ukraine to 19 years in prison. Following a three-day closed military trial in Kursk, 22-year-old James Scott Rhys Anderson was found guilty of “mercenary activities” and a “terrorist act,” the region’s court news office announced on Wednesday.
• According to the press agency, Anderson entered a guilty plea to the allegations against him after he was allegedly apprehended in Kursk in November while taking part in Ukraine’s cross-border incursion.Anderson’s sentencing calls for him to serve five years in prison before being moved to a correctional colony to complete the rest of his time, the news agency said.
• After the decision was translated for Anderson, he was seen nodding silently in court-released footage. Anderson’s sentence on what it called bogus allegations was denounced by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.A spokeswoman stated, “POWs cannot be prosecuted for taking part in hostilities under international law.”
• “We demand that Russia cease using prisoners of war for political and propaganda purposes and adhere to these obligations, including those under the Geneva Conventions.” Two British nationals and a Moroccan were given death sentences by a court in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region in 2022 for serving as foreign mercenaries and engaging in “terrorist” operations. Later, as part of a prisoner exchange mediated by Saudi Arabia, the three men were freed.
• In February 2022, shortly after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, then-Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that over 20,000 volunteers from 52 nations had pledged to defend Kyiv.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

The US imposes taxes on China, Canada, and Mexico and stops funding to Ukraine.

• Following a catastrophic Oval Office meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, last week, US President Donald Trump has decided to halt all military aid for Ukraine.
• According to a White House official, Washington is examining if the billions of dollars sent to Kyiv are helping to find a “solution” to stop Ukraine’s conflict with Russian invaders.
• The action is likely to seriously harm Ukraine’s attempts to fend off Russia’s invasion and comes hours after Trump accused Zelenskyy of not desiring peace “as long as he has America’s backing.”
• Along with announcing that the sweeping 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico will take effect on Tuesday, Trump also pledges to impose an additional 10 percent penalty on Chinese goods, on top of the 10 percent he imposed last month.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,103

Combating

• • • According to the Ukrainian military, it shot down 46 of the 83 Russian drones that were launched overnight. The military also stated that another 31 drones were “lost” and failed to reach their objectives, most likely as a result of electronic warfare countermeasures.
    • According to Mayor Oleksandr Goncharenko, Russian assaults on the residential area of Kramatorsk, Ukraine, killed a youngster and injured two more. Ivan Fedorov, the governor of Zaporizhia in southwest Ukraine, reported that a separate incident there caused a major fire at a residential structure and injured one citizen.
    • According to the Russian news outlet Interfax, which cited the Ministry of Defense, Moscow’s soldiers attacked Ukrainian gas production facilities.
    • According to Mayor Ihor Terekhov, a Russian drone hit a multistory residential structure in Kharkiv, Ukraine, causing a fire and wounding eight people.
    • A Russian oil refinery caught fire, according to Russia’s official news agency RIA Novosti, though the source of the incident was not immediately revealed. Moscow’s emergency ministry was quoted by RIA as stating that local inhabitants were not in danger.

  Diplomacy and Politics

  • • • If approved, a truce between Russia and Ukraine on air, sea, and energy infrastructure could give Ukraine and its allies the opportunity to assess whether Russian President Vladimir Putin was sincere and prepared to begin serious talks on a longer-term peace agreement, according to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.
      • According to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the United Kingdom and France are planning to draft a peace agreement with Ukraine and propose it to US President Donald Trump.
      • According to the Institute for the Study of conflict (ISW), Russia may have a stronger chance of winning its conflict against Ukraine if the US stops providing military assistance.
      • International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) employees who traveled through Russian-occupied territory to visit the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine were denounced by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha as committing a “breach of territorial sovereignty.”
      • More than a dozen European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended a UK-led summit on Ukraine in London.
      • The European Commission’s chief, Ursula von der Leyen, stressed during the summit that Europe urgently needs to strengthen its defense and that the leaders had a “good and frank discussion” about the need for security assurances as part of discussions to end the crisis in Ukraine.
      • According to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, some European governments have made plans for defense spending in private, which he called “very good news.”
      • Kyiv needs peace “backed by robust security guarantees,” Zelenskyy stated on X. His comments followed bilateral discussions with Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy.
      • Starmer announced a 1.6 billion pound ($2 billion) agreement that would enable Ukraine to use export finance to purchase 5,000 air defense missiles.
      • According to Buckingham Palace, Zelenskyy met King Charles III of the United Kingdom at the Sandringham House Estate. Following his attendance at the London security summit, the meeting was held.
      • In an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that France and the United Kingdom have reached a consensus on a one-month truce in Ukraine. Additionally, he stated that European nations have to raise their defense budgets to three to three and a half percent of GDP.
      • Despite his public altercation with Trump on Friday, Zelenskyy stated that he thought Kyiv’s relationship with Washington could still be saved. He stated that he did not think the United States would halt funding to Ukraine and that negotiations would need to continue in a different manner. He stated that he thought Washington was also prepared to sign a minerals agreement with Ukraine.

    SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,101

Combating

• • • • In the Black Sea port of Odesa, a common Russian target in southern Ukraine, a drone strike set fire to a private residence and a commercial building, killing one person and injuring another.
      • According to Kyiv’s air force, Ukraine’s air defenses shot down 103 of the 154 drones that Russia launched during the night. It claimed that the other 51 drones were “locationally lost,” most likely due to electronic jamming.
      • At least seven people were injured when Russian drones hit a medical facility and other targets in Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine, according to officials.
      • Oleh Syniehubov, the regional governor of Kharkiv, reported that at least 50 people had to leave a medical institution that was damaged in the strike, and that civilian areas in three of the city’s major districts were also affected.
      • According to state-run news agency TASS, Russia’s defense ministry declared that its troops had seized the towns of Burlatske and Skudne in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine.
      • According to Kyiv, Russian infantry are advancing across the Ukrainian border from the Kursk region of Russia, close to Ukrainian-controlled regions of the region. “The offensive has been contained for the time being,” it continued.

    Diplomacy and Politics

    • • • U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a heated argument during their meeting at the Oval Office on Friday. Trump told Zelenskyy, “You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out.”
        • Following Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump in Washington, DC, which ended suddenly after the two engaged in a violent argument over Russia’s war on Kyiv, world leaders unanimously voiced their support for Zelenskyy.
        • Zelenskyy has been urged to apologize by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for his confrontation with Trump and “for wasting our time for a meeting that was going to end the way it did.”
        • After Trump yelled at him at the White House and charged him with not wanting to make peace with Russia, Zelenskyy stated that he still has the opportunity to mend his relationship with the United States.
        • During their historic confrontation in the Oval Office, Trump claimed Zelenskyy “overplayed his hand” and accused his guest of seeking to prolong the war with Russia. Trump also stated his desire for “a ceasefire now.”
        • In the most recent indication of a thaw between the two nations as they attempt to repair their strained ties and put an end to the conflict in Ukraine, Russia announced it is sending a new ambassador, Alexander Darchiyev, to Washington.
        • North Korea’s state news agency said that Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked Pyongyang for its strong support of the Kremlin during a meeting with senior North Korean official Ri Hi Yong in Moscow. In addition to the 12,000 troops that were sent there last year, North Korea is said to have sent at least 1,000 more personnel to fight in Ukraine.
        • More than three years after Russia’s invasion, Ukraine and the IMF came to an agreement on a loan program review that will release approximately $400 million in much needed money.
        • In an effort to “drive forward” action on Ukraine and security, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is meeting with a dozen European leaders on Sunday. The conference is anticipated to include Zelenskyy.

      SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,098

Combating

• • • • • According to Mykola Kalashnyk, the regional governor of Kyiv, Russian strikes in the Ukrainian capital caused a residential property to burn down and injured a 19-year-old lady. He stated the woman had a head injury and was admitted to the hospital.
        • According to the German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA), which cited Vadym Filashkin, the governor of the Donetsk area, Russian bombardment in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk killed at least one person and injured thirteen others.
        • According to DPA, Russian bombs in the neighboring Kharkiv region injured at least two civilians.
        • According to Kyiv’s military, air force units knocked down 133 of the 213 drones and six missiles that were launched at Ukraine overnight. According to reports, 79 additional drones missed their targets.
        • According to Veniamin Kondratyev, the Russian governor of the Krasnodar area, Ukraine launched a drone attack overnight that damaged infrastructure, including the port of Tuapse in the Black Sea. There were no reported injuries.
        • According to Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti, a 17-year-old was detained on suspicion of obtaining intelligence to assist Ukraine in using drones to target Russia’s Ryazan oil plant. According to reports, the adolescent admitted to the charge when being questioned.
        • According to the Russian Investigative Committee, a Russian man who filmed an air defense system in Podolsk and transferred pictures and topographical information to Ukraine was given a 16-year prison sentence.

      Diplomacy and Politics

      • • • President Donald Trump of the United States affirmed earlier media claims that he had struck an agreement with Ukraine to get the European nation’s natural riches, including rare earth minerals.
          • Approximately $524 billion would be required to restore Ukraine’s economy following Russia’s three-year war on the country, according to a recent assessment conducted by the World Bank, United Nations, European Commission, and Ukrainian government. Compared to the $486 billion predicted a year ago, this represented a 7% increase.
          • Despite Trump’s assertion that Russian President Vladimir Putin had approved the deployment of European peacekeepers in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow’s opposition to the move.
          • Norway will provide Ukraine money to purchase natural gas, according to Ukraine’s Naftogaz firm. According to reports, the money is a component of a $400 million aid package funded by the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development.

        SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Russia-Ukraine conflict in real time: US rejects UN resolution denouncing incursion

• • • Following Washington’s voting with Moscow at the UN General Assembly to refrain from denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia has praised the US’s “balanced position.”
    • A US government resolution advocating for an end to the conflict in Ukraine, which does not specifically name Russia as the aggressor, has received support from the UN Security Council.
    • Despite concerns of a transatlantic divide, French President Emmanuel Macron has cautioned that peace cannot entail the “surrender” of Ukraine, but claims that discussions with US President Donald Trump have demonstrated a way forward.
    • Mykola Kalashnyk, the regional governor of Ukraine’s Kyiv region, reported that a Russian airstrike had damaged multiple homes in the area and injured a 44-year-old lady.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,092

Combating

• • • • In the Kursk area of western Russia, Russian forces have reclaimed almost 800 square kilometers (309 square miles) of Ukrainian territory, accounting for roughly 64% of the total seized by Ukraine since an incursion started last year, according to Colonel General Sergei Rudskoi, head of Russia’s General Staff.
      • Rudskoi added that Russia currently controls over 99 percent of the Luhansk region and 75 percent of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions of Ukraine. According to him, the four areas will never be returned to Ukraine because they are now officially a part of Russia.
      • According to regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, a man was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike in the Belgorod region of Russia.
      • According to Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov, a “massive” Russian strike on the port city of Odesa in southwest Ukraine left four people hospitalized and a sizable residential area—which included 14 schools and over 160,000 residents—without electricity, heat, or water.
      • Oleh Syniehubov, the governor of the Kharkiv area, said that at least one person was killed by a Russian guided bomb in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk.
      • Russia allegedly launched two missiles and 167 drones in nocturnal raids, according to Ukraine. 56 of those drones missed their targets, while 106 were shot down by Ukrainian forces. What happened to the other five was not specified.
      • The first time such a weapon has been struck, Ukraine’s military also reported that they destroyed a North Korean self-propelled M-1978 Koksan howitzer in the Luhansk region.
      • Two North Korean soldiers who are being held in Ukraine have been interviewed by the Chosun Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper. The two disclosed that the Reconnaissance General Bureau, North Korea’s covert operations intelligence organization, informed them that they were being sent to Russia for training.
      • Overnight, combatants from the 810th brigade entered Ukrainian territory in the Sumy region, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The claim has been refuted by Kyiv.
      • Additionally, Putin implied that a Ukrainian drone strike against the Caspian Pipeline Consortium in southern Russia might have been orchestrated in collaboration with European nations, claiming that Kyiv would not have been able to execute the attack without the assistance of Western intelligence.
      • According to the Reuters news agency, which cited open-source data from the Ukrainian military blog DeepState, Kremlin forces are approaching the Shevchenko lithium deposit in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region from three different directions and are just over 4 miles (6.4 km) away.

    Diplomacy and Politics

    • • • Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised Kyiv’s exclusion from recent talks between Russia and the United States as he spoke to reporters at Esenboga airport in Ankara, Turkiye following his meeting with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
        • Putin promised Ukraine that it would not be excluded from peace negotiations, but he stated that their success would depend on repairing the “below zero” bilateral ties between Moscow and Washington during the Biden administration.
        • Zelenskyy rushed to social media to name Russia’s leaders “pathological liars” and warned that “they cannot be trusted and must be pressured – for the sake of peace”.
        • US President Donald Trump hit back at Zelenskyy over his complaints about being excluded from peace talks, as he also blamed the Ukrainian leader for Russia’s invasion in 2022. Trump remarked, “You’ve been there for three years.” “You ought not to have initiated it. You could have made a deal.”
        • Trump has complained that his treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, was treated “rudely” during an official visit to Kyiv, accusing Zelenskyy of “sleeping” and failing to make a deal. Bessent met Zelensky in Ukraine’s capital last week to discuss granting Washington access to rare earth minerals in return for security support. “Scott Bessent actually went there and was treated rather rudely, because essentially, they told him ‘no’,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One.
        • Zelenskyy has also slammed the rare earth elements deal proposed by Trump, saying he is open to the US investing in Ukraine’s natural resources, but Kyiv should also receive security guarantees.
        • He said Trump’s demand for $500bn of rare earths for previous US aid is “not a serious conversation”, claiming Washington has supplied Ukraine with only $67bn in weapons and $31.5bn in other financial support.
        • Zelenskyy also rejected Trump’s claims about his approval ratings being at 4 percent, dismissing it as Russian disinformation and saying the US president is trapped in a “disinformation bubble”.
        • Trump called Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections” and warned that the Ukrainian leader “better move fast or he is not going to have a country left”.
        • Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has confirmed that Putin and Trump could meet in person before the end of February, according to Russian state media.
        • After speaking with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told European foreign ministers he believes Washington wants a lasting peace deal for Ukraine. Barrot said the White House’s “objective was not a fragile ceasefire or a transitional pause that would allow Russia to rebuild their forces, but a lasting peace”.
        • Kazakhstan’s first Deputy Foreign Minister Akan Rakhmetullin said Astana has contacted Ukraine after a drone attack in Russia this week which hit a Kazakh oil pipeline.
        • Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, travelled to Kyiv before planned meetings with Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials. “We’re very clear that [security guarantees are] important in the sovereignty of this nation,” Kellogg said, according to Ukrainian outlet Suspilne.
        • The European Union has agreed on a new package of sanctions which would place a ban on importing Russian aluminium, the bloc’s diplomats said. The decision is yet to be formally approved by EU foreign ministers.

      SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,091

Combating

• • • • According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russia damaged energy infrastructure in the southern Odesa area, depriving 160,000 people of power and heating.
      • Russia launched two missiles and 167 drones during nocturnal raids, according to the Ukrainian military. 56 drones failed to reach their targets, while 106 drones were shot down by the air force.
      • In the course of one hour overnight, Russia’s air defenses shot down 21 Ukrainian drones, the most of which were over the western Bryansk region. Over the Russian-annexed Crimea, another drone was shot down.
      • On Ukraine’s eastern front, Kyiv’s military claimed to have destroyed a North Korean self-propelled howitzer artillery piece. Kyiv said it was the first time a Ukrainian drone has struck a North Korean M-1978 Koksan artillery since the confrontation with Russia began.
      • Up to 12,000 North Korean troops, along with their military hardware, have been stationed in the Kursk region of southern Russia, according to Ukraine and Western military analysts.
      • According to Turkiye’s official Anadolu news agency, Ukrainian forces fought 144 battles against Russian troops on Tuesday, fending off several attacks on several front lines.
      • According to AA, Kyiv also claimed that Russian forces struck Ukrainian positions and settlements with 2,200 missile strikes, 72 airstrikes, 1,024 kamikaze drones, and 4,200 artillery attacks.
      • Battles are still going on, according to Anadolu. Ukrainian forces said they stopped Russian advances towards Mala Shapkivka and Topoli in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, while Moscow’s troops attempted 16 attacks in the Kupiansk region of Ukraine, which Kyiv’s forces said they repelled 14.
      • Following a Ukrainian drone strike on a pumping station, Russia reported that oil flows through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, a vital route for supplying Kazakhstan and selling to the international market, have decreased by 30 to 40 percent.
      • More than 1% of the world’s daily oil supply are shipped by the 1,500-kilometer (939-mile) Caspian pipeline, which transports crude oil from Russian producers as well as Kazakhstan’s Tengiz oilfield on Russia’s northeastern Caspian Sea coast.
      • Former chess world champion and Kremlin critic Garry Kasparov stated that Ukraine’s victory in the war is crucial to Russian freedom and the overthrow of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime. Kasparov, 61, who gave up chess in 2005 to concentrate on political action and has spent the last ten years living in exile in New York, stated, “Without Ukrainian victory, there is no freedom of Russia, no end of the Putin regime.”

    Plans for Ukraine by the US

    • • • According to Ukrainian media, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has arrived in Kyiv ahead of a scheduled meeting with Zelenskyy and other officials. US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink greeted Kellogg upon his train arrival in the Ukrainian capital.
        • Following discussions that garnered harsh criticism from Ukraine for being left out of the meeting between Washington and Moscow officials in Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States decided to form teams to discuss a way to cease Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
        • Zelenskyy criticized the omission of his country from the Riyadh talks, stating that war-ending talks should be “fair” and involve European nations, notably Turkey, which has offered to host further talks.
        • According to the US State Department, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio decided during the Riyadh negotiations to “designate respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible.”
        • Washington stated that the two parties would set the foundation for future collaboration after agreeing to “establish a consultation mechanism” to address “irritants” in the US-Russia relationship.
        • The US reportedly informed its European partners that it will have a seat at the negotiation table “at some point,” according to reports Rubio later shared with peers from France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.
        • After the negotiations, Trump told reporters, “I think I have the power to end this,” expressing his increased confidence in an agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
        • After that, Trump chastised Kyiv and Europe for griping about being excluded from the talks with Moscow. “Oh, well, we weren’t invited,” I heard today. In reference to the war, Trump remarked, “Well, you’ve been there for three years.” “You ought not to have initiated it. You may have struck a bargain. In keeping with his repeated assertion that he could have stopped Russia’s full-scale invasion, Trump stated, “A half-baked negotiator could have settled this years ago without the loss of much land, very little land, and without the loss of any lives.”
        • Trump did not go into detail when he stated that he would “probably” meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin before the end of the month.
        • Putin’s foreign policy assistant, Yuri Ushakov, stated that it was “difficult” to talk about a possible meeting date between Trump and Putin.
        • Kirill Dmitriev, Moscow’s economic negotiator, stated that Western efforts to isolate Russia had “obviously failed.”
        • As Russia tries to split the West, EU foreign policy leader Kaja Kallas warned the US not to fall into Russian “traps.” “We can attain a fair and enduring peace on Ukraine’s terms by cooperating with the United States,” Kallas stated.
        • Andrzej Duda, the president of Poland, claimed that Washington had promised him that Washington would not cut back on its personnel levels in Poland and other locations along NATO’s eastern border.

      Defense spending and military assistance

      • • • EU parliamentarians called on Europe to “double down” on assisting Ukraine and strengthening its defenses. The European People’s Party, Socialists and Democrats, Renew, and Greens issued a statement saying, “Europe can no longer fully rely on the United States to defend our shared values and interests, including continued support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
          • Following the US-Russian meetings in Riyadh, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he will host another meeting on Ukraine. Macron once again seemed receptive to the notion of sending troops to Ukraine in an interview with regional French newspapers, but he made it clear that this could only happen in the most restricted way and outside of war areas.
          • In the case of a peace agreement, Trump stated he would not oppose Europeans if they wanted to send peacekeeping forces to Ukraine to ensure security.
          • According to Germany’s DPA news agency, Latvia plans to substantially boost its defense budget, increasing it to 4 percent of GDP next year and 5 percent in the years that follow. Located on NATO’s eastern flank and bordering Russia, Latvia is a member of both the EU and NATO.
          • According to the Reuters news agency, European defense stocks have risen as governments are under pressure to boost military spending in the area.

        Diplomacy

        • • • Following discussions between Russian and US officials in Saudi Arabia, Zelensky declared that Russia’s leaders are “liars” in response to a Russian drone strike that occurred overnight. We must always remember that Russia is run by chronic liars who need to be pressured because they cannot be trusted. Zelensky posted on social media, “For the sake of peace.”
            • A ban on importing Russian aluminum is among the latest penalties that EU ambassadors agreed to impose on Moscow, according to the bloc’s diplomats. On Monday, the third anniversary of the Kremlin invasion of Ukraine, it will be formally approved.
            • According to two sources acquainted with the situation, Zelenskyy has delayed a scheduled trip to Saudi Arabia in order to deny “legitimacy” to the US-Russian conference in Riyadh, Reuters said.
            • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Zelenskyy at a joint news conference in Ankara that his nation would be a perfect venue for any future war-ending talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States.
            • According to Anadolu, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov met with Turkey’s Defense Minister Yasar Guler and Land Forces Commander General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu in Turkiye to discuss enhancing defense cooperation with Ankara.
            • Beijing backs any initiative that leads to peace negotiations in Ukraine, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the UN Security Council.
            • After investigations revealed that the unidentified individual was related to Ukraine’s security services and involved in organized crime in Ukraine, Slovak police deported a 59-year-old Ukrainian.

          Sanctions

          • • • Due to U.S. sanctions imposed on Russian energy businesses and vessels transporting Russian oil on January 10, Tupras, the biggest oil refiner in Turkiye, has ceased purchasing Russian crude oil.
              • It was unclear whether Tupras, which has grown to be one of the largest importers of Russian crude oil since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, would halt the import of Russian refined products, according to the Reuters news agency. Between January and November of 2024, 65 percent of Turkiye’s total oil imports came from Russia.

            SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,090

Combating

• • • • According to Ukraine’s military, Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with 147 attack drones. The Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down 83 of these, while 59 failed to hit their targets. Numerous private homes and storage facilities were reported destroyed.
      • According to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, supply from neighboring Kazakhstan was disrupted when Ukrainian drones struck one of its main oil pipelines near the Kropotkinskaya pumping station in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia.
      • At least 20 explosions were heard in the vicinity of Moscow’s Ilsky oil refinery in Krasnodar, according to Ukraine’s Security Service, which also claimed responsibility for the attack on the oil pipeline.
      • According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, its troops have taken control of the community of Fyholivka in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine. Later, a second report claimed that Ukrainian forces had retaken the settlement of Sverdlikovo in the Kursk area of Russia.

    Diplomacy and Politics

    • • • Prior to scheduled peace negotiations between US and Russian officials over the conflict in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Saudi Arabia.
        • Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Foreign Policy Director Yuri Ushakov will represent Russia in the meetings with the United States in Riyadh, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced.
        • Peskov added that Russian representatives will discuss repairing relations, negotiating a peaceful end to the conflict in Ukraine, and setting up a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin with their US counterparts.
        • Any preparations to send European peacekeeping forces after Kyiv and Moscow reach a peace agreement, according to the Kremlin, would make the situation “complex.”
        • To address the EU’s response to Washington’s peace negotiations with Moscow, French President Emmanuel Macron called an emergency conference in Paris’ Elysee Palace with leaders of important EU countries.
        • The Paris summit to examine the United States’ policy change towards Moscow in its assault on Ukraine would be an attempt to “prevent” peace, according to Peter Szijjarto, the foreign minister of Hungary, who made this statement during a media briefing. “Unlike them, we want peace in Ukraine; we support the US-Russian negotiations; we support Donald Trump’s ambitions,” Szijjarto stated.
        • Lavrov of Russia questioned why European lawmakers who support the continuation of the war in Ukraine should be invited to participate in peace talks. Additionally, he declared that Russia would not even entertain giving Ukraine more territory in upcoming peace negotiations.
        • The day after the conclusion of the meeting between Russian and US officials, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will embark on a “long-planned” trip to Saudi Arabia, according to his spokesperson, Sergii Nykyforov.
        • The leader of Ukraine further declared that he would not accept any result from the Washington-Moscow negotiations in Saudi Arabia that did not include Kyiv.
        • During a visit to the UAE, Zelenskyy met with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates, who reportedly pledged to assist efforts to end the war peacefully and to continue attempts to lessen its humanitarian impact.
        • Zelenskyy is currently meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkiye to talk about the exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine.

      SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,089

Combating

• • • • In two different events in Russia’s Belgorod region, Ukrainian drone attacks killed at least four individuals, according to regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. In one instance, an attack on the vehicle a woman was riding in resulted in her instant death. Later, a similar attack killed three men.
      • Additional In Russia’s Krasnodar area, Ukrainian drone strikes subsequently caused damage to 12 homes and injured one person, according to Governor Veniamin Kondratyev.
      • Nine Ukrainian drones were shot down over the Sea of Azov and the southern Russian region of Krasnodar, according to Moscow’s Ministry of Defense.
      • According to the Ukrainian military, Russia attacked overnight with 143 drones, 95 of which were shot down. According to the air force, 46 more missed their targets.
      • Russian strikes in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, overnight resulted in at least one casualty and the burning of a vital infrastructure building, according to the region’s governor, Vitaliy Kim. According to the State Emergency Service, several homes in Kyiv were also harmed.
      • According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the attacks on Mykolaiv damaged a thermal power plant, resulting in below-freezing temperatures and tens of thousands of people without heat. At least 100,000 people, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, were without electricity.
      • Russian soldiers stepped up their attacks in eastern Ukraine, primarily targeting Pokrovsk, a major supplies base, according to Ukraine’s military. According to the military, 261 fights were registered in a 24-hour period.
      • According to Ukrainian army’ spokesperson in the Pokrovsk region, Viktor Tregubov, Kyiv recovered a mining village close to the city. He said that they could “already talk about the liberation of the village of Pishchane” and that many counterattacks by Ukrainian forces had achieved some degree of success.
      • Days after the Russian ambassador was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over a similar incident, Moldova claimed that two Russian drones had once again violated the country’s airspace.

    Diplomacy and Politics

    • • • According to Zelenskyy, he had told his ministers not to sign a deal with the US to provide rare earth materials in return for past and future US assistance. He stated that Ukraine’s interests were not safeguarded by the pact, according to The Associated Press news agency.
        • Without verifying the offer made to Kyiv, White House National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes claimed that Zelenskyy was being “short-sighted” about the situation and that a minerals agreement would enable US taxpayers to “recoup” prior help while simultaneously boosting Ukraine’s economy.
        • Should US President Donald Trump reduce backing for NATO, Zelenskyy said that Russia would “wage war” on the military alliance. Furthermore, he stated that although Trump had the power to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin into holding ceasefire negotiations, Putin should never be trusted.
        • According to Reuters, the US questioned its European allies about what they needed from Washington in order to take part in Ukraine’s security arrangements. The news agency said that the demarche included six points and questions, including whether partners would be willing to send soldiers to Kyiv and which nations would contribute to the assurances.
        • US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Putin’s commitment to peace in Ukraine would be judged in the following days. He also mentioned that he had a conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about the challenging circumstances of the US Embassy in Moscow.
        • Rubio added that it would not be simple and that the peace process could not be finished in a one meeting. Although Russia and the US had planned to hold talks in Saudi Arabia, Rubio stated that “nothing has been finalized yet” and that he was unsure of who Moscow would send.
        • Zelenskyy declared that he would not accept any US-Russian peace deal without Kyiv’s participation.
        • Before a potential Zelenskyy visit, a delegation traveled to Saudi Arabia for meetings, according to Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s first deputy minister of economic development, trade, and agriculture. As Kyiv “prepares to sign important economic agreements with countries in the region,” the minister stated that the delegation’s main objective would be to fortify economic connections.
        • Zelenskyy declared that he had been to the United Arab Emirates to hold discussions on economic cooperation, investment, and the return of Ukrainians who had been captured.
        • According to French President Emmanuel Macron, he had a phone conversation with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman regarding Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine as well as the part that Europe should play.
        • Europeans would not back any peace process that encourages Ukraine’s demilitarization, according to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He declared, “Ukraine must continue to be a democratic, independent country; decisions cannot be made over their heads.”
        • Trump stated that he might speak with Putin on Russia’s war on Ukraine “very soon.” He said that he thinks the leaders of Russia and Ukraine want to see the conflict stop.
        • According to the Russian newspaper Kommersant, the United States and Russia will discuss the war in Ukraine on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia.
        • In order to safeguard his nation and the security of Europe, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that he was ready to deploy soldiers to Kyiv and provide security guarantees if needed.

    SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,086

Combating

• • • Russia’s defense ministry declared that its troops had taken control of the Donetsk region’s Vodyane Druhe hamlet in Ukraine.
    • Moscow asserted that it carried out a concerted midnight assault against Ukraine’s ports, drone manufacturing facilities, military airfields, and locations for storing gasoline and lubricant.
    • According to Russia, Ukraine launched a massive barrage of missiles and drones, shooting down 202 unmanned aerial vehicles, three American-made HIMARS rockets, and French-made Hammer guided bombs.
    • According to the Reuters news agency, the attack targeted Russia’s Andreapol oil pumping facility, resulting in an oil leak and a fire, according to Ukraine’s Security Service.
    • According to the DPA news agency, Russian military launched 140 drones in an overnight attack, destroying 85 of them and losing another 50 before they could reach their target. Injuries and damage were recorded in the Odesa and Kharkiv regions of Ukraine.
    • According to Ukrainian military commander Oleksandr Syrskii, his forces control roughly 500 square kilometers (193 square miles) of the Kursk region in western Russia. The area is roughly 800 square kilometers (309 square miles) smaller than what Kyiv’s soldiers occupied in September.
    • A 46-year-old man was killed and five people, including a 16-year-old girl, were injured in a Russian attack on the town of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk area of eastern Ukraine. Two other people, ages 58 and 62, were reportedly slain in a different attack in the southern part of Kherson.

Diplomacy and Politics

• • • • • A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump must be arranged “promptly,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
        • According to Peskov, Moscow wants to speak with the US president about European security.
        • Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s proposal to exchange Russian territory that Ukraine has occupied for Ukrainian territory that Russia owns “nonsense,” adding that Russia would never consider exchanging its territory.
        • In an interview with the daily Le Monde, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that Europe and Kyiv should not be left out of any future negotiations between Trump and Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
        • Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, stated that if Ukraine and Europe were not involved, Kyiv would not accept any deals on his nation’s future that were made by Washington and Moscow. Prior to any peace negotiations, he also demanded a strategy to “stop Putin”.
        • Zelenskyy cautioned world leaders not to believe Putin when he says he is willing to stop Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
        • Kaja Kallas, the head of the European Union’s foreign affairs department, issued a dire warning: any agreement on the conflict in Ukraine that is reached behind Europe’s back would not succeed.
        • Following the explosion of two Russian drones on Moldovan soil, the country’s foreign ministry “urgently” called for Russia’s ambassador.
        • According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in the last year, the number of reported missing persons as a result of Russia’s war on Ukraine has more than doubled to 50,000. Approximately 90% of the missing are military personnel, according to the ICRC.
        • Although he made it clear that Ukraine was never granted NATO membership as part of a peace agreement, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte stated that the military alliance has to ensure Putin never assaults Ukraine again.
        • The United Arab Emirates has offered to host peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, according to Reuters.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,085

Combating

• • • • • • A Russian missile strike on Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, killed at least one person and injured four more, including a nine-year-old child, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko. At least four parts of the city experienced damage and flames as a result of the attack.
          • According to Regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, a Ukrainian drone murdered a woman in the Belgorod region of Russia. According to Gladkov, the victim was instantly killed when the drone impacted her vehicle.
          • Russia launched seven ballistic missiles in a nighttime attack, but Ukraine’s military claimed to have shot down six of them. Additionally, the military claimed that 40 of the 123 assault drones that the Kremlin launched against Kyiv were probably prevented by “electronic countermeasures,” while 71 of the drones were shot down.
          • Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-installed regional governor for the occupied Zaporizhia area, stated Ukraine launched a drone strike on Enerhodar city near the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, striking a car parked roughly 300 meters (0.2 miles) from one of the plant’s reactors.
          • The head of Ukraine’s anti-terrorist department was detained for allegedly spying for Russia, according to the country’s security service (SBU). According to the agency, they found 14 instances of the unnamed official engaging in unlawful activity.

Diplomacy and Politics

• • • • • • Following Marc Fogel’s release from a Russian prison where he had been detained since 2021, US President Donald Trump said that another US citizen would be released.
          • In exchange for Fogel’s release, a Russian prisoner was released from a US jail, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who also stated that Fogel would be going home in the next few days. The person was identified as Russian cryptocurrency tycoon Alexander Vinnik by a White House official.
          • Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s proposal to exchange Russian territory that Ukraine has occupied for Ukrainian territory that Russia owns “nonsense,” adding that Russia would never consider exchanging its territory.
          • Zelenskyy also demanded “strong steps and pressure” to halt the current Russian missile attack on Kyiv, claiming it was evidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not interested in peace.
          • Rustem Umerov, the defense minister of Ukraine, announced that he had met with Pete Hegseth, the newly appointed defense secretary of the United States, for the first time.
          • The failed International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission rotation at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station was the subject of another blame-sharing dispute between Kyiv and Moscow.
          • The UK promised Ukraine 150 million pounds ($186.6 million) in military assistance, including air defense systems, tanks, and drones.
          • At a NATO summit in Brussels, US Defense Secretary Hegseth declared that regaining Ukraine’s pre-2014 boundaries from Russia was an impractical goal. Additionally, he stated that the US did not view Ukraine joining NATO as a component of a potential peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
          • Trump said that after speaking with Putin on the phone, he decided to begin talks to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine right now. Trump claimed to have told Zelenskyy about the discussion.
          • Additionally, Russia confirmed that the two presidents had spoken over the phone, explaining that they had agreed to meet after speaking for almost an hour.
          • Later, Trump said that he will meet with Putin in Saudi Arabia to continue the peace talks. He went on to say that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman would also be involved and that it would take place “not-too-distantly in the future.”
          • According to the Ukrainian president’s office, Trump and Zelenskyy had a phone conversation for about an hour. Trump said Zelenskyy “wants peace” after the call.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,084

Combating

• • • • • • A Russian missile barrage on Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, before daybreak killed at least one civilian and wounded four more. According to Ukrainian officials, the strike also caused multiple fires in the three-million-person city.
          • The Moscow-installed regional governor reported that Ukrainian forces launched a drone strike on the southern Ukrainian city of Enerhodar, which is close to the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power facility. Yevgeny Balitsky said on Telegram that the drones struck a parking lot about 300 meters (0.2 miles) from one of the plant’s reactors.
          • According to regional governor Roman Busargin, an industrial plant in the Saratov area of Russia was damaged by a Ukrainian drone strike.
          • According to Lieutenant Andriy Kovalenko, a representative of the Ukrainian Security and Defense Council, the attack on Saratov was directed against an oil refinery that provided fuel to Russian soldiers. There were no recorded casualties.
          • According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, 40 Ukrainian drones were detected and destroyed by air defense forces over Russian territory, with 18 of those drones being destroyed in the Saratov region.
          • The Yesenove town in eastern Ukraine has been seized by Russian soldiers, according to the military.
          • According to Kyiv, Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with 124 drones and 19 missiles. The Ukrainian military reports that 66 drones missed their targets and 57 were shot down.
          • Russian assaults in the Poltava region of central Ukraine damaged natural gas production facilities, according to the nation’s state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz. German Galushchenko, Ukraine’s Minister of Energy, declared power limitations as a result of these attacks, which did not cause any injuries.
          • Two men were found guilty of supporting the Ukrainian Army and given severe prison sentences, according to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency. One of the individuals, who set fire to three electrical train structures, was given a 21-year prison sentence by a military court in western Kirov. In another case, a 22-year-old was found guilty of treason and given a 12-year prison sentence.
          • A Russian plane breached Polish airspace above Polish territorial seas, according to Poland’s military. According to reports, the Russian Sukhoi 24MR tactical bomber aircraft entered Polish airspace 6.5 kilometers (4 miles) in and remained there for over a minute. According to the Russian Armed Forces’ Operational Command, a navigation system malfunction caused the tragedy.
          • A French-made SCALP cruise missile was defused in the Kursk region by Russian bomb disposal specialists from the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the ministry announced.

Diplomacy and Politics

• • • • • • Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, stated that Russia will never consider exchanging its Ukrainian territory for Kyiv-held territory in the western Kursk region of Russia, as proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The concept was previously rejected as “nonsense” by Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s influential Security Council.
          • In the midst of US President Donald Trump’s efforts to put an end to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, Ukraine’s defense minister Rustem Umerov said that he had met with new US defense secretary Pete Hegseth for the first time.
          • A senior member of Ukraine’s anti-terrorism department has been arrested for allegedly spying for Russia, according to a statement released by the country’s security agency, SBU. SBU did not immediately identify the spying suspect.
          • According to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, he concurs with US President Donald Trump that the United States and its European partners should share more of the weight of providing aid for Ukraine.
          • President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that Russia’s deadly drone and missile attack on Kyiv early on Wednesday demonstrated the country’s lack of interest in seeking peace with Ukraine.
          • According to the Kremlin, Moscow released imprisoned American educator Marc Fogel in return for the release of a Russian national from a US prison. According to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, Moscow will reveal the person’s name after the Russian returns home in the next few days.
          • Regardless matter whether Ukraine loses its sovereignty to Russia or not, US President Donald Trump stated in an interview with Fox News that he wants the “hundreds of billions of dollars” that the US has spent on Ukraine to be protected. Trump said that in return for Washington’s backing, Kyiv has “essentially agreed” to give the US $500 billion worth of rare earth materials.
          • Trump said on social media that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will travel to Ukraine this week. According to Reuters, Bessent would be on the trip to explore a possible contract involving rare earth minerals.
          • The United States Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, informed reporters that the Trump administration has no plans to send soldiers into Ukraine. Hegseth stated that he will instead encourage his European allies to increase their defense budget.
          • Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, stated that if talks were held, he would be open to exchanging Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory for Kyiv-controlled portions of the Kursk region.
          • The White House declared that Marc Fogel, a US national who was imprisoned in Russia, has been freed thanks to the efforts of US special envoy Steve Witkoff. According to Washington, this was an indication that the war in Ukraine was coming to an end.
          • Just hours after Trump hinted that Ukraine might or might not join Russia, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that a sizable portion of the Ukrainian populace “wants to be Russia.”
          • The European Court of Human Rights criticized Moscow for its concerted attempts to stifle criticism and declared that Russia had placed “systematic and widespread” limits on reporting.
          • Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova was quoted by Russia’s state-run RIA news agency as saying that US Ambassador to Moscow Lynne Tracy had discussed the functioning of Russian diplomatic institutions overseas with Moscow’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
          • A law that permits Ukraine’s state nuclear power operator to purchase two Soviet-designed nuclear reactors from Bulgaria for the Khmelnytskyi power plant was enacted by the country’s parliament.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,083

Combating

• • • • • • Russian drones attacked the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy overnight, injuring a lady and damaging five homes, according to regional administrator Ihor Kalchenko. According to Vitali Klitschko, mayor of Kyiv, a separate attack on a non-residential structure also caused a fire.
          • According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, 15 Ukrainian drones were intercepted and destroyed overnight by air defense troops. According to the ministry, seven were destroyed over the southern Krasnodar area of Russia, and the remaining ones were destroyed in the country’s western and southern regions.
          • While just over 20 of the unmanned aerial vehicles failed to reach their targets, the Ukrainian military claimed to have shot down 61 of the 83 drones that Russia launched overnight.

Russian Oil and Gas

• • • • • • Transnistria, Moldova’s pro-Russian breakaway enclave, has turned down the European Union’s offer of 60 million euros ($61.8 million) to finance gas purchases, according to Prime Minister Dorin Rocean. “Russia does not permit them to accept European aid because they fear losing control of the region,” Rocean stated.
          • A Hungarian company is planning to provide gas to the separatist enclave with “Russian credit and functional support,” according to Vadim Krasnoselsky, leader of Transnistria. Gas would begin to flow under this agreement as early as February 13, according to Recean.

Diplomacy and Politics

• • • • • • Moscow has not received any satisfactory suggestions to begin a ceasefire dialogue with Ukraine, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, who was quoted by the Russian state news agency RIA.
          • According to Moscow’s official news agency TASS, Chinese President Xi Jinping accepted Russia’s invitation to participate in celebrations commemorating the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany during World War II. The victory’s 80th anniversary is on May 9.
          • Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine will be a major topic of discussion at the Munich Security Conference, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is anticipated to attend. Senior officials from the administration of US President Donald Trump will also be present at the summit, which begins on Friday and is anticipated to include side-line discussions.
          • Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, informed allies that he was formulating options to end the crisis in Ukraine, according to three unidentified Western officials quoted by news website Semafor. According to a White House source, the AFP news agency said Kellogg will travel to Ukraine on February 20.
          • Zelenskyy stated that “serious people” from the Trump administration will be traveling to Ukraine in advance of the Munich Security Conference in a video that Ukrainian media aired. According to AFP, Zelenskyy also intends to meet with US Vice President JD Vance during the security conference.
          • There is no agreement between Moscow and Washington about high-level contacts between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart, Donald Trump, according to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. Additionally, Ryabkov stated that the Kremlin was prepared for talks “on an equal basis” and that if the underlying issues in Ukraine were not addressed, an agreement to halt the war would be difficult.
          • Ryabkov added that before a deal can be reached, all of the demands made by Putin in June to cease the war with Ukraine must be fulfilled. These demands include Ukraine abandoning its aspirations to join NATO and removing its soldiers from four Russian-claimed Ukrainian territories.
          • According to the Reuters news agency, which cites eight individuals and a Ukrainian document, the US decision to halt foreign funding has started to endanger six investigations into Russia’s suspected war crimes by Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office. According to reports, the war crimes investigations are worth $89 million, and at least five of the projects have had their funding halted.
          • At least eight Ukrainian civilians detained in Russia who are hailing from Crimea have been urged by Alice Jill Edwards, the UN special rapporteur on torture, to receive prompt and thorough medical treatment. “To save their lives, immediate action is required,” she stated.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,082

Combating

• • • • • • According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, nearly half of the 35 Ukrainian drones that were shot down by Kremlin troops overnight occurred over Russia’s border with Ukraine, the Kursk region.
          • According to the Ukrainian military, it shot down 70 of the 151 Russian drones that were launched overnight. The military claims that 74 failed to meet their objectives.
          • Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, also acknowledged that a drone strike that occurred overnight in Kyiv caused a fire at a non-residential building. There were no injuries reported right away.
          • Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, announced that North Korean troops were fighting with Russian forces in Kursk and confirmed a fresh Ukrainian onslaught. He said a “significant number” of enemy soldiers were slain, implying that the number of casualties was in the hundreds.
          • According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, Moscow’s troops have taken control of the eastern Ukrainian settlement of Orikhovo-Vasylivka. The community is close to Chasiv Yar, a vital military base that Moscow is allegedly trying to take over.

Diplomacy and politics

• • • • • • US President Donald Trump’s demand for Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in return for US help was denounced as “selfish and self-serving” by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. According to him, nations that offer assistance need to do so without expecting payment.
          • Zelenskyy stated that Kyiv will not give away rare earths for free and that he wants partners to invest in the city’s natural riches. “Partnership is key. Invest your money. “Invest,” he said.
          • In addition, Zelenskyy charged that Vladimir Putin, his Russian counterpart, preferred to prolong the conflict over negotiating a truce. In a video greeting to his nation, Zelenskyy stated that Russia’s cooperation with North Korea is growing, citing intelligence sources.
          • According to the New York Post, Trump claimed to have spoken with Putin over the phone about ending the conflict in Ukraine. Trump claimed that Putin “wants to see people stop dying,” but he would not say how many times they had spoken.
          • According to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to confirm or refute the phone conversation story.
          • According to Russia’s state-run news agency RIA Novosti, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya stated that Russia is prepared to engage in talks with the United States on Ukraine “on an equal basis” and that Russia is awaiting “appropriate signals” from Washington regarding contacts with Moscow.
          • The Baltic states of Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia cut off Soviet-era connections to Russia’s electrical grid and joined the European one. “We have achieved full energy independence,” declared Gitanas Nauseda, president of Lithuania, after confirming the transfer.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,081

Combating

• • • • • • The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday that 35 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted and destroyed overnight by Russian air defense troops. According to the government, around half of the drones were destroyed over the Ukrainian border region of Kursk.
          • According to Ukraine’s air force, they shot down 67 of the 139 Russian drones that were launched, while another 71 vanished from radar before they could reach their targets on Saturday.
          • According to Russia’s TASS news agency, which cited Rostelecom, the state-owned telecom provider, a “external impact” destroyed an undersea telecom cable in the Baltic Sea. The event did not impact subscribers, and restoration efforts are currently underway.
          • The Ukrainian military claimed to have shot down a Russian Su-25 assault plane on Saturday close to the village of Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast.

Diplomacy

• • • • • • After smoothly severing Soviet-era connections with Russia’s electricity system because to security concerns, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania will join the EU’s grid on Sunday.
          • The New York Post said late Saturday that US President Donald Trump claimed to have called Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. Trump continued, “He [Putin] wants to see people stop dying.”
          • Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, stated that Russia has not yet seen any encouraging disarmament initiatives from the new US administration. But he also stated that Russia is “prepared to maintain smooth relations of cooperation with any administration in the United States.”
          • In accordance with the agreement between Moscow and Pyongyang, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared that his country’s army and people will “always support and encourage the just cause of the Russian army and people to defend their sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity.”

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,080

Combating

• • • • • • North Korean forces have returned to the front line in the Kursk area of Russia, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, following reports that Moscow had pulled them out due to significant casualties. In his Friday evening speech, Zelenskyy stated, “The Russian army and North Korean soldiers have been brought in again … there have been new assaults in the Kursk operation areas.” “We are talking about hundreds of Russian and North Korean soldiers,” he continued, adding that a “significant number” of the enemy forces had been “destroyed.”
          • Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced on Friday that Moscow’s soldiers had taken control of the important mining town of Toretsk in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv denied that the city was completely under Russian authority.
          • Attacks on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor have escalated, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday. Speaking following a meeting with Alexei Likhachev, the chairman of Rosatom, the Russian nuclear corporation, Grossi was quoted by the Russian state news outlet Tass as stating that it was impossible to identify which side was responsible for the strikes. Soon after the conflict began in 2022, Russian soldiers seized control of the factory in eastern Ukraine.
          • According to a statement from Kyiv’s Prosecutor General Office, a Russian directed bombing in Ukraine’s northern Sumy area claimed three lives. According to the prosecutor’s office, a residential building in the village of Myropillya was damaged in the attack that occurred late Thursday.

Politics and diplomacy

• • • • • • As part of a plan to increase energy security, the three Baltic states will integrate with EU networks, while Lithuania has severed its electricity infrastructure from Russia’s. Estonia and Latvia will do the same. The grid served as the three former Soviet states’ last electricity connection to Russia.
          • On Friday, US President Donald Trump stated that he will “probably” meet with Zelenskyy the following week. In response, the Ukrainian president expressed gratitude for his collaboration with Trump. When asked if the meeting will be in Kyiv, Trump said that it “could be Washington – well, I’m not going there.” Although he did not confirm a meeting, Zelenskyy stated that “talks” were scheduled. “We’re also planning meetings and talks at the teams’ level,” he wrote on X. The specifics are still being worked out by Ukrainian and American teams.
          • France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs announced Friday that European foreign ministers will meet in Paris next week to discuss the war. Just before the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, the ministry said that French, German, Polish, British, Spanish, and Italian ministers will participate in the discussions on Wednesday. There have been rumors that US envoys may also be invited. “Showing continued support to Ukraine” is the goal of the gathering.
          • On Friday, the Kremlin urged patience and said there had been many false rumors about US preparations to stop the war in Ukraine.
          • Despite the penalties Trump announced this week, Ukraine expressed its optimism that the International Criminal Court (ICC) would continue to investigate Russian war criminals. “We hope that they [sanctions] will not affect the court’s ability to achieve justice for the victims of Russian aggression,” stated a spokesman for Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
          • This month, Trump’s special envoy to the area is scheduled to visit Ukraine. Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s Office of the President, posted on Telegram, “The Ukrainian side is looking forward to the visit of the US Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, in February to provide comprehensive information on Russian aggression against our country.”

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,079

Combating

• • • • • • According to regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, a Ukrainian drone attack on the village of Logachyovka in Russia’s Belgorod area claimed the lives of three persons, including a minor. Gladkov claimed a civilian automobile carrying the three victims was struck by a shell dropped from the drone.
          • After six months of warfare in the Kursk region of western Russia, Ukraine claimed to have captured over 900 Russian troops.
          • According to the Ukrainian military, it attacked an airfield in the Krasnodar area of Russia overnight, causing flames and explosions.
          • Within 24 hours, Russian forces launched about 400 attacks on nine communities in Ukraine’s southeast Zaporizhia region, according to Ivan Fedorov, commander of the Zaporizhia Regional Military Administration. There were about 13 complaints of damage to infrastructure, automobiles, and residential properties.
          • Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, stated that Kyiv had returned 150 troops from Russian captivity, some of whom had been imprisoned for over two years. This endeavor was a component of a reciprocal exchange between the two nations, mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
          • According to Kyiv’s military, out of the 104 drones that Russia launched overnight, 57 were shot down, while 42 failed to reach their targets. Moscow also fired two Iskander-M ballistic missiles against Ukraine, according to the military.
          • Moscow’s forces have taken control of the towns of Baranivka and Novomlynsk in the Donetsk and Kharkiv areas of eastern Ukraine, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.
          • According to Ukraine’s military, a fire was started when Kyiv’s forces attacked the Bashneft oil refinery in the Krasnodar area of Russia. The military claims that the oil refinery supplied Russian forces with fuel and gasoline.
          • According to local authorities, an explosion at a military recruitment office in the western Khmelnytskyi area of Ukraine killed one person and injured four others, according to Ukrainian media.
          • According to Kyiv’s emergency services, Russian attacks killed one person close to the Black Sea port of Odesa and two persons close to the battle line in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk area.
          • Ivan Vyhivskyi, the head of Ukraine’s national police, blamed Russia’s secret services for the explosions at Kyiv’s military draft offices, according to the state news agency Interfax.
          • The Ukrainian military is starting a project to create robotic vehicle units that would “scale up the use of unmanned ground systems in the military,” according to Rustem Umerov, the country’s minister of defense.

Weaponry

• • • • • • French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on social media platform X that the first French Mirage 2000 fighter jets had reached Ukraine.
          • The defense ministry released a video showing Yars missile launchers navigating through a snowy woodland, claiming that Russia is practicing stealth maneuvers with its intercontinental ballistic missiles in the Volga area. The Yars is a nuclear missile that may be deployed in silos or transported on truck carriers.
          • Two senior Ukrainian sources told the Reuters news agency that Russian troops’ North Korean ballistic missiles fired against Ukraine since late December have been much more accurate than the weapons’ salvos fired over the previous 12 months.

Russian oil and gas

• • • • • • The governor of Russia’s Astrakhan province, Igor Babushkin, warned citizens not to panic after a Ukrainian attack engulfed the main city, which is near a sizable gas chemical plant, in a cloud of natural gas. Additionally, he reassured the locals that natural gas poses no risks in public areas.

Aid for humanitarian causes

• • • • • • President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan issued an order allocating $1 million for humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, with the money going toward the procurement and delivery of energy equipment.

Diplomacy and politics

• • • • • • Two bills to prolong martial law and mobilization for an additional three months, until May 9, were signed by Zelenskyy.
          • Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said he applauded US President Donald Trump’s belief that Moscow was concerned about Ukraine joining NATO.
          • Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, stated that the nation has ministerial-level interaction with Washington through various agencies and that this contact has been “intensifying,” but he would not provide any additional information.
          • Zygimantas Vaiciunas, the energy minister for Lithuania, stated that “Russia’s ability to use the electricity system as a tool of geopolitical blackmail” will be eliminated if the three Baltic states cut their connections to the Russian power grid on Saturday in order to join the Western European power grid.
          • David Lammy, the foreign minister of the United Kingdom, was expected to offer financial assistance for Kyiv in the amount of 55 million pounds ($68.7 million) to help place the nation in the “strongest position possible,” according to Reuters.
          • The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) delayed rotating its delegation to the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, since Moscow had not provided security assurances. The ministry issued a warning that it would “not allow Russia to undermine the Agency’s independence,” claiming that this was not the first time the Kremlin “used blackmail as a tool to intimidate international experts.”
          • Mikhail Ulanov, a senior diplomat in Moscow, was quoted by the Russian state news agency RIA as saying that Ukraine was lying about the absence of Russian guarantees. According to reports, he claimed that Ukraine was attempting to establish new guidelines for the rotation of IAEA staff.
          • Zelenskyy’s statement that he was prepared for direct negotiations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to end the war was nothing more than “empty words,” Peskov told reporters.
          • “There is a non-proliferation regime for nuclear weapons, among other things,” Peskov added, calling Zelenskyy’s call for nuclear weapons “bordering on madness.”
          • Andrii Sybiha, the foreign minister of Ukraine, welcomed American companies to help rebuild Kyiv and stated that Ukraine had “huge” potential to purchase LNG from the US.
          • Zelenskyy reiterated his desire to hold elections in Ukraine, but he claimed that due to logistical and legal issues, the work is still impossible during the conflict.
          • Russia was “likely” to undertake sabotage against the nation in 2025, according to the Norwegian Intelligence Service, maybe focusing on aid or energy infrastructure provided to Ukraine.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,078

Combating

• • • • • • A Russian strike in Izyum city, in the Kharkiv area of Ukraine, killed five people, including a teenager, and injured at least fifty-five more.
          • Russian bombardment in southern Ukraine killed two persons. One person was slain in Dnipro, and another in Kherson city, according to prosecutors in the Dnipropetrovsk area.
          • A Ukrainian drone strike on a school bus in the Vasylivka sector of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhia region injured six persons, including five children. Maria Zakharova, a spokesman for Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also charged that foreign assistance organizations were trying to hide the case.
          • According to Kyiv’s military, it shot down 37 of the 65 Russian drones that were launched at Ukraine throughout the night. Houses, a railway depot, and businesses were damaged in the attack.
          • The Ukrainian military also took credit for the strike on a Russian military command post in Kursk that killed a “substantial” number of Russian soldiers. According to the military’s statement, “the facility sustained significant damage.”
          • Ivan Vyhivskyi, the head of Ukraine’s national police, claimed Wednesday that a string of explosions at military draft offices were caused by Russian espionage services.
          • Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), issued a warning about potential nuclear accidents in Ukraine that might result from a direct attack on a plant or from interruptions in the power supply.

Humanitarian initiatives

• • • • • • Following mediation by the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Ukraine reported Wednesday that they had each exchanged 150 prisoners of war.
          • The “I want to find” hotline received a record number of calls from family members of soldiers in Moscow’s army, according to Kyiv’s Coordination Centre for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. According to the center, 8,548 requests were made to it last month.

Diplomacy and politics

• • • • • • According to US President Donald Trump, if he had been in charge, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine “would’ve never happened.” Trump went on to say that the US is handling Russia and Ukraine “very successfully.”
          • According to a Russian official, Trump’s proposal to Ukraine that Kyiv provide rare earths in return for aid showed that the US was no longer prepared to give Kyiv free aid.
          • Carsten Breuer, Germany’s top general, issued a warning, saying that Russia might attack a European nation over the next four years to test NATO’s defense capabilities. As a military man, he added, “I assume four years when the analysts say four to seven years.” “It’s extremely serious,” he remarked.
          • Peskov said that the European Union’s attempts to boost defense spending will “affect every European” and be detrimental to the continent’s economic status.
          • President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine informed reporters that his team was in communication with National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Washington’s senior Ukraine official Keith Kellogg to arrange the dates of a US delegation’s visit to Kyiv. In exchange for aid, he said, Ukraine was open to US corporations investing in Ukraine to export rare earths to the US.
          • In addition, Zelenskyy insisted that Ukraine acquire nuclear weapons before joining NATO.
          • According to him, 390,000 Ukrainians have been injured and 45,100 have been dead in the conflict thus far. According to his calculations, 350,000 Russians were killed during that time, 600,000–700,000 were wounded, and “many” went missing in action.
          • In order to “bring peace to Ukraine and not lose people,” Zelenskyy stated that he would be open to meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But Europe would have to be at the table, he argued.
          • In a statement, the EU claimed to have established the legislative framework for a special tribunal that, once it is in existence, will have the authority to hold Russian military and political figures responsible.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,077

Combating

• • • • • • According to Russian state news agency TASS, a bombing inside a residential building in northwest Moscow killed Armen Sarkisyan, a pro-Russian Ukrainian paramilitary leader, and injured three others.
          • Following the explosion, Russia’s Investigative Committee announced that it had launched a criminal investigation on suspicion of arms trafficking, attempted murder of two or more people, and murder by means harmful to the public.
          • Numerous assassinations in Russia are thought to be carried out by Ukrainian military. Russian General Igor Kirillov was killed in a remotely controlled explosion in Moscow in the middle of December.
          • Ukraine’s mounting suspicions that Russia has killed 79 Ukrainian soldiers it has detained in 24 different events since September were echoed by the UN. According to the United Nations monitoring mission in Ukraine, Kyiv also executed one Russian soldier who was “wounded and incapacitated.”
          • According to media sources, Jack Lopresti, a former Member of Parliament from the United Kingdom, has joined the Ukrainian International Legion to aid in the war against Russia. According to reports, Lopresti visited Kyiv in November to assist a charitable organization.
          • According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, throughout the course of an overnight Ukrainian onslaught, 70 drones were intercepted and destroyed by Moscow’s air defense troops. According to the government, Kyiv also targeted energy installations, such as a Volgograd oil refinery that caught fire.
          • The Ukrainian military claimed responsibility for the attacks on Russian energy installations, saying it targeted a gas processing plant in Astrakhan and a Russian oil refinery in Volgograd. The military said both establishments provided gasoline to the Russian Army.
          • According to Kyiv’s Air Force, it shot down 38 of the 71 Russian drones that were fired against Ukraine during the course of the night. According to the Air Force, about 25 drones vanished from radars before hitting their objectives.
          • Russian military moved 430 square kilometers (166 square miles) into Ukrainian territory in January, according to the AFP news agency, which cited the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Moscow’s forces were reportedly en route to Pokrovsk, a major supplies hub.

Humanitarian initiatives

• • • • • • According to Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 12 Russian-adopted children were returned to Kyiv as part of the Bring Kids Back UA initiative. Russia has not yet responded to the allegation.

Russian gas and oil

• • • • • • After months of power outages brought on by interrupted Russian gas supply during the continuing conflict on Ukraine, the European Union provided cash to assist restore power to Transnistria, a separatist enclave in Moldova. According to reports, the $65.9 million in EU money will only cover Transnistria’s demands for ten days, and no plans have been made to extend that time.

Diplomacy and politics

• • • • • • Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, supported the US demand that Ukraine hold a presidential election before the end of the year, arguing that legitimacy required elections in Ukraine. He added that there had not been any meaningful talks about who will take part in the war-ending negotiations.
          • Moscow also stated that it was too early for Russia to take into account Zelenskyy’s four-way peace talks model, which would involve the US, Ukraine, Russia, and the EU, according to the Reuters news agency. Zelenskyy has previously stated that holding ceasefire negotiations between Moscow and Washington without Kyiv’s participation would be “extremely risky.”
          • Maria Zakharova, a spokesman for Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, criticized the Finnish government for releasing an informational package for its nationals who are thinking about or intend to volunteer for Ukraine in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
          • In the Oval Office, US President Donald Trump informed reporters that he is looking to Ukraine for a reliable supply of rare earth metals in return for US assistance.
          • In a statement, Moldova’s Foreign Ministry condemned the drone invasion of its airspace and stated that it was talking with friends about how to strengthen airspace defense. The statement stated that the drone had entered Ukrainian airspace, but it did not specify where it came from or who it was most likely operated by.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,076

Combating

• • • • • • According to Russian state news agency TASS, a bombing inside a residential building in northwest Moscow killed Armen Sarkisyan, a pro-Russian Ukrainian paramilitary leader, and injured three others.
          • Following the explosion, Russia’s Investigative Committee announced that it had launched a criminal investigation on suspicion of arms trafficking, attempted murder of two or more people, and murder by means harmful to the public.
          • Numerous assassinations in Russia are thought to be carried out by Ukrainian military. Russian General Igor Kirillov was killed in a remotely controlled explosion in Moscow in the middle of December.
          • Ukraine’s mounting suspicions that Russia has killed 79 Ukrainian soldiers it has detained in 24 different events since September were echoed by the UN. According to the United Nations monitoring mission in Ukraine, Kyiv also executed one Russian soldier who was “wounded and incapacitated.”
          • According to media sources, Jack Lopresti, a former Member of Parliament from the United Kingdom, has joined the Ukrainian International Legion to aid in the war against Russia. According to reports, Lopresti visited Kyiv in November to assist a charitable organization.
          • According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, throughout the course of an overnight Ukrainian onslaught, 70 drones were intercepted and destroyed by Moscow’s air defense troops. According to the government, Kyiv also targeted energy installations, such as a Volgograd oil refinery that caught fire.
          • The Ukrainian military claimed responsibility for the attacks on Russian energy installations, saying it targeted a gas processing plant in Astrakhan and a Russian oil refinery in Volgograd. The military said both establishments provided gasoline to the Russian Army.
          • According to Kyiv’s Air Force, it shot down 38 of the 71 Russian drones that were fired against Ukraine during the course of the night. According to the Air Force, about 25 drones vanished from radars before hitting their objectives.
          • Russian military moved 430 square kilometers (166 square miles) into Ukrainian territory in January, according to the AFP news agency, which cited the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Moscow’s forces were reportedly en route to Pokrovsk, a major supplies hub.

Humanitarian initiatives

• • • • • • According to Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 12 Russian-adopted children were returned to Kyiv as part of the Bring Kids Back UA initiative. Russia has not yet responded to the allegation.

Russian gas and oil

• • • • • • After months of power outages brought on by interrupted Russian gas supply during the continuing conflict on Ukraine, the European Union provided cash to assist restore power to Transnistria, a separatist enclave in Moldova. According to reports, the $65.9 million in EU money will only cover Transnistria’s demands for ten days, and no plans have been made to extend that time.

Diplomacy and politics

• • • • • • Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, supported the US demand that Ukraine hold a presidential election before the end of the year, arguing that legitimacy required elections in Ukraine. He added that there had not been any meaningful talks about who will take part in the war-ending negotiations.
          • Moscow also stated that it was too early for Russia to take into account Zelenskyy’s four-way peace talks model, which would involve the US, Ukraine, Russia, and the EU, according to the Reuters news agency. Zelenskyy has previously stated that holding ceasefire negotiations between Moscow and Washington without Kyiv’s participation would be “extremely risky.”
          • Maria Zakharova, a spokesman for Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, criticized the Finnish government for releasing an informational package for its nationals who are thinking about or intend to volunteer for Ukraine in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
          • In the Oval Office, US President Donald Trump informed reporters that he is looking to Ukraine for a reliable supply of rare earth metals in return for US assistance.
          • In a statement, Moldova’s Foreign Ministry condemned the drone invasion of its airspace and stated that it was talking with friends about how to strengthen airspace defense. The statement stated that the drone had entered Ukrainian airspace, but it did not specify where it came from or who it was most likely operated by.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,075

Combating

• • • • • • Two men have been charged with the murder of an army conscription officer in the central Poltava region of Ukraine, according to the prosecutor general’s office. One of the suspects allegedly called an associate while being driven to a military training facility, who subsequently showed up and shot the officer.
          • According to Kyiv police, a “unidentified object” exploded close to a Ukrainian military recruitment center in Pavlohrad, wounding one individual. According to the regional police of Dnipropetrovsk, an inquiry is underway.
          • Russia’s Supreme Court rejected Igor Girkin’s appeal against his four-year prison sentence after being found guilty of inciting extremism, according to state-run news agency TASS. Girkin is a well-known nationalist and former militia commander.
          • According to Governor Igor Babushkin, a falling drone from an overnight Ukrainian region caused a fire, prompting the suspension of flights at many airports in the Astrakhan region of southern Russia. There were no recorded casualties.
          • According to Daria Herasymchuk, Ukraine’s presidential adviser on children’s problems, Russia has unlawfully transferred at least 20,000 Ukrainian children to occupied Crimea and Russia since 2022 under the guise of evacuation and rehabilitation programs. She added that with assistance from allies and humanitarian organizations, Ukraine was able to return 1,189 children.
          • Herasymchuk further claimed that Moscow’s efforts to enlist Ukrainian teenage boys in the Russian military were a violation of the Geneva Convention. According to the Institute for the Study of War, Russia has militarized and brainwashed Ukrainian children in “evacuation” and “rehabilitation” camps in Crimea.

Diplomacy and Politics

• • • • • • Russian President Vladimir Putin called it “strange” and “shameful” that Moscow was not invited to the liberation festivities in Auschwitz. Putin added that the situation should have been handled more tactfully and that if the Soviet soldiers’ age or health prevented them from being invited, the relatives of the men who freed the camp could have been invited instead.
          • Putin also lauded the political style of US President Donald Trump, claiming that the newly elected leader would restore order to the European elite. He predicted that “they will be at their master’s heel and wagging their tails nicely” and that it will happen very soon.
          • Keith Kellogg, Trump’s envoy to Ukraine, stated that in order to successfully negotiate an end to the ongoing conflict, Moscow and Kyiv must be prepared to make concessions. He stated, “I think both sides will give a little bit.”
          • In a fresh plea to the West, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for immediate further assistance to defend Kyiv against Russia’s targeted attacks. He declared, “We need better protection—long-range weapons, air defense systems, and sanctions pressure.”
          • According to Dmytro Lytvyn, Zelenskyy’s communication adviser, the United States’ demand that Kyiv conduct an election after reaching a truce with Moscow appeared to be a “failed plan” if there was nothing more to it. Although he acknowledged that he had not seen Kellogg’s entire discussion on the topic, he stated that Ukraine would choose a more thorough approach.
          • Talks with Russia and Ukraine are going “pretty well,” Trump told reporters. He stated that negotiations and meetings were planned with Moscow and Kyiv, among other pertinent parties.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,074

Combating

• • • • • • According to Ukrainian sources, Russia killed 15 people and destroyed dozens of residential buildings and energy infrastructure throughout Ukraine with a volley of drones and missiles. Four children were among the at least sixteen other people injured.
          • Multiple Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, resulted in the deaths of two citizens, according to Regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
          • According to the Ukrainian air force, Russian forces fired around 40 missiles and 123 drones. It claimed that 56 of the drones were shot down and 61 were redirected by its air defense forces. The number of intercepted missiles was not disclosed by the air force.
          • According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian forces destroyed 44 Ukrainian drones and a US-made HIMARS rocket launch system in the past 24 hours.
          • According to Russian news outlets, Russia’s military initiated assaults against Ukraine’s gas and other energy infrastructure and shot down 108 Ukrainian drones in the past 24 hours.
          • Russia and Ukraine exchanged blame for a fatal missile attack that killed at least four people in a boarding school dormitory in a Ukrainian-held area of Russia’s Kursk. After the attack, about 84 persons were saved or given medical attention. Serious injuries were sustained by four of the injured.
          • According to authorities, an explosion at a Ukrainian army recruitment center in the western city of Rivne left one person dead and six injured. As the nation fights Russia, the center is in charge of enlisting soldiers into the army and managing and maintaining military records.

Diplomacy and politics

• • • • • • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for fresh talks between Kyiv and Washington to create a ceasefire agreement, stating that it would be “very dangerous” to exclude his nation from talks between the United States and Russia over the current conflict.
          • According to Keith Kellogg, the top Ukraine official for President Donald Trump, the United States wants Ukraine to hold presidential and legislative elections, maybe by the end of the year, if Kyiv can reach a truce with Russia in the upcoming months.
          • The Russian missile attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa, which left at least seven people injured and destroyed historic structures, including a theater, has been denounced by the UN.
          • According to the administration, Moldova has begun shipping EU-funded gas to the pro-Russian breakaway province of Transnistria, which is experiencing an extraordinary energy crisis. Earlier this week, the European Union intervened by providing $32 million in emergency funding to assist pay for gas.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,072

Combating

• • • • • • According to the region’s governor, Volodymyr Artyukh, a Russian drone struck a multistory apartment building in Sumy city, northeastern Ukraine, killing nine people and injuring thirteen more, including a toddler.
          • According to Kyiv’s military, Moscow fired 81 drones in a nighttime attack on Ukraine, with the air force apparently shooting down 37 of the drones and 39 of them missing their targets.
          • According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, throughout the course of two hours, air defense troops shot down 17 Ukrainian drones in four different districts. According to reports, six of the drones were shot down over Russian-occupied Crimea and the Belgorod and Voronezh areas of Russia, while eleven drones were destroyed over the Kursk region.
          • A former British soldier who was captured while defending Ukraine has been charged by Russia with terrorism and mercenary activities. If found guilty, James Anderson might spend decades behind bars. David Lammy, the minister of foreign affairs for the United Kingdom, acknowledged the situation and promised that the government would help Anderson in any way it could.

Russian gas and oil

• • • • • • Following Kyiv’s suspension of Russia’s gas transit through Ukraine, Germany is increasing its natural gas import possibilities to replace Russian supplies, according to the Reuters news agency.

Diplomacy and politics

• • • • • • Myroslav Kastran, the Ukrainian ambassador, was called by Slovakia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to express “strong protest” about remarks made by Ukrainian authorities, including allegations that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was a “mouthpiece” for Russia.
          • Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry responded by stating that it had called Slovakia’s ambassador to deny claims of meddling in Slovakia’s domestic affairs. In a statement, the ministry also urged Slovakia to resume productive discussions.
          • Pal Jonson, Sweden’s minister of defense, declared that the nation is preparing a $1.2 billion aid package for Ukraine. According to Jonson, Stockholm was negotiating with European and Swedish suppliers to provide drone and artillery equipment that was prioritized.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,071

Combating

• • • • • • According to Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, a drone strike on a house claimed the lives of a lady and her two-year-old kid. Two persons were allegedly hurt in the attack.
          • According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, 104 Ukrainian drones were destroyed overnight by its air defense systems. According to reports, one individual suffered a “non-penetrating chest wound.” The drone attacks also caused damage to vehicles and buildings.
          • The Smolensk Nuclear Power Plant, the biggest power generation plant in the northwest region of Russia, was one of the targets of the nocturnal attack on Kyiv, according to Vasily Anokhin, the mayor of Smolensk in western Russia. The unmanned aerial combat vehicle was destroyed, according to Anokhin.
          • Of the 57 drones that Russia launched in a nighttime strike, 29 were shot down by Kyiv’s military, while 14 failed to reach their intended targets. Russia also launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile, according to Ukraine.
          • According to Ukraine’s military, it also hit an oil refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region of Russia, causing a significant fire. Gleb Nikitin, the regional governor, acknowledged the fire and stated that it was started by debris from a destroyed drone.
          • According to the Reuters news agency, which cited a source in the Ukrainian Security Service, a Ukrainian drone strike also damaged Russia’s Andreapol oil pumping facility, resulting in an oil leak and fire. There was also a series of explosions in the Tver region from an attack on a missile storage facility.
          • Debris from a downed Russian drone fell close to a metro station in the Darnytskyi neighborhood of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Kyiv was on air raid alert for 30 minutes.
          • According to Russian media, Moscow’s forces seized the settlement of Novoielyzavetivka in the Donetsk area of eastern Ukraine.
          • According to Oleh Kiper, the governor of the Odesa region of Ukraine, structures were destroyed in an overnight Russian attack that targeted the port infrastructure in the area. Kiper said there were no casualties.

Invasion of Kursk

• • • • • • Russian officials met with relatives of citizens stranded in the Kursk region, which is seized by Ukraine, according to the AFP news agency. This occurs in the midst of concerted social media campaigns by the families pleading for the return of their loved ones and criticism of the government’s efforts.

Russian gas and oil

• • • • • • In its most recent series of penalties, the European Commission decided against outlawing Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) after member states expressed concerns and suggested finding alternatives before doing so. However, the list of prohibited items included Russian joysticks, video games, and aluminum.
          • In order to resume gas deliveries to the country’s separatist enclave, Moldovagaz, a gas supplier in Moldova, announced that it had signed an agreement with a supplier in Transnistria. The company claims that a credit agreement has been reached for an initial delivery of 3 million cubic meters of gas.

Diplomacy and politics

• • • • • • Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated that Oscar Jenkins, who was reportedly died after being taken prisoner by Russian soldiers in Ukraine, is “alive and in custody.” They “still hold serious concerns for Mr. Jenkins as a prisoner of war,” she added.
          • U.S. President Donald Trump was encouraged by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to support Kyiv, or the “side of justice.” He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not scared of Europe and that Ukraine needed more comprehensive security guarantees.
          • Western diplomats cautioned Ukraine of a possible loss of trust due to Kyiv’s growing internal conflict between the defense minister and the procurement director, according to the Associated Press news agency.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,070

Combating

• • • • • • According to Ukraine’s military, it shot down 65 of the 100 drones that Russia launched at Ukraine overnight. The military claims that two drones returned to Russia and Belarus, one drone stayed in Ukrainian airspace, and 28 drones missed their targets.
          • The Dvorichna hamlet in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine was reportedly taken by Russian forces, according to the country’s defense ministry. In 2022, the settlement was occupied by Russia, but Kyiv took it back a few months later.
          • Numerous Ukrainian drone assaults targeting oil and power installations in western Russia were reported by Russian officials and media outlets. There were no recorded casualties. According to the governor of the area, debris from a fallen drone caused a fire at an industrial complex in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod.
          • Russian air defense systems shot down a Ukrainian drone that was trying to strike a nuclear power plant in the Smolensk area of western Russia, according to Vasily Anokhin, the territory’s governor. There were no reports of damage or casualties.

The military

• • • • • • In order to retrieve the suspected misappropriation of roughly $33 million in funds that were initially allotted for the defense of western Kursk, Russian authorities initiated legal actions. The head of the Kursk Region Development Corporation, his assistants, and a number of businesspeople are named as defendants in the complaint.
          • Rustem Umerov, the deputy defense minister in charge of weapons purchases, was fired by the Ukrainian government due to internal strife over procurement, according to the Reuters news agency. The action also follows Umerov’s criticism of Ukraine’s weaponry purchase initiatives, which he claimed did not produce the desired outcomes for front-line forces.
          • The press office of the Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Bureau stated that Umerov was the subject of a criminal investigation in connection with the procurement issue. According to the bureau, a civil society watchdog’s plea prompted the start of the investigation.
          • According to U.S. media sources, Washington reportedly shipped over 90 Patriot missiles from Israel through Poland to Ukraine.

Russian gas and oil

• • • • • • Russia is interested in restarting gas transit through Ukraine, according to a Kremlin spokeswoman. This comes after the European Commission announced preparations to have more negotiations with Ukraine regarding Europe’s natural gas supply.

Aid for humanitarian causes

• • • • • • According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the US’s halt on foreign aid caused humanitarian programs in Ukraine to halt operations. Additionally, he stated that for the most important projects, Kyiv would use public financing to partially replace the funds.

Diplomacy and politics

• • • • • • Although there is a legitimate route for Ukraine to engage in negotiations with Russia, Moscow believes Kyiv is not willing to do so, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Additionally, Putin declared that negotiations with Zelenskyy would not be feasible, calling the Kyiv leader’s authority “illegitimate.”
          • Putin added that if the West ceased backing Ukraine, Moscow’s fight with Kyiv might be over in two months or less. “If the funds and, in a general sense, the bullets run out, they won’t be around for a month,” he stated.
          • In response to Putin, Zelenskyy claimed that the head of the Kremlin was afraid of strong leaders and the prospect of negotiating an end to the conflict. Additionally, he charged that Putin was doing all in his power to prolong the conflict.
          • While excluding agricultural products headed for third nations, the European Union suggested imposing taxes on more farm products from Belarus and Russia. The bloc’s parliament and EU member states must approve these measures before they can be implemented.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,069

Combating

• • • • • • According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, 32 Ukrainian drones were shot down by Moscow’s air defenses during the course of the night. According to the government, almost half were damaged over the Ukrainian border region of Voronezh.
          • In a nighttime attack, Kyiv’s soldiers shot down 57 out of 104 Russian drones, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. 39 drones were also lost, according to the air force. According to reports, the flurry of strikes destroyed an apartment complex, private residences, and infrastructural assets, and even caused a fire at an industrial plant in western Ukraine. There were no recorded casualties.
          • Russia claimed to have regained control and “liberated” Nikolayevo-Darino, a tiny settlement in the Kursk region that Ukraine’s soldiers had previously taken.
          • According to Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation, a deputy commander was arrested for allegedly fabricating paperwork in order to steal approximately $95,000 worth of 24-hour vision equipment.
          • A lady was sentenced to 11 years in prison by Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office for aiding Russia and supporting its invasion on social media. Another Russian national was sentenced to ten years in prison for allegedly spying on the Kharkiv-based Ukrainian army.
          • According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which was quoted by Qatar News Agency (QNA), Russian forces had lost almost 831,620 men in action in Ukraine since February 2022.
          • The rights organization OVD-Info, located in Ukraine, claims that Russia sentenced a retired teacher to eight years in prison for voicing criticism of the Russian government and bringing up claims of Russian atrocities.
          • Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, said that a private company was set on fire by a Russian strike that occurred overnight. Reports of possible victims were not made right away.

Aid for humanitarian causes

• • • • • • The United States’ decision to halt foreign funding caused concern among humanitarian projects located in Ukraine, according to the AFP news agency. The majority of programs have been ordered to halt, according to sources from the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) mission in Ukraine, which the agency cited.

Diplomacy and politics

• • • • • • The agreement by the EU’s foreign ministers to prolong the current sanctions against Russia into this year was confirmed by Kaja Kallas, the EU’s designee for foreign commissioner.
          • The EU intends to keep negotiating with Ukraine about gas supplies for Europe. These discussions would also involve Hungary and Slovakia, according to the Reuters news agency.
          • After Russia shut off supplies, the EU offered $32 million in emergency funding to purchase gas for Transnistria, a separatist enclave in Moldova. Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, stated that “hard times reveal true friends” and that the bloc could not tolerate that people on their continent lacked access to the most basic services.
          • According to the Kremlin, Washington has not yet gotten in touch with it to arrange a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Kremlin, stated that Moscow thinks the US is still interested in setting up a meeting with Trump, who previously declared his desire to meet Putin “immediately.”
          • The Moldovan ambassador in Moscow was called by Russia’s Foreign Ministry to express disapproval of “unfounded accusations” made by a Moldovan political party against the Russian ambassador in Chisinau.
          • President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine traveled to Poland to take part in the commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. He spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron during the visit about Kyiv’s EU membership and security assurances.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,068

Combating

• • • • • • Russian artillery assault on eastern Ukraine killed at least one woman in the city of Pokrovsk and injured four others in the nearby town of Kostiantynivka, according to Kyiv’s regional military governor Vadym Filashkin. Andriy Ryzhchenko, a Ukrainian military specialist, claims that Russia is targeting Pokrovsk economically.
          • According to the Ukrainian army, 38 attacks against the Ukrainian defense lines were carried out by Moscow’s soldiers in different locations with artillery support.
          • Ukraine said that barely two days after its first nocturnal attack on the plant, its military and defense intelligence repeatedly hit Russia’s Ryazan Oil Refining Company a second time. The oil refinery is one of the four biggest in the Russian Federation, according to Kyiv.
          • According to Russian media, Moscow’s defense ministry said that its forces had taken control of the eastern Ukrainian communities of Zelene and Velyka Novosilka.
          • For the third time in less than a year, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, replaced the head of the Khortytsia operational strategic group, which is in charge of protecting Pokrovsk, which is currently in danger of slipping into Russian hands. He appointed Major-General Mykhailo Drapatyi as the new ground force commander.

Diplomacy and Politics

• • • • • • During a press conference with Moldovan President Maia Sandu, Zelenskyy stated that Kyiv would provide coal to Transnistria at a reduced cost or even for free if the separatist region would provide energy to Ukraine. Additionally, he offered to send a group of experts to assist in increasing the enclave’s power plant’s capacity to generate electricity.
          • According to the Institute for the Study of War, in an attempt to strengthen Russian influence in Iraq, members of the Kremlin-affiliated Telegram channel Rybar, including its founder Mikhail Zvinchuk, traveled there during the last week. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani is among the officials the team reportedly spoke with.
          • To create a security zone against the “rebirth of Russian imperialism,” Polish President Andrzej Duda told Al Jazeera that NATO members should increase their defense budgets by at least 3% of their GDP.
          • With 87.6 percent of the vote in the country’s presidential election, exit polls indicated that Belarusian President Lukashenko, whose government is a strong friend of Russia, was on pace to prolong his tenure in office. Additionally, Lukashenko stated that he had “no regrets” about allowing Russia to invade Ukraine in 2022 using Belarusian land.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,067

Combating

• • • • • • Russia launched 72 drones overnight, 50 of which were shot down by Ukrainian forces. It stated that one drone is still in Ukrainian airspace and that nine drones were “lost,” alluding to Ukraine’s use of electronic warfare to reroute Russian drones.
          • According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, its air defense systems shot down two sea drones in the Black Sea and fifteen Ukrainian drones above Russia.
          • According to the ministry, during the course of the night, eight drones were shot down over the Ryazan region, six were destroyed in the Kursk region, and one was struck over the Belgorod region.

Diplomacy

• • • • • • On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that only negotiations involving Kyiv could result in a lasting peace and urged partners to try to decide on a format for future peace negotiations with Russia.
          • Zelenskyy said that the State Department’s freeze on foreign aid had no bearing on US military supplies to Kyiv. He claims that the aid suspension relates to humanitarian assistance. “My attention is on military assistance. He stated, “It hasn’t been stopped.”

The economy

• • • • • • During a visit by Moldova President Maia Sandu, Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine was prepared to provide coal to Moldova, which is experiencing an energy crisis since Russian gas supplies through Ukraine ceased this year.
          • According to Sandu, energy costs have skyrocketed in places under her government’s control, and the situation is far worse in a territory occupied by pro-Russian rebels that depends on Russian energy and experiences daily power outages.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,064

Combating

• • • • • • According to regional governor Ivan Fedorov, a 47 year old male was killed in a Russian missile strike on the city of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine. 16 other people, including a two-month-old infant, were hurt, he said.
          • Russia launched 99 drones against Ukraine overnight, according to the Ukrainian air force, in what he has turned into a regular barrage of attacks. According to the air force, 30 drones vanished from radar while 65 were destroyed by Kyiv’s forces. The drones were blamed for strikes in six Ukrainian districts.
          • The settlement of Zapadne in the northeastern Kharkiv region of Ukraine was taken by Moscow’s forces, according to confirmation from the Russian Ministry of Defense. The settlement is located on the western bank of the Oskil River, which for a considerable amount of time served as the front line between the forces of Kyiv and the Kremlin.
          • Since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has attacked Kyiv’s energy infrastructure 1,200 times, according to Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. These attacks have targeted gas, electricity, and distribution infrastructure.
          • The life sentence of Alexander Permyakov, who was found guilty of blowing up the automobile of pro-Kremlin writer Zakhar Prilepin in 2023 and causing significant injuries, was affirmed by Russian courts. The bombing claimed the life of Prilepin’s driver.
          • According to Russian media, the families of some 3,000 Russian citizens who were stranded in the Sudzha area of the Ukraine-occupied Kursk region launched a concerted social media effort to ask for assistance in locating their loved ones.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • According to the German news agency Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA), Ukraine will receive $8.48 billion of the $13.8 billion in weaponry and military hardware that Berlin has authorized for export in 2024.
          • During their meeting, German opposition leader Friedrick Merz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy talked about “methods to further advance a just peace for Ukraine”. Zelenskyy claimed that they also discussed the state of affairs on the front lines and worldwide issues.
          • At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Zelenskyy also had meetings with a number of other world leaders. Increased sanctions on Russia, facilitating the return of 53 children who Russia forcibly removed from Ukraine, defense and security assistance for Kyiv, and the prospect of “lasting and sustainable peace” were the main topics of discussion.
          • Finnish President Alexander Stubb stated in Davos that any peace agreement for Ukraine must include both Kyiv and its European partners. He also cautioned against hasty agreements that would be viewed as a betrayal of Kyiv’s sovereignty, according to Turkish news agency Anadolu Agency.
          • Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated that Moscow sees a limited window of opportunity to reach a deal with the news US government under President Donald Trump, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.
          • Trump threatened to impose taxes and restrictions on “anything sold by Russia to the United States” unless his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, “stops this ridiculous war ” with Ukraine “now”. He also warned Russia’s friends with similar repercussions.
          • In response to Trump’s threats, Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN, stated that Moscow would need to understand what Trump meant by a “deal”. Trump has the authority to stop the US’s “malicious anti-Russia” policy, according to Polyanskiy, even though he is not to blame for it.
          • According to the Anadolu Agency, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that resolving the underlying issues is necessary to halt Moscow’s assault against Ukraine. According to reports, Lavrov stated that the Kremlin will only discuss “trustworthy, legally binding agreements to make it impossible to violate them”.
          • According to Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, the country’s reconstruction – which is expected to have cost $626 billion in war damages – will likely be the “project of the century” and present a chance for the EU economy.

Oil and Gas in Russia

• • • • • • According to Kommersant, the national daily newspaper of Moscow, Ozbor Enterprises, a company located in Cyprus, may help restore Russian gas supplies to Transnistria, a separatist enclave in Moldova. According to reports, the business has reserved approximately 3.1 million cubic meters per day of the TurkStream gas pipeline, which was developed by Russia, for a month starting on February 1.
          • According to Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean, a permanent solution to the enclave’s energy crisis requires the withdrawal of Russian forces from Transnistria, according to the AFP news agency. According to reports, Recean also charged that the Kremlin was attempting to sow discord in Moldova and encourage the rise of a government that supported Moscow.

Security in the Region

• • • • • • Concerns about North Korea’s “political and security alignment” with Russia and China’s backing of the Kremlin’s defense industrial base were raised by Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
          • EU foreign commissioner-designate Kaja Kallas said that Europeans “need to wake up” and warned that “Russia could test the EU’s readiness to defend itself in three to five years”.
          • The United Kingdom’s Defence Secretary John Healy said the Royal Navy tracked a Russian spy ship gathering intelligence and mapping the UK’s “critical underwater infrastructure”.
          • “We recognize you. Healy issued a clear warning to Putin, saying “We know what you’re doing, and we won’t shy away from robust action to protect this country”.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,063

Combating

• • • • • • Russia deployed 131 drones and four missiles against Ukraine overnight, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. Additionally, according to the Air Force, 59 drones vanished before they could reach their targets, and 72 drones were destroyed.
          • 55 Ukrainian drones were detected and destroyed overnight in six Russian areas, according to Moscow’s Ministry of Defense. Just six days after the remains of another intercepted drone caused an earlier fire, six drones were brought down in Voronezh, where Governor Aleksandr Gusev said falling debris ignited a fire. There were no reported injuries.
          • The military of Kyiv claimed responsibility for an attack on Voronezh that resulted in a fuel depot fire and for striking an aviation production facility in the Smolensk region of Russia where “combat aircraft[s] are being modernized and manufactured”. According to Ukraine’s General Staff, special forces and drone units coordinated the attacks.
          • Just 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) southwest of Pokrovsk city, a vital supply line for Kyiv’s military, Moscow’s soldiers have taken control of the Vovkove hamlet in eastern Ukraine, according to Russian state news agency TASS. According to TASS, Moscow’s army has previously taken Shevchenko, another settlement near the hub.
          • Residents of Orenburg, Russia, were advised to seek shelter from a potential drone strike by Ukraine by regional officials. The area is home to Russian strategic missile force installations.
          • The chief psychiatrist of the Ukrainian army was detained, according to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), on suspicion of corruption. Authorities estimate that the suspect has amassed approximately $1 million in “unjustified assets” since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
          • Valery Gerasimov, the chief of staff of the Russian Army, inspected a motorized rifle brigade and a tank division engaged in combat close to the Ukrainian supply center in Pokrovsk. Gerasimov was seen on camera presenting awards to soldiers after arriving in a helicopter.
          • Nine Ukrainian drones over Rostov in southern Russia and seven over Crimea, which Russia took from Ukraine in 2014, were shot down by Moscow’s air defense units. There were no reports of damage or casualties.
          • According to a Kyiv military source cited by the AFP news agency, 229 Ukrainian citizens are still in the heavily Russian-fired city of Chasiv Yar. According to the AFP, a large number of people who remain in the city are either elderly or crippled.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • Donald Trump, the president of the United States, told reporters that he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that Putin was “destroying Russia” by not reaching a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine. Trump voiced concern about Moscow’s economy and stated that he believed “Russia is going to be in big trouble”.
          • If the Kremlin refuses to negotiate a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, Trump threatened to impose further penalties on Russia. Trump said that the European Union should do more to help Kyiv, but he also stated that the US was considering sending arms to Ukraine.
          • According to Kremlin foreign policy assistant Yuri Ushakov, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin spoke during a video conference on the prospects for a possible peace agreement to put an end to Moscow’s war against Ukraine. According to Ushakov, the two presidents also discussed matters concerning Syria, Taiwan, the Middle East, and the Korean Peninsula.
          • According to Ushakov, the Trump administration has not yet contacted Moscow about a meeting, according to Turkish news agency Anadolu Ajansi. He allegedly declared, “We are ready”.
          • Speaking to delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that in order to ensure peace and security for both itself and others, Europe must establish itself as a powerful global leader, create a coordinated defense strategy, and be prepared to increase defense spending.
          • Zelenskyy also questioned Trump’s dedication to European security and NATO during his speech, mentioning that Ukraine was attempting to arrange a meeting with the US president.
          • Zelenskyy declared that Ukraine will not acquiesce to Russian demands that any future peace deal reduce Kyiv’s military capabilities. This is his desire. “This is not going to happen”, Zelenskyy declared in Davos.
          • Zelenskyy also informed delegates in Davos that any agreement to stop the war with Russia would require at least 200,000 European peacekeepers. “It’s nothing else”, he stated.
          • Putin spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi over the phone, according to TASS. According to reports they talked on the Middle East and Ukraine crisis as well as cooperative initiatives between the two nations.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,062

Combating

• • • • • • According to Ukraine’s Air Force, it shot down 93 of the 141 drones that Russia launched during the course of the night. Additionally, the Air Force reported that two of the drones went back to Russia and that 47 of them were “lost”.
          • Russia claimed to have shot down 31 Ukrainian drones that had mostly targeted industrial locations in the Tatarstan area of Russia, which is over 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from the Ukrainian border. There have been no reports of casualties or damage.
          • According to Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of Russia’s Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, 14 Ukrainian drones were destroyed there. According to him, Kyiv also launched four HIMARS missiles, manufactured in the US, toward Bryansk locations.
          • Following the release of video evidence showing a military police officer using stun guns and a baton to abuse Russian soldiers en route to Ukraine, Moscow authorities opened an investigation. According to authorities, an investigation is underway and the perpetrators of the assault have been identified.
          • According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, its forces have taken control of the eastern Ukrainian settlements of Shevchenko and Novoiehorivka. Shevchenko is located a few kilometers from Pokrovsk, which serves as a vital supply base for the forces of Kyiv.
          • James Scott Rhys Anderson, a 22-year-old British national who was apprehended while battling Ukrainian soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region, has been charged with terrorism by Russia. Anderson could spend up to 35 years in a Russian prison after being charged with being a “mercenary”.
          • According to reports, Kyiv struck a Russian-occupied town in Kherson, Ukraine’s south, killing two people and wounding over a dozen more. Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed governor of the area, said that children were among the injured and accused Ukraine of shooting “cluster munitions” close to a school.
          • Two generals and a colonel were arrested by Ukraine’s State Investigation Bureau for allegedly “inaction” and falling to resist against a Russian onslaught that in 2024 made it possible to capture portions of eastern Kharkiv.
          • In an interview with Ukrainian interrogators, a wounded North Korean soldier stated that Pyongyang’s forces defending Moscow are losing a lot of soldiers. The soldier provided a thorough description of the forces’ arrival, training, and work routines, despite Moscow’s refusal to recognize the use of North Korean troops to fight in the Kursk region on Russia’s behalf.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine and Vladimir Putin of Russia congratulated Donald Trump on his inauguration as US president.
          • Trump’s return to the White House, according to Zelenskyy, is a “opportunity” for “just peace” in Ukraine.
          • Putin declared that under Donald Trump’s presidency, he was “open to dialogue” with Ukraine. A “lasting peace based on respect for the legitimate interest of all people” should be guaranteed by any deal, he added.
          • In response to Trump’s promise that the war will end swiftly, French President Emmanuel Macron issued a warning that Russia’s war on Ukraine would not cease “tomorrow or the day after”.

Russian Oil and Gas

• • • • • • Vadim Kransoselsky, the head of Transnistria, declared that the separatist enclave was prepared to purchase gas from Moldova. He claimed that despite sending a letter to Moldovagaz on Saturday, they had not heard back.
          • Due to European Union sanctions on Russian oil and gas exports, the Finnish Border Guard said that Russia’s oil shipments over the Baltic Sea had decreased by about 10% over the last four months.

Assistance for Humanitarian Causes

• • • • • • With the establishment of “unity hubs” in Berlin and other places later to help with employment, housing, and educational prospects, the Ukrainian government announced plans to step up efforts to persuade refugees in Germany to return home. Many Ukrainians were “seriously considering” going back home, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,061

Combating

• • • • • • The alleged “cannibalistic massacre” of at least seven citizens in the western Russian village of Russkoe Porechnoye, which Ukraine has controlled since last August, has prompted Russia to announce the opening of criminal investigations. According to reports, Russian forces discovered bodies in a residential building’s basement.
          • Oleksandr Syrskii, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Army, claimed that his forces are experiencing a scarcity of mechanized unites. Additionally, he stated that the military’s mobilization capacity is “insufficient” to meet its demands and that people with different specialties are being deployed to fill the gaps “within reasonable” bounds.
          • In December 2024, the Ukrainian General Staff accused Russian forces of deploying munitions containing prohibited substances 434 times in Ukraine, increasing the number of so documented occurrences to 5,389 since February 2023.
          • The Ukrainian Air Force claims to have shot down 43 of 61 Russian drone assaults during an overnight raid that targeted nine different Ukrainian districts. There were no immediate reports of significant damage or casualties.
          • Citing Russia’s Ministry of Defense, the news agency Interfax said that Russian forces had taken control of the Vozdvyzhenka settlement in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
          • According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian forces have recently made progress in the Ukrainian territories of Kupyansk, Lyman, Chasiv Yar, Torestsk, kurakhove, and Velyka Novosilka, as well as the Russian region of Kursk, where Ukrainian forces have seized some land. Since then, Ukrainian forces have taken back lost ground in Toretsk and Chasiv Yar, according to ISW.
          • Additionally, the ISW stated that Russian volunteer military units are still increasing the number of soldiers in the Russian Army by enlisting women in the conflict.

Military Assistance

• • • • • • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy once more called “the strong support” of Ukraine’s friends and for additional Patriot air defense systems manufactured in the United States. This comes after over 1,000 Rusian air offenses in a single week.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,060

Combating

• • • • • • Three persons were killed and three injured in Saturday’s Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian capital. The victims, according to Kyiv municipal officials, were a 41-year-old lady and two men, ages 25 and 43.
          • A Russian assault in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia killed one person and injured eleven others, according to Governor Ivan Fedorov, who called the attack “cynical” and “while everyone was sleeping”.
          • Governor Oleksandr Prokudin of the southern Kherson region said that a mortar attack on Beryslav killed two people.
          • Overnight, Ukraine’s air force claimed to have shot down 24 Russian assault drones and two Iskander ballistic missiles.
          • Russia claimed to have captured the villages of Vremivka and Petropavlivka as part of its offensive in the eastern Donetsk region.
          • In the early hours of Saturday, Ukrainian drones struck an oil store in the Tula area of Russia, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence unit. The Russian governor of the region had earlier reported a fuel tank fire at an industrial site.
          • Following a Ukrainian drone strike, authorities reportedly reported a fire at an industrial location in the nearby Kaluga region.

Politics And Diplomacy

• • • • • • In what Sweden is describing as its most important operation to date as a member of the Western defense alliance, over 50 Swedish soldiers arrived in Latvia to join a multinational brigade led by Canada along NATO’s eastern flank.
          • In the case of a truce with Russia, German Defense Ministers Boris Pistorius told the Suddeutsche Zeitung that he is willing to send German troops to Ukraine to assist in securing a demilitarized zone there.
          • Pistorius stated that Germany should strive to spend roughly 3% of GDP on defense prior to the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump. According to Trump, NATO nations should spend 5% of their GDP on defense.
          • Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the departing US ambassador to the UN, said in an interview with The Associated Press news agency that a second Trump term may further damage US global leadership, which she claimed was weakened during Trump’s first term and let China fill the hole.
          • Reiterating Kremlin concerns over British military deployments under a new 100-year partnership deal announced by Kyiv and London on Thursday, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs cautioned that Ukraine and the United Kingdom “have no room” for cooperation in the Sea of Azov.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,058

Combating

• • • • • • A significant armaments facility in Russia’s Tambov region was hit, according to a Ukrainian official. Regarding the reported attack, Russia remained silent.
          • According to Ukraine’s Khartiia Brigade, it used an unmanned vehicle equipped with a heavy machinegun in combat for the first time ever. According to the brigade, it was the first known ground attack of its kind in the conflict against Russia to use an autonomous combat vehicle. According to the brigade, a barrage of Russian artillery fire greeted the vehicle.
          • Ukraine announced that it had found a former official guilty of high treason for supporting Russian soldiers and sentenced him to 15 years in jail. It is thought that the official gave Russia’s soldiers food and information on the Sumy region of Ukraine.

Security in the Region

• • • • • • According to Pekka Turunen, chief of Finland’s military intelligence, planned military reforms in Russia are expected to boost Moscow’s force capabilities by 30%. According to him, this poses a threat to NATO and needs to be handled carefully.

Russian Gas and Oil

• • • • • • Moldova and Transnistria accused one another of sabotaging a planned Friday conference to address the separatist enclave’s chronic electricity problem. According to the Moldovan Bureau for Reintegration, Transnistria turned down Chisinau’s request for a meeting, and the Foreign Ministry of Transnistria placed the responsibility on Oleg Serebrian, Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration.

Diplomacy

• • • • • • In the case of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, Ukraine will receive security assurances under a “historic” 100-year pact negotiated by the UK and Ukraine. The agreement, which acknowledges Ukraine as a “future NATO ally,” addresses trade, energy, and defense.
          • In addition to promising to provide a “mobile air defense system” that is customized to meet Ukraine’s demands, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that his nation would play its “full part” in ensuring Ukraine’s security. Additionally, by establishing new security frameworks in the Black Sea, Baltic Sea, and Sea of Azov, he pledged to strengthen maritime cooperation with Ukraine.
          • Following Ukraine’s incursion into Russian territory last August, Russian and Ukrainian officials have discussed the search for missing citizens of the Kursk border region. Russia claims that roughly 1,000 individuals are missing, while Ukraine claims that about 2,000 civilians are still in the area it controls.

Assistance for Humanitarian Causes

• • • • • • A $3.32 billion appeal has been launched by the UN for 2025 to aid the 8.2 million people impacted by the conflict in Ukraine, including refugees. This year, humanitarian organizations in Ukraine also intend to provide basic services to six million individuals.
          • The international community must support humanitarian assistance initiatives with “the same determination as the Ukrainian people,” according to UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher.
          • “This is not the time to forget the millions of Ukrainians who have been displaced,” said Filippo Grandi, High Commissioner of the UN Refugee Agency, emphasizing the necessity for ongoing assistance for the Ukrainian people.
          • The Register of Damages for Ukraine, which opened in The Hague in April, has received over 13,000 submissions from Ukrainians who have lost family members as a result of Russia’s war on their nation. These submissions seek more than $821 million in reparations for damage, loss, and injury. The register, which was established by the European Union and the Council of Europe, will eventually calculate a sum of money in order to demand compensation from Moscow for its war on Ukraine.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,057

Combating

• • • • • • According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia launched 74 drones and 43 cruise and ballistic missiles toward its western region.
          • In response to Kyiv’s aerial assault on Russian army industries and energy hubs using US ATACMS missiles and UK-made Storm Shadow missiles, Russian authorities confirmed the attack.
          • President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine denounced Russia’s recent attacks on the nation’s energy industry and demanded that Kyiv be let to purchase weapons with over $250 billion in confiscated Russian assets. He also called for increased security assistance from international partners.
          • According to Russian regional governor Alexander Gusev, a fire broke out at an oil storage facility in southern Russia as a result of falling debris from downed Ukrainian drones. There were no recorded casualties.

Security in the region

• • • • • • A partnership deal that would regulate relations between Russia and Iran for the next 20 years is anticipated to be signed. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Moscow to discuss the matter.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • As part of a prisoner exchange agreement, President Zelenskyy said that 25 Ukrainians, some of whom battled at the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol, which was subsequently taken over by Russia in 2022, would return “home to Ukraine”.
          • At a press conference, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk claimed that Russia was preparing “acts of terrorism” against Poland and other nations.
          • Zelenskyy stated that following President-elect Donald Tusk claimed that Russia was preparing “acts of terrorism” against Poland and other nations.
          • Zelenskyy stated that following President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration the next week, he anticipates the US will keep bolstering Ukraine’s military capabilities against Russia.
          • In light of the current global circumstances, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte urged partners to “shift to a wartime mindset”. “We must prepare for war in order to prevent it”, he stated.
          • According to reports, Trump’s advisers have acknowledged that it will take months, if not longer, to end the conflict in Ukraine. On his first day in office, Trump has pledged to negotiate a peace agreement.
          • They also favor freezing the country’s existing combat lines, removing Ukraine’s possibility of joining NATO, and establishing a demilitarized area that is manned by European forces.
          • According to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, he could only borrow an extra $3.1 billion to pay for weaponry supplies to Ukraine since “the money isn’t there” otherwise.

Russian gas and oil

• • • • • • Vadim Krasnoselsky, the leader of Moldova’s pro-Moscow breakaway, stated that Transnistria anticipates Russia will once again provide his area with the “humanitarian gas” required to provide heat and electricity for the general populace as well as industrial businesses.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,056

Combating

• • • • • • If it turns out that Oscar Jenkins, an Australian who was seized alive while fighting for Ukraine, was killed by Russian forces, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has promised to take the “strongest possible action” against Russia.
          • The Russian towns of Saratov and Engels were reportedly attacked by Ukraine’s military’s greatest missile and drone raids on Russian territory since the war began, which also caused some damage to enterprises.
          • Asserting that Ukraine has once again used missiles provided by the United States and the United Kingdom against Russia, Russia’s Ministry of Defense declared it would respond to the massive airstrike.
          • According to the Russian Defense Ministry, its forces have taken control of two Ukrainian communities in the Donetsk region: Neskuchne, located farther south, and Terny which is close to the town of Siversk.
          • Due to Russian soldiers’ approach only a few kilometers away, steelmaker Metinvest said that it was closing its coal mine close to the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine. “We cannot jeopardize the lives of thousands of workers and their families,” Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of Metinvest, stated in a statement.

Russian gas and oil

• • • • • • TurkStream is the final pipeline that carries Russian gas exports into Europe, and Russia has accused the US of trying to damage it.
          • Following the suspension of Russian gas supplies to the breakaway province of Transnistria, Moldova, the leader of the region traveled to Moscow for negotiations aimed at resolving an energy crisis.
          • Since January 1, when Russia’s Gazprom halted gas deliveries to the area due to an outstanding $709 million debt owed to Moldova that Moldova does not recognize as legitimate, Transnistria has had extensive power outages.
          • As more ships join Russia’s “shadow fleet” and evade IMO regulations, the head of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) stated that “the risk is growing in relation to the environmental impact and the safety of the seafarers.”
          • Following the doubling of the Italian TAL pipeline’s capacity, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala stated that his nation will soon be “able to get all its oil supplies from the West” and no longer need to buy Russian oil.

Diplomacy and politics

• • • • • • Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov hailed US President-elect Donald Trump’s recent statements that the US desire for Ukraine to join NATO was a factor in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during his yearly news conference in Moscow. “Trump claimed that NATO did precisely what it had pledged not to do,” Lavrov stated.
          • In light of the upcoming Trump administration in the United States, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius declared during a news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv that European nations would step up their efforts to strengthen Europe’s defense.
          • In order to protect any peace agreement that ends the nearly three-year conflict with Russia, Zelenskyy said he has had additional talks with French President Emmanuel Macron over the potential deployment of Western troops in Ukraine.
          • In response to intentional damage to underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea region during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, NATO commander Mark Rutte said the US-led military alliance will begin a new mission to safeguard underwater cables in the area.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,055

Combating

• • • • • • According to the Moscow Defense Ministry, Ukrainian drones attacked a gas compressor plant for the TurkStream pipeline, which uses Turkiye to transport Russian gas to Europe.
          • Following the attack on the Russkaya pumping station in Russia’s southern Krasnodar area, approximately 320 kilometers (198 miles) from the Ukrainian-Russian war lines, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov spoke of “energy terrorism” controlled by what he called Ukraine’s “transoceanic friends.”
          • Russian forces are avoiding Pokrovsk, an important supply center and strategic bastion in eastern Ukraine that they have been fighting for months to seize. According to Ukraine’s military, their main objective is to cut off the city’s supply lines by attacking a highway that connects it to the city of Dnipro in central Ukraine.
          • Because of the approaching Russian forces, Ukraine halted output at its Pokrovsk coking coal mine, which supplies the nation’s steel sector, according to the Reuters news agency.
          • According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he addressed the possibility of sending Western “contingents” to Ukraine with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron. Zelenskyy did not specify if he was referring to the deployment of peacekeepers or combat troops by the West.
          • According to NATO chief Mark Rutte, Ukraine is not yet in a strong enough position to negotiate a peace agreement with Russia. Rutte informed European Union parliamentarians, “It is evident that Ukraine is not present at this time, as they are unable to negotiate from a position of strength at this time.”

Military assistance

• • • • • • Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, stated that he is against increasing armament supplies to Ukraine if doing so would necessitate budget cuts elsewhere.

Russian gas and oil

• • • • • • According to Reuters, ten EU nations have demanded that the 27-nation bloc prohibit the importation of LNG and pipeline gas from Russia. The Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, and Finland are among the ten nations.
          • Ahead of the third anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the EU is getting ready to implement its 16th set of sanctions aimed at Russia’s economy.
          • The sudden cutoff of Russian gas supplies, which came about as a result of gas transit through pipes in Ukraine, not only threw his territory into an energy crisis but also destroyed its imports and exports, according to the prime minister of Moldova’s separatist Transnistria province.
          • According to Ukrainian consultancy ExPro, Russia’s oil transit via Ukraine dropped 16% in 2024, to its lowest level since Kyiv attained independence in 1991.
          • US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stated that US President Joe Biden thinks oil prices will level off following Washington’s imposition of the most comprehensive set of sanctions to date on Russia’s oil and gas earnings.
          • According to ship tracking data, since the United States unveiled a new sanctions package against Russia on January 10, at least 65 oil tankers have anchored at various sites across the world, including off the coasts of China and Russia.

Security in the region

• • • • • • According to the head of the Finnish inquiry, when Finnish police boarded an oil tanker last month, crew members on board were about to break more cables and pipelines after disrupting underwater power and communications cables in the Baltic Sea.
          • The most effective approach to safeguard vital underwater infrastructure is to identify potential sabotage vessels and restrict their operations, according to Vice President Henna Virkkunen of the European Commission.
          • Following the alleged sabotage of underwater cables that has been generally attributed to Russia, NATO nations on the Baltic Sea will meet in Helsinki today with the goal of enhancing security.
          • During their meeting in Warsaw, defense ministers from Poland, Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom decided to work together to support Ukraine’s armaments sector as it fights the Russian invasion.
          • On February 3, the prime minister of the United Kingdom and the secretary-general of NATO will convene in Belgium for an extraordinary defense “retreat.”

Politics

• • • • • • According to the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit his Iranian counterpart this week to sign a comprehensive partnership agreement between Moscow and Tehran.
          • Biden argued that US President-elect Donald Trump would inherit a country that is perceived as stronger and more dependable than it was four years ago, and that his leadership of US foreign policy has made his country safer and more economically secure.
          • When Trump assumes office next week, he plans to meet with Putin “very quickly.”
          • Following weeks of allegations and threats, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico has extended an invitation to President Zelenskyy to come to Slovakia for negotiations. Fico suggested that Zelenskyy might visit Slovakia via the recently opened direct rail link from Kyiv, stating that Slovakia has always backed its neighbor. “All right,” Zelenskyy said in response to Fico’s counter-invitation on platform X. Come on Friday to Kyiv.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,054

Combating

• • • • • • According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, its troops have taken control of the villages of Kalinove in the northeastern Kharkiv region and Yantarne in the eastern Donetsk region.
          • According to the local military administration, Russian shelling in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine damaged electrical equipment, resulting in over 23,000 houses losing electricity. Kherson’s governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, posted on Telegram, “The Russian military shelled social infrastructure and residential areas of the region’s settlements, in particular, damaging 2 multistory buildings and 8 private houses.”
          • In a 24-hour period, Russian forces launched 139 missile, drone, and artillery attacks on Ukrainian military installations, according to the country’s defense ministry.
          • In exchange for the return of Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he was prepared to turn over captured North Korean soldiers to Pyongyang.

Diplomacy and Politics

• • • • • • In the latest response to claims that an oil tanker from Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” was involved in destroying underwater power and telecommunications cables, Sweden said it will deploy three warships and an ASC 890 surveillance aircraft to the Baltic Sea.
          • The Serbian Broadcasting Corporation reports that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has offered to arrange a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump. Mike Waltz, Trump’s choice for national security advisor, stated to ABC, a US news network, that “preparations are under way” for Trump and Putin to meet.
          • Peter Szijjarto, Hungary’s foreign minister, stated that his nation would consult with partners in the region to determine how to respond to the recent U.S. sanctions on Russian gas and oil, which present “severe challenges for central Europe.”

The surroundings

• • • • • • More than a month after two storm-damaged Russian oil tankers triggered an oil spill in the Kerch Strait, which divides Krasnodar from the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula, which Russia captured and annexed in 2014, an emergency task team arrived in Russia’s southern Krasnodar area.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,053

Combating

• • • • • • As part of its march through Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the army captured Shevchenko, a village close to Pokrovsk, a logistics hub, according to Russia’s Ministry of Defense. The town’s loss has not yet been acknowledged by Ukraine.
          • Around a dozen towns in the Pokrovsk region were the target of 46 out of 56 Russian attacks, according to Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces, and multiple battles were still going on.
          • According to Russian Telegram channel ASTRA, a Ukrainian drone struck one of Russia’s biggest oil refineries in Taneko, Tatarstan.
          • According to a Moscow-installed official, fuel oil spilled from downed Russian tankers has reached the coastline of Ukraine’s partially Russian-occupied Zaporizhia region and poured into the Sea of Azov.
          • President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Saturday that Ukraine has detained two North Korean soldiers in the Kursk area of Russia. Ukraine’s account was supported on Sunday by the National Intelligence Service of South Korea.

The Shadow Fleet

• • • • • • In an effort to prevent an oil catastrophe, Germany is continuing its efforts to recover a heavily loaded tanker that has become stranded off its northern coast. The ship, which it claims is a member of Russia’s sanctions-busting “shadow fleet,” is being towed away from land. Nearly 100,000 tonnes of oil were on board the 274-meter-long Eventin, which was said to be floating and “unable to manoeuvre” in the Baltic Sea.

Sanctions

• • • • • • Russia will proceed with major oil and gas projects, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, condemning fresh U.S. sanctions against Moscow’s energy sector that were imposed on Saturday as an attempt to hurt Russia’s economy at the risk of destabilizing international markets.

Diplomacy

• • • • • • US President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg told an Iranian opposition event in Paris that the world has to revert to a policy of “maximum pressure” against Iran in order to transform it into a more democratic nation. Since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, ties between Russia and Iran have improved dramatically.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,052

Combating

• • • • • • As the conflict in Ukraine continues, investigators told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that a Ukrainian attack on a grocery in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region had left two persons dead and two injured.
          • Denis Pushilin, the leader of Russian-controlled areas of Donetsk, claimed to have “confirmed information” that the attack harmed four persons. He claimed that during the morning rush hour, the Ukrainian army had fired HIMARS missiles provided by the US into the vicinity of the shop.
          • According to a Ukrainian security agency source, Ukraine launched a drone and missile attack against a Russian weapons store and drone storage facility. According to the SBU security service source, the joint operation with the navy had been initiated.
          • Without providing further details, Russian officials said that an industrial complex close to the village of Chaltyr in the Rostov area of Russia, which borders Ukraine, was on fire after being bombarded by drones.

The Shadow Fleet

• • • • • • Germany claimed that one of the “shadow fleets” Moscow uses to evade restrictions on its oil shipments is a heavily loaded tanker ship that is stranded off its northern coast. Nearly 100,000 tonnes of oil were aboard the 274-meter-long Eventin, which was said to be floating and “unable to manoeuvre” in the Baltic Sea.

Sanctions

• • • • • • In an effort to severely restrict funding for Moscow’s war in Ukraine, the United States and the United Kingdom placed additional restrictions on Russia’s energy industry. Ingosstrakh and Alfastrakhovanie, two Russian maritime insurance companies, were also subject to sanctions.
          • According to US President Joe Biden, Russia’s economy will be significantly impacted by the new sanctions placed on Russian oil. In an interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Biden expressed his belief that the expenses of this war for Moscow had given the Ukrainians a “real chance” to defeat Russia.
          • US President Joe Biden says the latest sanctions on Russian oil will have a big effect on Russia’s economy. Biden said he thought the costs of this conflict for Moscow had given the Ukrainians a “real chance” to overcome Russia in an interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
          • The US sanctions, according to Russian insurance provider Ingosstrakh, will make environmental catastrophes more likely. It stated, “When Ingosstrakh is removed from the market, a void is created that will unavoidably be filled by shady insurers who lack the ability or desire to guarantee compliance or settle claims.”
          • Despite the measures, which it described as “unjustified, illegitimate, and contrary to the principles of free competition,” Gazprom Neft, which was also subject to UK sanctions, stated that it will continue to function and preserve commercial resilience.
          • Following Washington’s announcement of sanctions against a number of energy companies, including a Serbian company, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic declared he would negotiate with Putin. The only gas supplier to Serbia and the primary owner of the two gas pipelines that carry gas from Russia to Serbian homes and businesses is the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), which is mostly controlled by Gazprom Neft of Russia and its parent company, Gazprom.

Military assistance

• • • • • • The Spiegel weekly said on Friday that the German cabinet is divided on whether to authorize $3.1 billion in additional military aid to Ukraine.
          • As part of a significant aid package promised by the top economies of the Group of Seven (G7), the European Commission gave Ukraine $3.1 billion. The $50 billion loan that the G7 and EU want to give Ukraine is backed by interest income from Russian state assets that have been blocked in the West.

Tension in the region

• • • • • • According to the EU Aviation Safety Agency, the downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane demonstrates that, given the conflict in Ukraine, flying over Russia presents a “high risk” to civilian aircraft. The organization reiterated its advice to airlines not to fly over Russian airspace in the west.
          • According to a document obtained by the DPA news agency, the German government would suggest permitting the military to fire down suspicious drones conducting unlawful flights within the nation in some situations.
          • According to Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, Poland has identified a Russian organization that is responsible for spreading misinformation and inciting instability in order to influence Polish elections. Warsaw claims that because it serves as a supply center for Ukraine, it has become a target for sabotage and spies for Russia and its partner Belarus.
          • After Moscow cut off gas supplies last week, the breakaway Moldovan territory of Transnistria said it was “counting” on Russia to help it get through an unprecedented energy crisis.
          • As it struggles with an energy crisis following the loss of access to Russian gas supplies that had supported its economy for decades, Transdniestria prolonged its state of emergency for an additional month.
          • Slovakian left-wing populist Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Ukraine policies sparked thousands of protests in towns throughout the country. Fico was accused by the protesters of taking a pro-Russian stance and of “betraying” neighboring Ukraine and Western friends.

Politics

• • • • • • In an effort to postpone President-elect Donald Trump’s attempts to change the deportation safeguards now in place for 900,000 immigrants from Venezuela, El Salvador, Ukraine, and Sudan, President Biden’s administration maintained such protections.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,051

Combating

• • • • • • Governor Vadym Filaskhin said Russian soldiers shelled the village of Siversk in the Donetsk area, killing two civilians.
          • Moscow-appointed Governor Yevgeny Belitsky reported that Ukrainian fire also killed two persons in the town of Kamyanka-Dniprovska in the Russian-controlled Zaporizhia region. At least 13 civilians were killed and over 30 others were injured in a Russian guided bombing on Wednesday in an area of the territory under Ukrainian authority.
          • Since the beginning of its full-scale invasion almost three years ago, Russia has launched almost 51,000 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s air force.

Armaments

• • • • • • According to the UK’s Ministry of Defense, 30,000 recently ordered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will be sent to Kyiv by an international coalition led by the UK and Latvia to purchase UAVs for Ukraine.

Diplomacy and politics

• • • • • • Donald Trump, the US president-elect, said that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin were meeting. He didn’t give the meeting a deadline.
          • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that promises of an extra $2 billion in military assistance to help Kyiv fight the battle against Russia were made during the most recent meetings with Kyiv’s Western partners in Germany.
          • According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Ukraine will get an additional $500 million in military assistance from the US, which will include air defense missiles, air-to-ground munitions, and F-16 fighter jet support equipment.
          • After meeting with other allies in Germany, Zelenskyy met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome. Meloni “reiterated the all-round support that Italy ensures and will continue to provide” to defend Ukraine at the meeting.
          • According to a post on X, French President Emmanuel Macron met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, during which they discussed a number of other topics and reiterated their commitment to defend Ukraine.
          • The pro-Russian separatist enclave of Transnistria is experiencing an energy crisis, which Moldovan President Maia Sandu blamed on Russian gas giant Gazprom while visiting areas affected by rolling power outages. Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Kremlin, blamed Ukraine and Moldova for the power and heating outages.
          • Ahead of a weekend cold snap that may cause temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius, Transnistrian officials said that blackouts would be shortened from eight hours per day to five starting on Friday.
          • Following discussions with EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen, Prime Minister Robert Fico issued a warning, saying Slovakia is considering reprisal against Ukraine, including withholding aid, if a solution is not found to Kyiv’s decision to cut off Russian gas.
          • In response to Trump’s demand that NATO countries increase defense expenditure to 5% of GDP, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his disapproval. According to him, present NATO regulations mandate that alliance countries allocate 2% of their GDP to defense.

Transport

• • • • • • Due to the possibility of inadvertently being targeted by Russia’s air defense systems, the EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has cautioned non-European carriers against operating in western Russian airspace.
          • According to the EASA, the high risk was illustrated by the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft in Kazakhstan last month, which occurred after Russian air defenses opened fire on Ukrainian drones. The crash claimed the lives of at least 38 persons.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,050

Combating

• • • • • • At least 13 civilians were murdered and over 30 others were injured in a Russian-guided bombing in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, according to a social media post by Governor Ivan Fedorov.
          • Fedorov added that two individuals were killed in a separate Russian hit along the front line in the village of Stepnogirsk, south of Zaporizhzhia.
          • Two firefighters were killed fighting a fire that started when Ukrainian forces struck an oil store in the area, which is around 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border, according to Roman Busagrin, governor of the Russian city of Saratov.
          • Russia launched 70 drones against Ukraine overnight, according to the Ukrainian military. Of those drones, 24 “imitator drones” failed to reach their targets, while 46 were shot down by Ukraine’s air force. In three areas of Ukraine, private homes were damaged in the attack.
          • North Korea is “significantly benefitting” from its troops fighting alongside Russia against Ukraine, the United States warned the UN Security Council, adding that Pyongyang is “more capable of waging war against its neighbors” as a result of the experience gained.
          • At a UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, deputy UN rights chief Nada Al-Nashif expressed her “deep concern” about a sharp rise in “credible allegations of executions” of Ukrainian servicemen taken prisoner by the Russian military.

Military assistance

• • • • • • According to two US sources, the US is prepared to give Ukraine an extra $500 million worth of weapons that can be swiftly removed from its current stockpiles. The administration of US President Joe Biden is making this move before Donald Trump takes office.
          • A day before the anticipated introduction of the new military aid package, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated that US leadership on Ukraine is “critical” and that ongoing support for Kyiv is essential.

Diplomacy and Politics

• • • • • • According to Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, NATO membership is the only “credible” security assurance Ukraine can get against any future Russian aggression.
          • In Kyiv, Valtonen met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and saw the nation’s largest children’s hospital, which had suffered significant damage from a Russian attack in July 2024.
          • According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, any future agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine must include “the necessary deterrence” to stop Russia from attacking Ukraine in the future.
          • In their final meeting before Donald Trump returns to the White House in less than two weeks, Zelenskyy and Ukraine’s Western friends will meet Thursday at the Ramstein US Air Base in Germany.
          • During his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to discuss issues such as illegal migration and assistance for Ukraine.
          • On the five anniversary of the 2020 Iranian shooting down of a Ukrainian Airlines flight carrying passengers from Canada, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Afghanistan, and Iran, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended a memorial service.

Tension in the region

• • • • • • After Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto criticized Ukraine for not renewing a five-year transit gas deal with Russia, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the country is prepared to replace Hungary in the European Union and NATO should Budapest choose to join blocs led by Russia.
          • Authorities warned that a cutoff in Russian supplies will throw the separatist state into crisis, causing the breakaway Moldovan part of Transnistria to run out of gas used for limited cooking and heating in less than a month.
          • Next week, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal and Finnish President Alexander Stubb will host a summit of NATO nations bordering the Baltic Sea in Helsinki.
          • Citing the possibility of sabotage, Lithuania announced that it will implement enhanced protection for a vital electrical connection that connects it to neighboring Poland. As part of decades-long attempts to lessen dependency on Moscow, the EU and NATO member, along with its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Estonia, is scheduled to disengage from the Russian power system next month.
          • The idea of inviolability of boundaries applies to all nations, regardless of their power, according to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He also suggested that European leaders are responding to US President-elect Trump’s expansionist remarks about Greenland, Panama, and Canada with “incomprehension.”
          • Zelenskyy downplayed worries about Trump’s remarks that he could understand Russia’s opposition to Ukraine joining NATO. Zelenskyy cautioned against making snap judgments about US policies.
          • During a visit to Moscow last month to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin, shortly before Ukraine suspended gas transit from Russia at the beginning of 2025, Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico announced that he had secured a gas supply for Slovakia.
          • Zelenskyy and Maia Sandu, the president of Moldova, talked about using Ukrainian coal to alleviate the energy crisis that has caused blackouts and a scarcity of heating in the separatist Transdniestria area of Moldova. Russian gas supplies are essential to pro-Russian Transdniestria. But after Ukraine declined to extend an agreement to permit gas to pass via its borders, shipments to the region via Ukraine were stopped on January 1.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,049

Combating

• • • • • • Russia claimed to have taken Kurakhove, a strategically important town in eastern Ukraine, but Kyiv says its soldiers are still engaged in combat there. The “important logistics hub” was captured, and Moscow celebrated the news, claiming it would allow Russian forces to seize the remaining eastern Donetsk territory “at an accelerated pace”.
          • In its first significant comments two days after Russian claims of a renewed Ukrainian push in the region, Ukraine also stated that its soldiers were “coming new offensive actions” in Russia’s western Kursk region.
          • In the last 24 hours, 218 conflicts have occurred on all frontline lines, according to the Ukrainian General Staff in Kyiv. The army repulsed 94 Russian attacks in the Kursk region alone.
          • In a statement, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that its forces had attacked Ukrainian units in the Kursk area. It also named six areas where it claimed to have routed Ukrainian brigades and seven more, including one on the Ukrainian side of the border, where it claimed to have attacked Ukrainian troops and equipment.
          • Additionally, the Ukrainian Army claimed to have carried out a “precision strike” against a Russian Army “military command post” in the Kursk region, close to Belaya.
          • According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a defense think tank located in the United States, Ukraine’s Southern Defense Force reported that its soldiers destroyed two Osa surface-to-air missile systems in unidentified regions in the country’s south.
          • According to the ISW, geolocated video footage shows that Russian forces currently control over 71% of the town of Toretsk in the eastern Donetsk area of Ukraine.
          • The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that hundreds of people, including children, had been killed or injured in Ukraine during the first week of January, according to UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
          • Due to temperatures falling below zero in several areas of Ukraine over the last three days, Dujarric stated that “homes, gas facilities, and electricity infrastructure have been damaged in several frontline regions, exposing civilians to heightened health risks”.
          • According to him, the Kherson region alone in the southern part of the country has seen damage to over 60 residential buildings.

Security in the region

• • • • • • The anchor of an accused Russian “shadow fleet” oil ship that is suspected of destroying power and communications lines on the Baltic Sea seabed was recovered with assistance from Sweden’s navy.
          • The Eagle S tanker carrying Russian oil was seized by Finland last month on suspicion of damaging four communication cables and the Finish-Estonian Estlink 2 power line by dragging its anchor over the seabed.
          • According to the Yle public TV, which cited the Swedish Navy, Finnish officials had seized the tanker’s anchor with the assistance Swedish vessel.

Criminal Activity

• • • • • • In March 2024, a German couple admitted to murdering a Ukrainian refugee and her mother in order to take her child. The two defendants acknowledged to killing the 27-year-old Ukrainian and her 51-year-old mother on the first day of the trial at Mannheim District Court. In a statement read aloud by attorneys, the guy stated, “I regret everything I have done”. “I made a big mistake”, his wife added.

Diplomacy and Politics

• • • • • • According to Slovakia’s government office, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will meet with European Commission members in Brussels on Thursday to discuss ending Russian gas transit through Ukraine.
          • US President-elect Donald Trump asserted that US President Joe Biden had shifted Washington’s stance on Ukraine’s NATO membership and that he was aware of Moscow’s feelings over the military alliance’s entry. At some point, Biden said, ‘No. It should be possible for Ukraine to join NATO. Then Russia has someone at their doorstep, and I can see how that would make them uncomfortable”, Trump remarked.
          • Andrii Sybiha, the foreign minister of Ukraine, stated that Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, had called off a meeting that he called “extremely important”. According to Sybiha, Kellogg, a distinguished former three star- general, will reschedule the meeting.
          • Kajas Kallas, the head of European Union foreign policy, has charged Russia with waging a “hybrid war” against Moldova, where the breakaway territory of Transnistria has been without Russian gas since January 1, and using its natural gas supply as a “weapon”.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,048

Combating

• • • • • • According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, its troops have taken control of the town of Dachenske, which is located south of Pokrovsk, another important city in the Donetsk area of eastern Ukraine.
          • According to Ukrainian authorities, a Russian drone strike on Monday hit a bus in a neighborhood of Kherson, killing one person and wounding eight others.
          • The five-month incursion by Ukrainian forces into Kursk region has resulted in approximately 15,000 Russian casualties, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “Kyiv’s troops have been able to create a buffer zone through the occupation of the southern Russian region, which has forces Moscow to move military units away from front-line areas in eastern Ukraine”, he continued.
          • A French army officer informed the AFP news agency that several dozen Ukrainian soldiers had fled while undergoing training in France. A disciplinary system has been “imposed by the Ukrainian command” on the troops.

Diplomacy and Politics

• • • • • • As Ukraine’s struggle against the Russian invasion enters its fourth year, French President Emmanuel Macron has urged Ukraine to have “realistic” expectations about territory, stating that he does not see a “quick and easy solution” to the conflict.
          • Concerned about the deteriorating situation in Transnistria, Moldova authorities have called in a Russian official. Russia suspended gas supplies, putting the breakaway area at risk of a total blackout.
          • According to sources, retired Lieutenant-General Keith Kellogg, the incoming envoy of US President-elect Donald Trump to Ukraine, has delayed a fact-finding trip to Kyiv and other European cities until after Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
          • While celebrating Christmas with Vladimir Putin, the head of the kremlin, the patriarch of Russia’s Orthodox Church declared that the West hates Russia and its “alternative path of civilized development”.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,047

Combating

• • • • • • Kurakhove, a town in the Donetsk area of Ukraine, was reportedly taken over by Russian forces. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that taking Kurakhove “has significantly hampered the logistics and technical support” of Ukrainian soldiers. 32 kilometers (20 miles) south of Pokrovsk, a crucial Ukrainian logistical center that Russia has been moving closer to for months, is Kurakhove.
          • According to the Russian defense ministry, the Interfax news agency said that Russian forces also took control of the settlement of Dachenske, which is located immediately south of Pokrovsk. A Ukrainian attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor was repulsed by Russia on Sunday, it claimed.
          • Russia launched two kh-59 cruise missiles overnight, which the Ukrainian air force claimed to have shot down. It further stated that 49 “imitator drones” failed to reach their objectives and that 79 of the 128 drones that were launched were shot down.
          • In the Kursk region of western Russia, where Moscow’s forces have been attempting to drive Ukrainian troops back for the past five months, the Ukrainian military launched a fresh onslaught on Sunday.
          • According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, Ukraine lost as many as 340 servicemen in the Kursk region in the last day. It claimed to have shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 as well.
          • Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, stated on Sunday that Ukraine launched a counterattack in Kursk and that “Russia is getting what it deserves”. He also added that there was “good news” for Ukraine from the region.
          • Russia launched artillery attacks on the Nikopol region “half a dozen times” during the course of the night, according to Serhiy Lysak, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine. He said that a “suicide drone over the region” was also launched by Moscow. There were no recorded casualties.
          • According to a statement from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), large explosions were heard close to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, which coincided with claims of a drone strike on the plant’s training facility. As of now, the IAEA has been unable to verify any impact of the strikes. Additionally, the IAEA crew stated that they heard machine-gun fire originating from the location several times.

Diplomacy and Politics

• • • • • • Speaking Monday in Seoul, South Korea, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stated that Ukraine’s stance in Kursk is “important” since it will “factor in any negotiation that may come about in the coming year”.
          • According to Blinken, the US thinks Russia is increasing space collaboration with North Korea un return for its military support in the conflict in Ukraine. Russian military training and equipment are already being sent to the DPRK. We now have good cause to think that Moscow wants to give Pyongyang access to cutting-edge satellite and space technology”, he said.
          • The departing government of President Joe Biden, which has provided Kyiv with billions of dollars in security help since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, wants to make sure that “Ukraine has the strongest possible hand to play”, according to Blinken.
          • According to President Zelenskyy, the United States must offer Kyiv security guarantees in order for the conflict to cease. “Security guarantees are impossible without the United States. In an interview with US podcaster Lex Fridman that was released on Sunday, he stated, “I mean these security guarantees that can prevent Russian aggression”. Zelenskyy claimed that if Washington were to leave the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military alliance, Russia would escalate in Europe and that Ukrainian were depending on Trump to pressure Moscow to stop its conflict.
          • After Ukraine terminated the agreement that permits Russian gas to pass through its territory to certain European nations, including Slovakia, a team from the Slovak government went to Brussels to examine the gas situation.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,046

Combating

• • • • • • After claiming to have shot down eight ATACMS missiles supplied by the US and fired by Ukraine at its border region of Belgorod, Russia has promised to retaliate.
          • According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, fighting in the southern Kursk region of Russia resulted in significant losses for both North Korean and Russian soldiers. According to him, Makhnovka village saw the deaths of up to a battalion of North Korean soldiers.
          • Zelenskyy added that two villages in the Sumy region and the nearby Kharkiv region were struck by guided Russian bombings.
          • Ten persons, including two children, were injured in a Russian guided bombing at a town close to the Russian border in the northeastern Sumy area of Ukraine.
          • According to Ukraine’s air force, during a nighttime onslaught, Russia launched 103 drones, 61 of which were shot down by its air defense. Forty-two other drones were reported “lost”.
          • According to the Russian news agency Izvestia, Alexander Martemyanov, a freelance correspondent, was killed by a Ukrainian drone strike. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, at least 15 journalists have been killed, according to data previously provided by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
          • Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, condemned Martemyanov’s death as a “deliberate murder” in a post on her ministry’s website.
          • Two of Martemyanov’s travelling correspondents, as well as two journalists form a Donetsk-based publication, were hurt in the event, according to Russia’s RIA news agency.
          • According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, its troops have captured the village of Nadiya in the eastern Luhansk area of Ukraine and destroyed eight ATACMS missiles manufactured in the United States.
          • Additionally, the ministry reported that ten Ukrainian drones were shot down by its air defense systems over Russian territory, including three over the northern Leningrad region.
          • According to Russian news outlets, Russia’s defense ministry declared that its troops had captured the village of Nadiya in the eastern Luhansk area of Ukraine.

Diplomacy and Politics

• • • • • • According to local authorities, the pro-Russian breakaway Moldovan territory of Transnistria has been forces to impose rolling power outages due to the lack of Russian gas supplies via neighboring Ukraine.
          • Off the coast of Sevastopol, the biggest city in Moscow-annexed Crimea, oil from two aging and damaged Russian ships was found, according to a Moscow-installed official.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,045

Combating

• • • • • • A Russian drone strike on Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, left one person dead and five injured.
          • A elderly in southern Zaporizhia was murdered by a separate Russian bombardment.
          • Local officials said two people were killed in Ukrainian attacks on Russian border territories. A mortar strike on a settlement in the Bryansk area killed one. In the Kursk area, another person lost their life in a drone strike close to the battle lines.
          • According to the air force on Saturday, 34 of the 81 drones that Russia launched overnight were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses. 47 drones were reported as “lost”.
          • At 07:15 GMT on Saturday, Russia’s aviation agency Rosaviatsia confirmed that the temporary flight restrictions that had been in place at the country’s Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg had been lifted.
          • One person was killed, five people were injured, and two residences were destroyed when three missiles impacted a residential area close to the city of Chernihiv in northern Ukraine.
          • In the Donetsk area of Ukraine, the town of Sloviansk was shelled close to the front line, injuring four people.
          • In the first three days of 2025, Russia launched 20 missiles and 300 attack drones at Ukrainian targets, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
          • According to a new research, Russia has conquered 4,168 square kilometers (1,609 square miles) of territory in Donetsk at the expense of 430,000 men.
          • According to the French magazine Avions Legendaries, Ukraine is expected to get its first French Mirage 2000-5F multirole jets this month.
          • Following numerous drone assaults by Ukraine, a Russian court has ordered Yandex, the country’s largest search engine, to conceal maps and images of one of the nation’s largest oil refineries, according to state news agency TASS.

Military assistance

• • • • • • White House spokeswoman John Kirby says U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to announce more security aid for Ukraine in the next few days.

Security in the region

• • • • • • According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, China stepped in to prevent Russia from deploying nuclear weapons in Ukraine, he told the Financial times.
          • An oil tanker that authorities believe damaged four telecommunications cables and an underwater power line in the Baltic Sea has been denied release by a Finnish court. On December 25, four telecom lines and the cable between Finland and Estonia were broken while the Eagle S Tanker was transporting Russian oil.

Politics

• • • • • • Vasily Nebenzya, the Russian ambassador to the UN, told Rossiya-1 TV, the state media network, that US President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to stop the war in Ukraine were “nothing of interest”.
          • This weekend marks the start of Blinken’s last tour in his position, which the State Department said will end with discussions with French officials in Paris to talk about Ukraine and European security.

Environment

• • • • • • Off the coast of Sevastopol, the biggest city in Moscow-annexed Crimea, oil from two aging and damaged Russian oil tankers was found Friday, local officials said. Last month, a storm struck the ships, sinking one and causing the other to go aground, spilling over 2,400 tonnes of heavy fuel oil into the nearby waterways.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,044

Combating

• • • • • • In Maryino, in the Kursk region of Russia, where Ukrainian forces control swaths of land following a significant cross-border incursion, the Ukrainian military claimed to have carried out a high-precision hit on a Russian command post.
          • The regional governor of Kursk reported that strikes had damaged a high-rise apartment and other buildings, while Russia’s military claimed that air defense forces had shot down four Ukrainian missiles in the Kursk region.
          • The Ukrainian military posted a video on social media purporting to show damage to a Russian base in the Kursk region’s Ivanovskoye, which is close to Maryino.
          • A number of drones targeting areas close to the Ukrainian border, including two in the Belgorod region, two in the Bryansk region, and one in the Kursk region, were shot down by Russia’s air defenses late Thursday, according to the country’s Ministry of Defense. Four drones were shot down in the Oryol region of Russia, according to the territory’s governor.
          • Additionally, Moscow reported that Russian forces had destroyed six HIMARS rocket launchers supplied by the US, 97 drones, and a Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jet.
          • Ukraine reported that its forces destroyed 47 out of 72 Russian drones that were aimed at the nation during the course of the night, and that an additional 24 drones were destroyed as a result of electronic jamming.
          • Following reports that hundreds of soldiers had abandoned an army unit that had received some French training, Ukraine launched a criminal investigation into desertion and “abuse of power”. In an effort to strengthen readiness for potential future Russian offensives, Ukraine established a number of military units last year, including the 155th Mechanized Brigade, also known as the “Anne of Kyiv”.
          • A man was given a 15 year prison sentence by a Ukrainian court for providing Moscow with information that could have assisted it in determining missile strike targets.

Politics

• • • • • • Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, stated that Donald Trump, the incoming US president, might have a significant impact on how the war with Russia turns out. He has the power to decide this war. He can stop [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, or more accurately, he can assist us in stopping Putin. In an interview, Zelenskyy stated, “He can do this “.

Economy

• • • • • • Following the cessation of Russian gas transit via Ukraine, the European Union declared that gas supplies in Europe remained stable, with the exception of Moldova.
          • “All industrial companies except food producers have been forces to close due to the cutoff of Russian gas supplies to Moldova’s breakaway Transdniestria region”, the territory’s first deputy prime minister, Sergei Obolonik, told a local news channel.
          • According to Moscow authorities, a Russian tanker disaster in the Black Sea last month spilled 2,400 tons of oil, not the 3,000 tonnes that were first thought. The incident occurred in the middle of December when two Russian tankers went down in the Kerch Strait during a storm.
          • As Ukraine begins its fourth year of war with Russia in 2025, Zelenskyy stated that the country plans to boost exports. He said that the nation has already increased exports by 15% in 2024.

Tension in the region

• • • • • • Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who is furious that Ukraine has stopped suppling Russian gas, threatened to cut off power supplies to Slovakia’s larger neighbor and stated that he would think lowering support for Ukrainians in Slovakia.
          • The planned synchronization of the Baltic republics’ electrical grid with Western Europe is unaffected by the recent failure of the Estlink 2 undersea cable, which has been attributed to a Russian warship, according to the Lithuanian government.
          • In an attempt to protect the company’s claims for damages associated with the cutting of the underwater Estlink 2 electrical interconnector, Finland’s national power grid operator said that it has requested that a Helsinki court detain the Eagle S oil tanker. On December 25, four telecom lines and the cable between Finland and Estonia were damaged.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,043

Combating

• • • • • • Russia struck the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with a drone early on New Year’s Day, killing two people, injuring at least six more, and causing damage to structures in two districts.
          • The State Emergency Service said the hit partially demolished two stories of a residential structure in central Kyiv.
          • “Even on New Year’s Eve, Russia was only concerned about how to hurt Ukraine”, stated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who claimed that Moscow’s primary priority as the year began was harming Ukraine.
          • According to the Ukrainian military, it shot down 63 of the 111 drones that Russia launched overnight on Wednesday, while electronic jamming brought down 46 of them.
          • Local authorities said that one woman was rescued after many residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia, a city in southern Ukraine, caught fire overnight as a result of attacks.
          • During his visit to Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region on the Russian border, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskii said that the Russian army had lost over 34,000 soldiers to death or injury while attempting to expel Ukrainian troops from Russian territory.
          • About 700 Russian POWs have been taken over the past five months, which Ukraine may trade for its own citizens detained in Russian captivity, Syrskii added.

Economy

• • • • • • Russian and Ukrainian officials announced the suspension of Russian gas transit through Ukraine to Europe.
          • After Kyiv permitted a gas transit contract to expire, Russia’s Gazprom declared that it lacked the legal and technical capacity to pump gas through Ukraine.
          • “One of Moscow’s biggest defeats”, according to President Zelenskyy, was the decision to stop Russian gas from passing through Ukraine.
          • The decision to stop the transit was made “in the interest of national security”, according to Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, who described it as a “historic event”.
          • Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski praised the termination of Russian gas transit through Ukraine, calling it “a new victory after NATO enlargement to Finland and Sweden”.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key event list, day 1,042

Combating

• • • • • • According to local officials, Russia damaged at least two neighborhoods in the Ukrainian capital with a drone strike. Vitalli Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, reported that debris had caused fires in private houses and that air defenses were thwarting the attack.
          • According to Ukrainian military intelligence, a Russian Mi-8 helicopter was destroyed and another was damaged in the Black Sea by one of its naval drones, the Magura V5 maritime drone, on Tuesday.
          • According to the Ukrainian military, its troops attacked a Russian oil station in the Smolensk region on Tuesday.

Diplomacy

• • • • • • Late on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he thought the United Stated would support Kyiv in its efforts to halt Russia’s 34-month invasion, but that no one would offer peace to his nation as a gift.
          • With the breakdown of a deal between the two warring nations that gave billions to Moscow in gas revenue and to Kyiv in transit fees, Russia’s decades-long dominance in the gas supply to Europe through Ukraine has come to an end.
          • According to Slovakia’s Ministry of Economy, the country will have to pay an additional 177 million euros ($184 million) in costs for alternative routes, but it has stated that it will not risk a gas shortage if Ukraine stops transiting Russian supplies across its borders.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Why Azerbaijan is upset with Russia over the jet crash: “Lack of humanity”

A crucial ally in the South Caucasus is being rattled by Russia’s refusal to accept responsibility for the tragedy and its refusal to allow the airliner to land.

This week, as Azerbaijan grieves the loss of 38 lives in a plane disaster on Christmas Day, political analyst Farhad Mammadov’s thoughts immediately turned to November 2020.

Then, on the final day of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh territory, Azerbaijan destroyed a Russian helicopter that was in Armenian airspace close to its border.

The director of the Center for Studies of the South Caucasus in Baku, Mammadov, said, “The president of Azerbaijan called the president of Russia right away, took responsibility for himself and the nation, apologized, and then there was the punishment of the guilty and the payment of compensation”.

After four years, the roles are nearly inverted.

With 67 passengers and crew, Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 departed Baku on December 25 for Grozny, Chechnya. The aircraft seemed to have been hit by ground fire as it approached Gozny in Russian airspace, veered east, and crashed close to Aktau in western Kazakhstan. There were only 29 survivors.

The damaged seemed consistent with that caused by Russian air defense’s employment of surface-to-air missiles, despite initial speculation by Russian officials that the plane had struck a flock of birds or that an oxygen tank inside had exploded. Although he did not officially accept blame on Russia’s behalf, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed regret for the “tragic incident” on Saturday, stating that Ukrainian drones were present in the region.

However, in response to the outrage in Azerbaijan over Moscow’s handling of the disaster and the expectation that Putin be as forthright about what transpired as Aliyev was in 2020, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan has called for Russia to formally accept responsibility and provide compensation to the survivors.

“We haven’t seen it yet, but Azerbaijan is expecting the same now”. Mammadov stated. “And we will anticipate further apologies, penalties, and compensation at the later stages of the investigation into the ongoing case if the Russian side has opted for a partial apology”.

Many people in Azerbaijan are more concerned with Russia’s emergency response than with what struck the jet.

Leyla, a Baku local, told Al Jazeera, “What happened after the plane was shot down makes this situation even more appaling”. Permission to land on Russian soil was refused. This is the most graphic aspect of the vent, and it is unforgivable.

According to Azerbaijan officials, the pilots had to alter their route to Aktau, which is located across the Caspian Sea, after being refused permission to make an emergency landing in Russia.

“Perhaps those lives could have been saved if the plane had been let to land in Russia when the error was discovered. Instead, cold-hearted, inept people decided to send the jet to Kazakhstan”, Leyla continued. People are most enraged and devastated by this lack of humanity and accountability”.

But might Russia’s ties with Azerbaijan also suffer as a result of Flight 8243’s fate?

Relationships between oil-rich Azerbaijan and its massive northern neighbor, which was once a Soviet republic, have been difficult but not entirely antagonistic, unlike, say, the Baltics.

After the Russian Empire fell at the end of World War I, Azerbaijan temporarily became an independent nation. However, the Red Army’s invasion in 1920 placed Azerbaijan back under Moscow’s control for the ensuing 70 years.

Since the Kremlin supported two failed coup attempts in Baku, the first few years following Azerbaijan’s independence in 1991 were characterized by distrust. Additionally, Russia has attempted to maintain cordial ties with both Armenia and Azerbaijan, with whom Azerbaijan has been embroiled in a savage dispute over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh since the late Soviet era. Moscow has attempted to mediate the conflict and sent peacekeeping forces to Karabakh while also selling weapons to both sides.

Despite Armenia being a fellow member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a NATO-like organization commanded by Russia, these peacekeeping troops stood aside while Azerbaijani forces swiftly overran Karabakh in September of last year, forcing nearly all Armenians to leave. As Baku established sovereignty over Karabakh, Russian peacekeepers eventually left the region in April of this year.

According to Mammadov, relations between Russia and Azerbaijan are generally positive, notwithstanding the sensitivities surrounding the plane disaster. As Russia’s biggest economic partner in the South Caucasus, Azerbaijan has remained neutral in Moscow’s war on Ukraine and controls a vital shipping route for goods going to and from Iran. Moscow is also important to Baku as an economic partner.

Rasim Musabeyov, a political scientist and congressman, stated that Italy is the top trading and economic partner of Azerbaijan, followed by Turkey in second position and Russia in third.

“Therefore, trade and economic ties are significant for both Russia and Azerbaijan”, he stated. Prior to this occurrence, the bulk of Azerbaijani aircraft flew to Russia. About 120,000 Russians reside here, making it the largest Russian community in the South Caucasus. He stated that there are around a million Azerbaijanis residing in Russia.

According to Musabeyov, Putin now has the responsibility to act morally in order to help relations recover from the damage caused by the jet tragedy.

“An analysis of this incident, the culprit punished, and compensation paid should follow Putin’s apology”, he stated.

Musabeyov declared, “Azerbaijan is not interested in deteriorating relations with Russia”.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,041

Combating

• • • • • • In Smolensk, a region of western Russia that borders Ukraine, a Ukrainian drone attack resulted in an oil storage fire and fuel spill. In the Yartsevo district, Russian air defense systems “suppressed an attack by Ukrainian “drones, according to the local governor.
          • Overnight, 68 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down, with 10 of them destroyed over the Smolensk region, according to Russia’s Ministry of Defense.
          • The United Arab Emirates mediated the exchange of over 300 prisoners of war (POWs) between Russia and Ukraine. While Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that 189 Ukrainian had returned home, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that it had exchanged 150 Ukrainian prisoners of war.

Politics

• • • • • • In the most recent step to assist the war-torn nation before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January, US President Joe Biden stated his administration will give Ukraine up to $2.5 billion in military aid.
          • Along with the announcement of an additional $3.4 billion in economic aid to support Ukraine’s infrastructure and governance, Biden said he gave his administration instructions to give “as much assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible”.
          • In a meeting with Ukraine’s foreign minister, Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and other officials expressed the desire for the two nations to form “strategic partnerships”.
          • In a New Year’s greeting to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to further “world peace”, stating that “Chine and Russia have consistently moved forward had-in-hand along the correct path of non-alignment, non-confrontation, and not targeting any third party”.
          • In a New Year’s letter, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un greeted the Russian people, Russian military men, and his “dearest friend and comrade”, Vladimir Putin.
          • A day after Russian energy giant Gazprom announced it would halt gas deliveries to Moldova on January 1 due to outstanding bills, the separatist Transnistria region of Moldova halted gas supplies to state institutions ahead of the year-end expiration of a Russian gas transit arrangement through Ukraine.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,040

Combating

• • • • • • Russia deployed 43 drones in an overnight strike, but Ukraine’s air defenses shot down 21 of them, the Air Force said Monday. The air force reported that 22 additional drones were “lost” and that the strike targeted six different locations of the nation.
          • The Interfax news agency reported on Sunday that Russian forces has taken control of the village of Novotroitske in the Donetsk area of Ukraine, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
          • Russian media, citing his father and agent, reported that 43-year-old Russian football hero Aleksei Bugayev, who represented his country at Euro 2004, was slain in “intense fighting”. Bugayev had been imprisoned on narcotics trafficking allegations in September. Several inmates were enlisted into the fight, including him.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • According to the Syrian state news agency (SANA), a senior Ukrainian delegation headed by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha met with Syria’s de facto ruler, Ahmed al-Sharaa, on Monday. Syria was a close friend of Russia for decades under the regime of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
          • Because the United States had “arrogantly ignored the warnings of Russia and Chine” and placed “weapons of this class” in different parts of the world, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced on Sunday that his nation would lift a moratorium on the deployment of intermediate and shorter-range nuclear missiles. Amid concerns of a new arms race, Russia’s action will nullify whatever that is left of the New START pact on nuclear weapons reduction.
          • Several European Union countries appear to have blocked Russian state media sites on the social media platform Telegram. Throughout the bloc on Sunday, the Izvestia and Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspapers, Russian-1, Channel One Russia, NTV television, and the RIA Novosti news agency were inaccessible. Regarding the disruption, neither Telegram nor EU sources have yet to respond. Moscow referred to the action as “an act of censorship”.

Security in the region

• • • • • • Two days before a contract allowing Russian gas to transit via Ukraine expires due to the latter’s refusal to prolong it during hostilities, Moldova’s separatist Transdniestria region cut off gas supplies to a number of state facilities on Sunday, including a police station and a medical facility. The action raised concerns about widespread power outages in the former Soviet state in the new year.
          • Police in Finland reported on Sunday that they had discovered tracks that extended for several of kilometers down the Baltic Sea’s bottom, where a tanker registered in the Cook Islands that was transporting Russian oil is accused of using its anchor to damage four telecom cables and a power line. Following a series of power cable, telecom, and gas pipeline disruptions since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, countries near the Baltic Sea have been placed on high alert.
          • Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, stated that he wants Russia to acknowledge that it shot down an Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft last week and that he saw “clear attempts to cover up the matter “. Although a Kremlin statement did not explicitly state that Russia shot down the plane, it did note that a criminal case had been opened. Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Aliyev on Saturday for the “tragic incident” in Russian airspace that occurred after Russian air defenses engaged Ukrainian attack drones.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,038

Combating

• • • • • • According to the news agency Interfax, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) declared on Saturday that it had thwarted a plot by Ukrainian intelligence agencies to assassinate a war blogger and a senior Russian officer.
          • Ukraine and South Korea claim that more than 1,000 North Korean soldiers Russia ordered to battle them have been killed or injured by Ukrainian forces. “They have suffered tremendously large losses. In his nighttime speech on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated, “We see that neither the Russian military nor their North Korean overseers have any interest in ensuring the survival of these North Koreans”. Meanwhile, John Kirby, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, claimed that generals who considered North Korean troops expendable were sending a “human wave” of them to their deaths in “hopeless” attacks.
          • According to the Ria official news agency, Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced on Friday that its troops had captured two villages in eastern Ukraine: Ivanivka in the Donetsk region and Zahryzone in the Kharkiv region.
          • The ministry claimed to have shot down four British-made Storm Shadow missiles in the last week, according to RIA.
          • According to South Korea’s spy service, a North Korean soldiers who was fighting for Russia passed away in Ukrainian captivity after suffering serious injuries.
          • 13 of the 24 Russian drones that were fired in a nocturnal raid were shot down by Ukrainian air defense, the air force reported on Friday. The remaining 11 Russian drones, according to the air force, were “lost” but unharmed.

Diplomacy And Deals

• • • • • • US President Joe Biden’s administration promised to authorize new military assistance, including air defense systems, for Ukraine. According to Kirby, the announcement of the US security assistance package is anticipated “in the next couple of days”.
          • Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico wrote on Facebook late Friday, “We will be ready and hospitable if someone wants to organize peace talks in Slovakia”. His comments follow Russian President Vladimir Putin’s declaration on Thursday that he was amenable to Slovakia hosting peace negotiations with Ukraine.
          • As a significant gas transit agreement with Russia comes to an end, Ukraine received its first shipment of liquefied natural gas from the United States, a transaction Kyiv believes is essential to enhancing energy security in Ukraine and Europe. The biggest private energy business in Ukraine, Dtek, announced on Friday that it had received its first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US.

Opposition

• • • • • • According to Russian news sources, a Russian court sentenced 26-year-old singer Eduard Sharlot to five and a half years in prison for burning his passport in protest of Russia’s war in Ukraine. In a case involving recordings he posted online, Sharlot was found guilty by a court in the Volga City of Samara of “publicly insulting” the religious sentiments of believers and “rehabilitating Nazism”, according to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,037

Combating

• • • • • • According to South Korean intelligence, the Yonhap news agency reported Friday that Ukrainian forces had seized an injured North Korean soldier who has been sent to fight for Russia alive.
          • According to regional officials, two persons were killed Thursday when Russian drones crashed into a multistory apartment building in the Ukrainian village of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk area.
          • A market in the town of Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region and an industrial sector of the southeast city of Zaporizhzhia were the targets of more attacks on Thursday. Russia’s strike on Ukraine’s energy system on Christmas Day preceded the attacks on the country’s east.
          • According to the defense ministry, the RIA new agency said Thursday that Russian soldiers had taken the settlement of Hihant in eastern Ukraine.
          • Over the past three days, the Ukrainian military said its air force had attacked a military-industrial plant in the Rostov region’s Russian town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky. Ukrainian military officials stated Thursday that the plant was used to manufacture solid fuel for ballistic missiles used in Russian strikes on Ukraine.
          • The Ukrainian military reported Thursday that it has destroyed 20 of the 31 drones that Russia had launched during the course of the night.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • Russian ambassador to Beijing Igor Morgulov said Friday that China’s President Xi Jinping will travel to Russia next year, according to Russia’s state-run RIA news agency. In reference to purported NATO ambitions to “move its military infrastructure” into the Asia Pacific area, he stated that China and Russia have to work together to respond to US strategy. China and Brazil have proposed a peace plan to end the conflict.
          • According to North Korea’s KCNA news agency on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin assured North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that the two nations will carry out the mutual defense pact and other provisions of the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty they inked in June.
          • On Thursday, Putin stated that he was amenable to Slovakia hosting peace negotiations with Ukraine. “If t comes to that , we are not against it. Why not? After Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico visited the Kremlin this week, he stated, “Because Slovakia adopts such a neutral stance”.
          • Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, was quoted by Russian state news agency RIA on Thursday as saying that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will travel to Moscow on January 17 to sign a cooperation deal with Putin.
          • Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, stated Thursday that his nation was prepared to cooperate with the news US government of Donald Trump in order to strengthen ties. However, he stated that since the US had “interrupted” communication following “the start of a special military operation”, it would have to initiate contact. Trump has pledged to put an immediate end to the conflict in Ukraine when he takes office on January 20.

Security in the region

• • • • • • Investigations are underway into the 38-person Azerbaijan Airlines plane disaster that occurred close to the Kazakh city of Aktau. According to unidentified US and Azerbaijani sources, the fatal accident was thought to have been caused by a Russian surface-to-air missile. Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Kremlin, warned against “hypotheses”.
          • A 10-year defense strategy that calls for higher defense spending as part of a plan to join the European Union was approved by Moldova’s parliament on Thursday. Given the very tiny strength of Moldova’s military forces, the pro-Russian opposition in the chamber mocked the decision. Maia Sandu, the pro-Western president, has charged that Russia is attempting to overthrow her administration.
          • Putin strongly blamed Ukraine for its refusal to prolong the arrangement that delivers gas to Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Austria, saying on Thursday that there was no time left this year to sign a new Ukrainian gas transit contract. At the end of the year, Russia and Ukraine’s current five-year gas transit agreement comes to an end.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,036

Combating

• • • • • • The strategically significant eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk has once again been the scene of intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian soldiers. There were 35 Russian assaults reported in the city on Wednesday, according to Ukraine’s General Staff. Viktor Trehubov, Ukraine’s regional commander, was cited as stating, “Three Russian armies are concentrated here against us”.
          • Russia used drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles to conduct a massive attack on Ukraine on Christmas Day.
          • According to the local governors, the Russian attack killed on person in the Dnipropetrovsk region and injured at least six others in the northeastern city of Kharkiv.
          • Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, condemned the Russian “inhumane” strike, which involved over 170 missiles and drones, some of which caused power outages in various parts of the nation.
          • The “outrageous attack was designed to cut off the Ukrainian people’s access to heat and electricity during winter and to jeopardize the safety of its grid”, according to US President Joe Biden.
          • There was “no respite even at Christmas”, according to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who denounced Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s electrical grid.
          • Meanwhile, Russia reported that a falling drone and Ukrainian missile attacks in the Caucasus border region of Kursk and North Ossetia killed five people.
          • Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Australia had been in touch with Moscow over the potential detention of an Australian citizen fighting alongside Ukrainian forces by the Russian army and that Moscow was investigating the situation.

Military Assistance

• • • • • • Biden said that after denouncing Russia’s attack on Ukraine on Christmas Day, he had instructed the US Department of Defense to keep up the influx of weapons supplies to Ukraine.

Diplomacy

• • • • • • In his Christmas speech, Pope Francis condemned the “extremely grave” humanitarian situation in Gaza and urged for “arms to be silenced” globally. He also called for peace in the Middle East, Ukraine, and Sudan.
          • According to an Interior Ministry database viewed by the AFP news agency, Ilya Yashin, a Russian opposition lawmaker who was freed by Moscow in August as part of a prisoner swap, has been added to Russia’s “wanted” list. At the end of 2022, Yashin, 41, received a sentence of eight and a half years in prison for condemning “the murder of civilians” in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.

Security in the region

• • • • • • Russia’s Foreign Ministry accused NATO of attempting to move the Western alliance’s military facilities closer to Russia and of attempting to utilize Moldova as a logistical hub to support the Ukrainian army.
          • Following the failure of an underwater power line connecting Finland and Estonia, Arto Pahkin, chief of operations for the Finnish electrical grid, informed the nation’s national broadcaster Yle that “the possibility of sabotage cannot be ruled out”. It is the most recent in a string of events affecting energy pipelines and telecom cables in the Baltic Sea.
          • According to the Russian state-owned corporation that owns the ship, a “terrorist act” caused the Russian cargo ship to capsize in international waters in the Mediterranean this week. Without naming the perpetrator or providing an explanation, the Oboronlogistika business stated that it “believes a targeted terrorist attack was committed on December 23, 2024, against the Ursa Major”.
          • The passenger plane operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, which crashed close to the Kazakh City of Aktau and killed 38 passengers, was previously heading away from a region of Russia that Moscow has lately protected from Ukrainian drone assaults. Drone strikes were reported Wednesday morning by authorities in Ingushetia and North Ossetia, two Russian districts that border Chechnya.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,035

Combating

• • • • • • According to Yevgen Yerin, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian military intelligence agency, the estimated 12,000 North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russian troops in the Kursk region of Russia have not yet significantly changed the direction of the combat. According to Yerin, the North Koreans employ “primitive, linked, frankly speaking, more to the times of the Second World War” tactics and have little expertise with modern warfare, especially with drones.
          • A Russian missile attack on the city of Kryvyi Rih in southeast Ukraine left at least one person dead and at least 15 injured. According to reports, a woman was pulled alive from the wreckage of a Russian missile-hit home. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine was born and raised in Kryvyi Rih.
          • Following the release of a video showing an Australian man taken prisoner by Russian forces in Ukraine, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia stated that his government is working toward a “positive outcome”. The man identified himself as Oscar Jenkins, a biology teacher, and was seen with his hands bound while being slapped in the face by a man speaking Russian. The identify of the individual has been confirmed by Australian media.
          • Ukraine claimed that Russian had attacked it overnight on Monday with 60 drones, 36 of which had been shot down, 23 of which had been jammed by electronic warfare, and one of which was still in the air at the time of writing. Drones were shot down Tuesday in eight different regions of Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
          • For two acts of sabotage of railroad lines in Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula, which Russia invaded in 2014, a man was given a 22-year prison sentence by a Russian court. According to the court, Pavel Levchenko was deployed to Crimea to commit “acts of terrorism” after being recruited and trained by Ukraine’s SBU security service.
          • A one-time payment for soldiers injured in the conflict in Ukraine and suffering lasting injuries has been canceled by authorities in the Russian territory of Transbaikal in Siberia. Depending on the extent of the disability, the compensation used to range from 100,000 to 500,000 roubles ($1,000 to 5,000). The regional Social Affairs Ministry of Siberia clarified that the funds will instead be utilized for a gasoline allowance as well as for medical care and treatment for soldiers.

The Society

• • • • • • In a video address Tuesday evening, President Zelenskyy wished everyone a Merry Christmas, as Ukraine observes the holiday on December 25th for the second year in a row. In July 2023, Zelenskyy signed legislation to align Ukraine’s public Christmas holiday with that of most other European nations, instead of Russia’s later date.
          • Zelenskyy took aim at his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in his Christmas Eve speech, quoting directly from a recent speech in which Putin told reporters that Moscow’s war on Ukraine was thrilling. “These statements demonstrate the distance that they [Russians] have from God, Christianity, and genuine faith, “Zelenskyy stated. Instead of Russian missiles and Iranian Shaheds, he continued, “all we need is to live peacefully on our own land, to see the sun, our sky, and in it – a Christmas star”.

Security in the region

• • • • • • According to a government statement, Italy’s cabinet enacted a law allowing it to keep providing Ukraine with “means, materials, and equipment” to bolster its defense against Russia till the end of 2015.
          • The Ursa Major, a cargo ship controlled by the Russian Defense Ministry, sank in international seas in the Mediterranean after an explosion on board, leaving two crew members missing. According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, two of the 16 Russian crew members are still missing, while the other 14 have been rescued and sent to the Spanish port of Cartagena.
          • According to Ukrainian military intelligence, Russian forces in Syria, where Moscow has a naval port at Tartous, were also supplied by the Ursa Major Vessel.
          • After Congress failed to renew its funds, the State Department announced that the Global Engagement Center (GEC), which monitors foreign disinformation, has ceased operations. In June, GEC coordinator James Rubin announced the formation of an international team headquartered in Warsaw to combat Russian misinformation about the conflict in Ukraine.
          • Zelenskyy has criticized Robert Fico, the prime minister of Slovakia, for his unwillingness to reduce Slovakia’s reliance on Russian gas, describing it as a “big security issue” for Europe.
          • After Russia was accused of meddling in last month’s election in the former Soviet republic that borders Ukraine, Moldovan voters chose to support Europe “despite the pressures”, according to President Maia Sandu, who was inaugurated in for a second term on Tuesday.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,034

Combating

• • • • • • “Preliminary data indicates that the number of North Korean soldiers killed and wounded in the Kursk region has already surpassed 3,000” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X. Shortly after South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) stated that South Korean estimates place the figure at roughly 1,100, Zelenskyy made his comments.
          • In a Telegram post, Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed that its air defense systems had shot down two Ukrainian drones over the Sea of Azov and nine drones over the Rostov Region.
          • In a statement on Telegram, Ukraine’s military intelligence service, GUR, claimed that a warehouse in Russia’s Alabuga special economic zone “was destroyed” in a “mysterious destructive fire” along with parts for the “Shahed” drone “worth $16 million”.

Politics And Diplomacy

• • • • • • China’s assertion that it has assisted in an open inquiry into the November breaking of two Baltic Sea underwater cables in Swedish waters was denied by Sweden. The Kremlin called the European officials’ suspicion that the sabotage is connected to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “laughable”.
          • After Romania’s Constitutional Court canceled the presidential election due to allegations of Russian meddling, lawmakers in the country, which borders Ukraine, narrowly supported a new pro-European coalition administration.
          • With a contract for gas transit through Ukraine slated to expire on December 31, Zelenskyy accused Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico of seeking to “assist” Putin after Fico traveled to Moscow in an apparent attempt to continue buying Russian gas.
          • According to a government statement, Italy’s cabinet approved a legal order on Monday that permits it to keep providing military assistance to Ukraine till the end of 2025.
          • More than a week after two aging Russian tankers were destroyed in harsh weather while en route to carry gasoline to the Russian Navy, volunteers clearing up a significant oil leak along Russia’s Black Sea coast claimed they are overwhelmed and asked Putin for assistance.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,033

Combating

• • • • • • South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced on Monday that Russia’s war with Ukraine has resulted in the deaths or injuries of over 1,000 North Korean soldiers.
          • According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, 42 Ukrainian drones were shot down by its air defense systems over five Russian areas during the course of Sunday night.
          • The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Sunday that Russian soldiers had taken control of two Ukrainian villages: one in the eastern Donetsk region and one in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
          • According to a Ukrainian military general, 26 Russian strikes have occurred in the last 24 hours in the eastern village of Sontsivka. The general staff reportedly recorded 34 Russian attempts to breach defenses during intense fighting close to Pokrovsk.
          • Five unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war were executed by Russian soldiers on Sunday, according to Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights.
          • Colonel General Alexei Kim, a deputy chief of Russia’s General Staff, was named by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) as one of the individuals it believes ordered a missile strike on a hotel in eastern Ukraine in August. According to the SBU, he acted “with the motive of deliberately killing employees of” the news organization Reuters.

Security And Diplomacy

• • • • • • Following the impact of Ukrainian drones on residential structures in Kazan, in the Tatarstan region of Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised reprisal.
          • As a deal for Russian gas to pass through Ukraine approaches its expiration, Putin made a rare trip to Moscow on Sunday, meeting Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in the Kremlin.
          • According to the Yonhap news agency, South Korea claims that North Korea is getting ready to send more troops and weaponry to support Russia in its full-scale conflict with Ukraine.
          • Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that he would like to meet with US President-elect Donald Trump “as soon as possible” to talk about the conflict in Ukraine, Trump said on Sunday.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,032

Combating

• • • • • • The conflict spread well into Russia when eight Ukrainian drones struck residential buildings in Kazan, a city more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from the front line. There were no casualties, according to local authorities.
          • As a precaution, the Russian civil aviation body Rosaviatsia canceled all significant public events in the region and temporarily shuttered Kazan International Airport.
          • Alexander Khinshtein, the acting governor of Russia’s Kursk district, reported that a Ukrainian missile attack on the town of Rylsk on Friday killed six people, including one kid. A 13-year-old was among the ten other people who suffered minor injuries.
          • According to Ukrainian officials, 57 of the 113 drones that Moscow launched into Ukraine overnight on Saturday were shot down. 56 more drones were “lost”, most likely as a result of electronic jamming.
          • In the midst of ongoing assault to regain control of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, the Russian Ministry of Defense declared that its forces had taken the village of Kostiantynopolske, also known as Ostrovsky by Russian officials.
          • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a Russian strike struck an oncology center in the southern Kherson region. Staff and patients were taking refuge, therefore there were no casualaties.

Security and Diplomacy

• • • • • • In a rare public revelation, Zelenskyy claimed to have met CIA Director William Burns in Ukraine. He stated that the meeting will be their last before Burns resigns from his position when Trump assumes office, although he did not say when it could take place.
          • According to Russia’s FSB security service, a man was given a 19-year prison sentence for providing the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with information regarding Russian military.
          • Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, informed the Security Council that Moscow’s “response to this targeted crime against peaceful Russian citizens will not be long in coming” in response to the incident that killed six people in Kursk.
          • Using drones and missiles, Ukraine “will definitely continue to strike at Russian military targets”, Zelenskyy declared.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,031

Combating

• • • • • • Six persons were killed in an attack by Ukraine on Friday that used US-supplied missiles to target the town of Rylsk in the Kursk border area of Russia. Recently, US President Joe Biden gave Ukraine permission to launch an attack deeper into Russia using missiles provided by the US.
          • A building housing the embassies of Albania, Argentina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Palestine, and Portugal was destroyed and at least one person was killed in a Russian strike on Kyiv hours earlier. Moscow claimed that the strike was response to a Ukrainian strike using Western missiles against Russia’s Rostov.
          • The bodies of 503 deceased Ukrainian service men from the Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhia regions, as well as Russian morgues, were delivered to Kyiv on Friday, the Ukrainian capital stated. Donetsk, which has been hardest hit by the war, accounted for the majority of the dead.

The Economy

• • • • • • In face of strong consumer inflation brought on by significant military spending and severe labor shortages, Russia’s central bank held off on raising its benchmark interest rate further. leaving it at a record 21 percent.
          • The Kremlin has come under fire from business leaders for the impact that increased borrowing prices have had on the economy.
          • The International Monetary Fund authorized $1.1 billion in financial support for Ukraine on Friday, increasing the total amount paid since March 2023 to $9.8 billion under the institution’s ongoing assistance program.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Union, denounced the Russian attack on Kyiv that caused damage to a facility housing many foreign missions. She wrote on X, “Another horrific Russian attack against Kyiv”. “Putin’s disrespect for international law is at an all-time high”.
          • As Russia advances on the front lines, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated that European leaders need to adjust their approach to Ukraine. He demanded a Christmas truce in Ukraine and the exchange of up 1,000 prisoners of war in an interview with Hungary’s official broadcaster on Friday.
          • Orban has frequently thwarted, postponed, or softened EU attempts to censure Moscow for its invasion and to supply money and weaponry.
          • After reestablishing contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month, which drew criticism from Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on Friday that he would speak with him once more. According to Scholz, the purpose of these appeals would be “to make clear” that Putin must “end his aggression and withdraw troops”.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,030

Combating

• • • • • • According to the national police, a Russian missile strike in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region has killed three persons and injured three more. It further stated that the attack damage to over ten homes.
          • According to the Russian defense ministry, Ukraine fired four Storm Shadow missiles from the United Kingdom and six long-range ATACMS missiles from the United States at Russia’s southern Rostov region. According to the ministry, Russian forces shot down three of the four Storm Shadows and all of the ATACMS, and Moscow would retaliate for the assaults.
          • According to a South Korean legislator, since going into combat in December, at least 100 North Korean soldiers who were sent to bolster Russia’s war effort in Ukraine have been killed. In order to support the Russian military, Pyongyang has dispatched thousands of troops, including to the Kursk border region, which Ukrainian forces took this year.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, stated that he had no requirements for initiating talks with the Ukrainian government and was prepared to make concessions about Ukraine in any potential negotiations with Donald Trump on ending the war.
          • In an effort to circumvent sanctions, Putin has issued an order permitting international purchasers of Russian gas to make payments in roubles at other Russian banks, in addition to the US-sanctioned Gazprombank, until April 1.
          • During his final session with EU leaders prior to Trump’s inauguration, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he required the support of both Europe and the United States in order to achieve a lasting peace.
          • Trump and Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, both that Russia’s war on Ukraine has lasted “far too long”. In a phone conversation with Trump, Scholz assured him that he would support Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression for as long as it took.
          • Following a meeting with EU leaders in Brussels, EU Council President Antonio Costa confirmed that the EU will provide Ukraine with an additional 30 billion euros ($31.09 billion) in financial assistance in 2025.
          • The suspect in the murder of prominent Russian general Igor Kirillov has been placed in two months of pre-trial imprisonment by a Moscow court. The suspect, an Uzbek national, was accused of carrying out a terrorist act that killed someone.
          • Finland’s Defense Minister Antii Hakkanen cautioned that even after the war in Ukraine is over, Russian and its allies will continue to pose a threat to Europe. The more than 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) border between Finland and Russia is presently blocked to all travelers as Helsinki accuses Moscow of directing unauthorized migration to Europe.
          • Two individuals were sentenced to 21 years in prison by a Russian military court for allegedly organizing attacks on Ukraine’s orders. According to the TASS state news agency, Alexander Kholodkov and Viktoria Shinkarchuk, a former local government official in the Belgorod region that borders Russia, were also found guilty.

Cyberwarfare

• • • • • • According to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna, Russia launched a widespread cyberattack on Ukraine’s official registers, which led to a brief service stoppage. Important details on Ukrainian citizens, including births, deaths, marriages, and property ownership, are recorded in the registry.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,029

Combating

• • • • • • The Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery caught fire after Ukraine launched an attack using at least 13 missiles and dozens of drones, according to the governor of Russia’s southern Rostov region. Russian air defenses shot down 84 drones, including 36 over the Rostov region, according to the Ministry of Defense.
          • Since going into action in December, at least 100 of the thousands of North Koreans sent to aid Russia’s war effort in Ukraine have been killed, according to South Korean legislator Lee Seong-kweun. The National Intelligence Service of he country estimates that almost 1,000 people may have been hurt.
          • Britain said that it would provide Ukraine with an extra 225 million pounds ($286 million) worth of military hardware to aid it in its conflict with Russia.
          • The Conflict Armament Research organization, based in the United Kingdom, predicted that North Korea will be able to produce ballistic missiles and deliver them to Russia for use in Ukraine in a matter of months. Jonah Leff, the group’s leader, told the UN Security Council that among the four North Korean missile remnants discovered in Ukraine was one that shoed it was manufactured in 2024.
          • In connection with the murder of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the commander of the Russian army’s chemical weapons branch, and his aide in Moscow earlier this week, Russian authorities have detained a suspect. The 29-year-old Uzbek national was “recruited by Ukrainian special forces” to carry out the killing, which required remotely detonating a bomb concealed in an electric scooter, according to the Investigative Committee.
          • Two more communities in the Donetsk region of east Ukraine, Stari Terny and Trudove, have been taken, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry. Both are situated close to Kurakhove, an industrial town that Russia seems on the verge of seizing.
          • Security agencies have proof that Ukraine had dropped white phosphorus weapons from drones on multiple occasions in September, according to Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry. Kyiv refuted the claims.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • In response to criticism of the nation’s backing for Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, North Korean’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs blasted the United States and its allies for “reckless provocation” and accused them of “distorting and slandering” Pyongyang’s “normal cooperative” ties with Moscow.
          • After The Times published an editorial describing Ukraine’s death of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov as ” a legitimate act of defense”, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev declared that journalists at the publications were “legitimate military targets”.
          • Ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, NATO chairman Mark Rutte met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders in Brussels to discuss Russia’s war. He made reference to the provision of air defense systems and other weapons when he stated that he wanted Ukraine to be “in the best possible position” when peace negotiations begin.
          • In separate meetings with the Ukrainian president, French President Emmanuel Macron declared that France will continue to provide Ukraine with the resources it needs to defend itself and to end Russia’s war of aggression, and that France would make strengthened support for Ukraine its top priority.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,027

Combating

• • • • • • After Ukraine’s military intelligence reported on Monday that its troops had killed or wounded at least 30 North Korean soldiers, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X that “initial reports suggest that Russia is trying to conceal the losses of North Korean personnel”.
          • According to a U.S. assessment, “North Korean soldiers have engaged in combat in Kursk”, and the United States has “indications that they have suffered casualties, both killed and wounded”, Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder told reporters.
          • According to the Associated Press news agency, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov directed inquires regarding North Korean casualties to the Russian Ministry of Defense, which did not immediately respond.
          • According to Russian Minister of Defense Andrei Belousov, Russian forces have taken about 4,500 square kilometers (1,737 square miles) of Ukrainian territory so far this year and are currently gaining roughly 30 square kilometers (11.5 square miles) of area per day.

Humanitarian circumstances

• • • • • • Nearly 12,000 people who are still living in the Ukrainian towns of Pokrovsk, Kurakhove, and Chasiv Yar-all of which are only a few kilometers from the front line-are experiencing gas and drinking water shortages in the bitterly cold winter months as a result of local utility operators suspending services, according to the United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • The intention by US President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination to head the FBI, Kash Patel, to investigate US support for Kyiv “spells trouble for the Ukrainian leadership”, Russia’s envoy to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, warned the UN Security Council.
          • The 15th set of sanctions on Russia was approved by the European Union Foreign Affairs Council. The new penalties target North Korean officials and, for the first time, Chinese companies that produce drones for Moscow.
          • 52 ships that are allegedly a part of a huge “shadow fleet” that Moscow uses to carry gas, oil and stolen Ukrainian grain were also the focus of the EU penalties.
          • Sanctions against Russia’s oil fleet were “useful”, but “too late”, according to Mykhailo Podolyak, an assistant to the head of Zelenskyy’s office. Two Russian gas to pass through his nation and reach European consumers “will not be extended” when it expires on January 1, 2025.
          • A former FBI informant entered a guilty plea to lying about a purported bribery conspiracy involving Ukrainian energy company Burisma, US President Joe Biden, and his son Hunter.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,026

Combating

• • • • • • In the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, where its forces are advancing steadily, the Russian army claimed to have taken the village of Yelyzavetivka. Kurakhove, a resource-rich town that Russian troops are also attempting to capture, lies about 10 kilometers (six miles) south of the village.
          • According to the TASS state news agency, which cited Denis Pushilin, the regional leader appointed by Moscow, Russia declared earlier on Monday that it had taken the village of Shevchenko in Donetsk as well.
          • The villages of Veselyi Hai and Pushkino in the same area were also seized by Russian soldiers, according to the country’s defense ministry. The ministry added that four patriot air defense systems had been struck and destroyed by Russian forces.
          • According to the Ukrainian military, Russia launched 49 drones to strike Ukraine overnight. Its air force shot down 27 of the drones and lost sight of 19 more.
          • At least 30 North Korean soldiers who had been stationed by Russia close to the villages of Plekhovo, Vorozhba, and Martynovka in the Kursk region-where Ukraine has captured territory were killed or injured by Ukrainian forces, according to military intelligence.
          • The SBU security of Ukraine announced that it had begun an operation to demolish 40 railcars that were transporting gasoline to Russian forces in a territory of Zaporizhzia, which is currently governed by Russia to a degree of roughly 70%.
          • As Kyiv continues to retaliate against Moscow, a Ukrainian drone hit a Russian National Guard university in the Chechen area of Russia on Sunday. The attack on a location owned by the Akhmat Grozny riot police brigade was acknowledged by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
          • According to Alex Gatopoulous of Al Jazeera, who is reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine has asserted that there are no longer any Russian ships cruising the Black Sea since Kyiv has damaged Moscow’s naval presence in the region.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • According tp Russia’s RIA agency, Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Moscow’s foreign intelligence, stated that he has not communicated with the CIA over Kyiv’s deployment of Western long-range missiles to hit Russia and Moscow’s retaliatory use of its own missile.
          • According to Norway, it will give Ukraine 2.7 billion kroner ($242.38 million) to bolster its navy and aid in discouraging Russian naval operations in the Black Sea. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said in a statement that “it is crucial to protect the Ukrainian population and Ukrainian infrastructure from attacks by Russia’s Black Sea Fleet”. Protecting grain and other product exports by sea is particularly vital because they bring in a significant amount of money for Ukraine.
          • On Monday, European Union foreign ministers will gather in Belgium to discuss Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,025

Combating

• • • • • • For the first time, Russia has started deploying large numbers of North Korean troops to attack Ukrainian forces fighting to maintain an enclave in the Kursk region of the Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
          • According to the Ukrainian air force, 58 out of 132 Russian drones were shot down by Ukraine’s air defenses. It claimed that the use of electronic warfare interference tactics resulted in the “loss” of 72 Russian drones. Reports of damage were not immediately available.
          • The Ministry of Defense said that 15 Ukrainian drones were destroyed overnight by Russian air defense systems. It further said that 13 of the drones were shot down over the Black Sea and one over the Belgorod and Kursk districts of the Russian border.
          • According to regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, a Ukrainian drone strike in Belgorod killed a nine-year-old child. The attack also injured two other people, one of them was a youngster.
          • Ukraine’s military said that Ukrainian drones attacked the Steel Horse oil complex in the Oryol region of Russia, which is a vital supply of fuel for Russian soldiers.
          • According to the local governor, Ukrainian drones hit a “fuel infrastructure facility” near Orlov, starting a fire. Eleven drones were shot down over the area, according to Governor Andrei Klychkov. There were no recorded casualties.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • Zelenskyy claimed that following the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad, he had given his government instructions to establish systems for delivering food to Syria. Russia has stopped exporting wheat to Syria after the overthrow of al-Assad.
          • Russia’s rapid advances in the Donetsk region have prompted the military to announce the appointment of 54-year-old Ukrainian General Oleksandr Tranavskiy to lead the operational and tactical group Donetsk, replacing General Oleksandr Lutsenko.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,024

Combating

• • • • • • President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian aerial assault on Ukrainian energy facilities was one of the biggest yet on the failing grid and demonstrated why Kyiv required greater Western assistance before making peace with Russia.
          • According to the DTEK energy corporation, at least 93 missiles fired by Moscow “severely damaged” Ukrainian power plants.
          • In the Oryol region of central Russia, Ukrainian drones targeted a fuel shortage infrastructure facility, causing a fire and breaking windows in residences, according to regional governor Andrei Klychkov.
          • According to Vladimir Kondratyev, the governor of the Krasnodar region, Russian air defenses destroyed Ukrainian drones at a number of locations in the south and east of Ukraine. No one was hurt, but one drone broke glass in homes in the village.
          • According to Governor Alexander Bogomaz, Russian air defenses also shot down seven drones over Bryansk, which is located on Ukraine’s northern border.
          • According to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, Ukrainian forces attacked two villages in the Belgorod area of Russia, wounding one citizen and starting a fire in a house that was promptly put out.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • Donald Trump, the US president-elect, received congratulations from the Kremlin for denouncing Ukrainian missile attacks into Russian territory. However, it stated that it was too soon to start talking about sending European troops to maintain peace in Ukraine.
          • According to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Warsaw was not “planning any such actions”, but he did discuss with French President Emmanuel Macron the idea of foreign forces in Ukraine in the event of ceasefire.
          • According to sources acquainted with the arrangement, the Reuters news agency said that Zelenskyy will meet with the leaders of the European Union, NATO, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Poland in Brussels next week to discuss support for his nation.
          • According to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, the United States will impose financial penalties on Serbia’s oil company NIS, which is mostly owned by Gazprom Neft and Gazprom of Russia, in the comping days.
          • With the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, Ukraine, a major producer and exporter of grains and oilseeds, is prepare to provide food to Syria, according to Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Vitaliy Koval. Due to payment delays and uncertainties surrounding the new government, Russian wheat supplies to Syria have been halted, according to both Syrian and Russian sources.
          • According to diplomats, EU foreign ministers will sanction Russian intelligence officers on Monday for their “hybrid” attacks against the bloc. Moscow has been charged by the EU and NATO with orchestrating a series of events intended to undermine Western stability.
          • A woman who collaborated with Russian intelligence to create false reports that supported Moscow’s invasion was given a 14-year prison sentence by a Ukrainian court.
          • Additionally, Kyiv detained a number of individuals it claims are Russian spies and are compromising Ukrainian security.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,023

Military

• • • • • • Ukraine’s senior military commander has described the fighting surrounding the strategic eastern city of Pokrovsk as “extremely intense” during a months-long Russian advance.
          • In the last 24 hours, Ukrainian troops have thwarted around 40 Russian efforts to breach defenses near Pokrovsk, according to the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ General Staff.
          • A “direct” drone attack that destroyed a “clearly marked” agency car in Ukraine on Tuesday was denounced by Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who said that the hit had the “intention to harm”. Moscow and Kyiv exchanged blame for the walkout.
          • As Russia increased pressure on what had been a comparatively quiet area of the battlefield, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with soldiers in the front-line southeastern Zaporizhian region.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • Despite Kyiv’s mockery of the notion, the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin supported Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s efforts to secure a Christmas ceasefire in Ukraine and a substantial exchange of prisoners of war.
          • Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated in a statement that the U.S. administration of President Joe Biden has announced another $500 million package of weapons supplies for Ukraine.
          • Donald Trump, the US president-elect, stated that while he “strongly disagreed” with Ukraine launching US-provided missiles far into Russia, he believed that US assistance for Kyiv would be crucial leverage in attempts to end the conflict.
          • According to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Warsaw is not “planning any such actions” at the moment, but he did discuss with French President Emmanuel Macron the prospect of placing foreign forces in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.
          • Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, stated that Kyiv was not yet prepared to begin negotiations with Russia since it did not have the weapons, security assurances, or international standing it desired.
          • As he urged Europeans to put pressure on their governments to increase defense expenditure, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte issued a warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to “wipe Ukraine off the map” and may target other regions of Europe next.
          • At a summit in Berlin, seven European foreign policy officials said that Ukraine’s route to NATO membership is “irreversible”.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,022

Military

• • • • • • Nine people have been killed in a Russian missile strike on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday, according to Ukrainian officials.
          • According to Ukraine’s military general staff, a nighttime attack led to a “massive fire” at an oil storage in the Bryansk region of western Russia that feeds fuel to a vital conduit for Russian military supplies.
          • Governor Alexander Bogomaz of Bryansk acknowledged that a drone strike had caused an industrial building to catch fire, but he added that no one had been hurt and that the fire had been put out.
          • In the western Kursk region, where Kyiv has been conducting a cross-border incursion since August, the Russian army claimed to have retaken two villages.
          • Ukraine fired six ATACMS missiles supplied by the West toward a military airport in the southern Rostov region’s port city of Taganrog, according to Russia’s Ministry of Defense.
          • After a US official, speaking on condition of anonymity. stated that “Russia has signaled its intent to launch another experimental Oreshnik missile at Ukraine, “Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh informed reporters that a U.S. “intelligence assessment” concluded that “it’s possible that Russia could use [an] Oreshnik missile in the upcoming days”.
          • A law passed in April to increase army conscription in Ukraine is encountering increasing opposition, according to videos shared on social media, while some Ukrainian war veterans claim they feel ignored and forgotten.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • A $20 billion US loan to Ukraine, secured by blocked Russian assets, was described by Russia’s Foreign Ministry as “banal theft” that “will not go unanswered. “The loan is a component of a $50 billion G7 assistance package that was revealed in October.
          • Ukraine denied discussing a Christmas ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Russia with Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary.
          • As relationships between Moscow and the West deteriorate, Russia issued a warning to its people not to visit the US and other Western nations, saying they could be “hunted” by the government.
          • OMV, an Austrian oil and gas company, declared that it had terminated its agreement with Gazprom, a Russian energy giant that had previously ceased providing gas to Austria. Despite reducing imports during the war, certain European nations are still heavily dependent on Russian gas that is routed through Ukraine.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,021

Military

• • • • • • According to Ukraine’s National Police, a Russian missile strike on a private medical clinic in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia resulted in four fatalities and nineteen injuries.
          • One of its cars was seriously damaged by a kamikaze drone while being driven by officials keeping an eye on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Although no employees were hurt, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi called the strike on teams trying to stop a nuclear disaster during the military war “unacceptable”.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • According to Russian news media, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, arrived in Beijing on a two-day visit aimed at holding meetings with Chinese leaders.
          • As part of a $50 billion G7 support package announced in October, the US Treasury said it granted a $20 billion credit for Ukraine backed by the proceeds of blocked Russian assets.
          • According to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, peace negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine might start this winter.
          • Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, stated that his nation will set up facilities for the anticipated launch of Moscow’s newest hypersonic ballistic missile and that it is currently housing dozens of Russian nuclear warheads. As part of Moscow’s attempts to deter the West from Stepping up its assistance for Ukraine, Belarus has been participating more and more in Russian nuclear weapons exercises.
          • According to the Pentagon, the possible $266.4 million sale of F-16 sustainment services and associated equipment to Ukraine was cleared by the US State Department. According to the Pentagon, Sabena, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, and Pratt & Whitney will be the main contractors.
          • A newly established unit in Cyprus will receive intelligence from the UK with the mission of stopping Russia from avoiding international sanctions. Since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Cyprus has blocked $1.9 billion in Russian assets.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,020

Military

• • • • • • Orders to enhance money for Ukraine’s brigades to acquire new drones were issued by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A decision regarding the amount of these direct funds was recently approved by us. But in his nighttime speech, Zelenskyy stated, “Now I see that the amount is insufficient”. “I gave the prime minister instructions to increase brigade funding multiple times over in the upcoming days”.
          • According to Zelenskyy, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency said that there are currently about 800,000 Russian forces stationed in Ukraine.

Diplomacy

• • • • • • President Zelenskyy argued for a diplomatic end to the conflict and brought up the possibility of sending foreign troops to Ukraine until it could join NATO at a joint news conference with Friedrich Merz, the head of the German opposition.
          • Merz, a leading candidate for Germany’s next chancellorship, called his nation’s arms-procurement strategy for Ukraine “like forcing it to fight with one arm tied behind its back”.
          • According to a presidential spokeswoman, Ukraine wants to meet with its main European partners in December to coordinate a unified stance and make sure Kyiv is well-positioned for any future negotiations and on the battlefield.
          • The EU Council said that Ukraine will soon receive an additional 4.2 billion euros ($4.4 billion) in funding after the member states of the EU approved the planned payment of the cash.
          • According to Portugal’s Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, the EU requires shared tools to finance defense expenditures in the face of a protracted conflict in Ukraine and demands from the US for NATO allies to boost such spending.
          • As part of a long-running effort to repatriate more than 20,000 children deported by Russian authorities from seized regions of Ukraine, Ukrainian officials announced that five Ukrainian children who had been transferred away or place in care since Russia’s invasion in February 2022 had returned to their motherland.
          • Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s defense minister, said he spoke with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin about organizing the upcoming meeting of the Ramstein Group, an alliance of NATO, the EU, and other nations that support Kyiv against Russia’s incursion. According to reports, Austin reiterated that the US is “prepared to give Ukraine everything it needs to effectively fight the enemy”.
          • Andrius Kubilius, the EU’s new defense commissioner, told the Reuters news agency that Europe must figure out how to pay for hundreds of billions of euros in additional military spending over the next year in order to protect against any Russian invasion.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1, 019

Combating

• • • • • • The Russian Defense Ministry posted on the Telegram messaging app that 13 Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russian air defense troops over three areas of western Russia.
          • According to Ukraine’s air force, the nation’s air defense system shot down 18 Russian-launched drones and two missiles last night.
          • According to Russia’s RIA state news agency, which cited the Defense Ministry, Russian forces have seized control of the Blahodatne town in eastern Ukraine. Less than 20 percent of Ukraine is under Russian control.
          • Since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been slain, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In a post on X, he stated that an estimated 370,000 soldiers were wounded during that time.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • Zelenskyy and the Kremlin listed their demands after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump demanded an immediate ceasefire and talks between Ukraine and Russia to put an end to “the madness”.
          • Trump also stated in an interview with NBC News that the next administration would cut aid to Ukraine, which the US has firmly supported since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
          • Following Trump’s demand for a ceasefire, the Kremlin declared that Russia was amenable to discussions on Ukraine. Negotiations must be grounded in the agreements made in Istanbul in 2022 and the reality of the modern battlefield, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
          • A truce without guarantees can be breached at any time, Zelenskyy said, adding that the war with Russia cannot be resolved with a few signatures and a piece of paper.
          • During their Paris talks, Zelenskyy claimed to have informed Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron that Kyiv requires a “lasting peace” that Moscow would not “destroy in a few years”.
          • According to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, Russia’s inferiority and incapacity to fight on two frost are shown by the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
          • Friedrich Merz, the leader of Germany’s conservative opposition and a strong candidate to become the nation’s next chancellor, is in Ukraine for discussions on how to stop Russia’s full-scale invasion. Compared to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, he has taken a more assertive stance against Russia, stating that if the Kremlin does not cease attacking the civilian infrastructure, Germany should provide Ukraine with the Taurus long-range cruise missiles it has long desired. Putin will only be willing to engage in talks if Ukraine is powerful. This war will drag on longer if we lose support for Ukraine. This battle will finish sooner if we continue to assist Ukraine”, Merz stated when he arrived in Kyiv on Monday.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,018

Combating

• • • • • • According to Ukraine’s air force, its air defense units destroyed 28 of the 74 Russian drones that were launched against the country overnight. According to a Telegram statement, 46 Russian drones were “lost”, most likely due to electronic warfare.
          • On Telegram, Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported that 46 Ukrainian drones were shot down by its air defense system over five Russian regions during the course of the night.
          • Additionally, the ministry reported that its troops had captured Berestky, a tiny village near the beleaguered town of Kurakhove in the eastern Donetsk area of Ukraine.

Weaponry

• • • • • • Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, announced that a second group of F-16 aircraft had flown in from Denmark. He commended Denmark for defending lives and establishing a “example of leadership”.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • Following their meeting in Paris, which was hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump stated that Zelenskyy was eager to reach an agreement to stop the war with Russia. Trump stated on his Truth Social platform that talks should take place after a rapid ceasefire.
          • “We all want this war to end as soon as possible and in a just way”, Zelenskyy said after describing his meeting with Trump and Macron in Paris as “good and productive”. We discussed a just peace, the circumstances on the ground, and our people.
          • The Biden administration will give Ukraine an additional $988 million assistance, according to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. The package is distinct from the December 2 announcement of $725 million in military aid.
          • After speaking with Trump over the phone, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the Funke group of newspapers that he is sure he can reach a consensus with him on a shared approach to Ukraine.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,017

Combating

• • • • • • At least ten people were killed and twenty-four injured in a Russian strike on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia on Friday. Ivan Fedorov, the city’s governor, claimed that the attack had caused a service station and auto garage to catch fire.
          • According to the local governor, at least two persons were killed in another attack on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih, which is nearby.
          • Moscow said that its forces had advanced in two strategic regions of the east Ukraine front line, taking a village close to the industrial town of Kurakhove and another close to the beleaguered supply center of Pokrovsk.

Diplomacy And Military

• • • • • • In a post on Telegram following the attacks, Zelenskyy attacked Putin, claiming that “only through force can real peace be established” and that “thousands of such strikes carried out by Russia during this war make it absolutely clear that Putin does not need real peace”.
          • Andrius Kubilius, the EU’s first-ever defense commissioner, has warned that Russia may be ready for a military attack on the EU or NATO by 2023 and has called for a “big-bang approach” in terms of investment and legislative changes to bolster the bloc’s defenses.
          • Ukraine unveiled Peklo, or Hell in Ukrainian, a new domestically made “rocket drone” that it claims can travel 700 kilometers (430 miles), more than twice as far as missiles supplied by Western partners.
          • In a television interview, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that his nation’s recent deployment of a hypersonic missile in the conflict in Ukraine was intended to convey to the West that Moscow was prepared to employ “any mean” to avoid defeat.
          • In an attempt to meet with US President-elect Donald Trump, Zelenskyy is scheduled to fly to Paris this weekend for the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral.
          • In an interview released on Saturday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his belief that he and Trump could create a “joint strategy” for Ukraine.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,016

Combating

• • • • • • Russia launched 53 drones against Ukraine overnight, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, which shot down 32 of them and “lost track” of 16. According to the Air Force statement, two drones departed Ukraine-controlled airspace and were their route to Belarus.
          • According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, the country intends to provide its military with over 30,000 long-range attack drones in the upcoming year. These cutting-edge drones are capable of long-range autonomous operation and very accurate enemy target strikes.
          • The Institute for the Study of War claims that Russia is still losing a lot soldiers in order to advance tactically in the western Donetsk region of Ukraine.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • According to a White House spokeswoman, Andriy Yermak, a senior advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan talked about strengthening Kyiv’s stance in its conflict with Russia and making sure it enters any future talks from a strong position.
          • During an annual security summit in Malta, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov implicitly clashed with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, accusing the West of resurrecting the Cold War and inciting a direct confrontation with Russia.
          • In a separate interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson, Lavrov stated that Russia would do everything in its power to prevent a loss in the conflict with Ukraine.
          • Despite opposition from Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament, is anticipated to consider whether to deploy Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine.
          • According to Canada’s public safety minister, 324 types of firearms that belong on the battlefield are being banned. Additionally, Ottawa stated that it was collaborating with the Ukrainian government to determine how the weapons may be supplied to aid in the defense against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,015

Combating

• • • • • • According to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, the second such strike on the Russian North Caucasus region occurred in Grozny when a Ukrainian drone struck, injuring residents and damaging the property of a special police unit engaged in combat in Ukraine.
          • According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Ukraine must enlist young people in the military if it hopes to win the fight against Russia.
          • In a delicate conversation, a Russian government minister was heard stating that 48,000 relatives of Russian soldiers had provided DNA samples, presumably in reference to efforts to identify Russia’s fallen soldiers by their remains.
          • A 16-year-old girl was detained by Ukraine’s security service on suspicion of assisting Moscow in planning an airstrike against the northern Chernihiv region.

Diplomacy

• • • • • • After Moscow’s UN envoy accused Kyiv of supporting rebels against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government, Ukraine dismissed as “baseless” a Russian allegation that it was participating in the crisis in Syria.
          • Proposals to terminate Russia’s assault on Ukraine are being floated by advisers to incoming US President-elect Donald Trump both publicly and privately. These proposals include removing the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO and giving up significant portions of the country to Moscow for the foreseeable future.
          • Despite President Emmanuel Macron’s repeated pledges to back Kyiv for as long as required, Paris may find it challenging to increase its support for Ukraine given the country’s inability to pass a budget and the fall of the French government on Wednesday.
          • According to a source with knowledge of the meeting, a Ukrainian team met with top Trump administration officials as Ukraine looks to the incoming US government for assistance in its conflict with Russia.
          • German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was heavily criticized by Friedrich Merz, the conservative candidate for chancellor, for implying that Germany could send soldiers to Ukraine in order to keep the peace.
          • According to state news agency TASS, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made his first trip to a member state of the European Union since the start of Moscow’s war in Ukraine when he arrived in Malta for an OSCE meeting.
          • After a far-right outsider won Romania’s first-round presidential election, setting the stage for a Runoff the US threatened to have “serious negative impacts” if Romania turned away from the West. The 62-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin supporter and anti-vaxer Calin Georgescu has sparked concerns in the West that it might signal a change in the NATO member that borders Ukraine’s foreign policy.

Security in the region

• • • • • • The military alliance has decided on “proactive measures” to combat Russia’s campaign of Hybrid warfare against its members, according to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
          • Additionally, in exchange for troops and weaponry to fight in Ukraine, Rutte accused Russia of aiding North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
          • Hungary’s foreign minister claimed that there was “no consensus” among NATO counterparts in Brussels over the possibility of inviting Ukraine to join the transatlantic military alliance.
          • Georgia’s severe crackdown on protesters was criticized by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who also charged that Georgia’s administration was caving in to Moscow.
          • According to the US military, last week was the first time that top US military officer, Air Force General CQ Brown, had a phone conversation with Russia’s Chief of General Staff, Valery Gerasimov. During the conversation, Brown “discussed a number of global and regional security issues to include the ongoing conflict in Ukraine”.
          • While conducting a reconnaissance operation in the Baltic Sea, the crew of a Russian ship fired signal munitions at a German military helicopter. According to German Foreign Minister Baerbock, ships frequently participate in evading sanctions imposed as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the Baltic Sea.
          • According to Pyongyang’s state-run news agency KCNA, a deal on a comprehensive strategic alliance between North Korea and Russia has taken effect. The treaty’s formalization coincides with accusations from the US and South Korea that North Korea sent over 10,000 troops to aid Russia in its conflict with Ukraine.
          • An international sting has brought down a multibillion-dollar money laundering network that was used by drug dealers in the United Kingdom to conceal illegal funds and was overseen by two Russian millionaires.
          • The commander of the UK’s armed forces has warned that the country faces numerous challenges as the globe enters a “third nuclear age”. However, if the two nations were at war, Admiral Tony Radakin stated that there would only be a “rare chance” that Russia would strike or invade the UK directly.

Human rights and humanitarian assistance

• • • • • • In reference to the difficulties in generating funds for initiatives to assist people in conflict areas such as Gaza, Sudan, Syria, and Ukraine, the new director of the UN humanitarian aid organization said it would be “ruthless” when deciding how best to spend funds.
          • A Ukrainian government official called on countries around the world to assist in repatriating Ukraine’s children who have been detained in Russia since the beginning of the conflict between Moscow and Ukraine.
          • Alain Berset, the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, was received in Kyiv by Ukraine’s Zelenskyy. Following their encounter, Zelenskyy wrote on X that the two had talked about the necessity of setting up a court to punish those responsible for Russian aggression against Ukraine.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,014

Combating

• • • • • • According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian drones attacked vital infrastructure overnight in the western Ternopil and Riven districts of Ukraine. A week after Russian strikes knocked out power to much of the city and the surrounding area, the attack left a portion of Ternopil without energy, according to the city’s mayor.
          • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded that Ukraine’s 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line be significantly reinforced in its eastern sections. Zelenskyy added that the “greater our army’s firepower and technological capabilities, the more we can destroy Russia’s offensive potential”, and that much hinged on Ukraine’s Western partners supplying essential weapons.
          • As Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced that its forces had taken control of two new front-line communities, the town of Novodarivka in the neighboring Zaporizhia area and the town of Kurakhove in the Donetsk region, Zelenskyy made his appeal.
          • The mayor of Novorossiysk, a port city in the Russian Black Sea, stated on early Wednesday that Russian air defense units were attempting to thwart a Ukrainian drone attack on the city.
          • The Russian Defense Ministry said that during exercise in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, Russian Navy frigates tested new generation Zircon (Tsirkon) hypersonic antiship missiles. An Onyx antiship missile was also tested, and a Kalibr cruise missile-an additional weapon with a nuclear warhead-was launched by a Russian submarine.
          • Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is increasing missile production and has tested new, domestically produced missiles, but he did not elaborate.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • NATO chief Mark Rutte stated ahead of a Tuesday meeting of the alliance’s foreign ministers that the union will increase intelligence sharing and strengthen the defense of vital infrastructure against Russia’s “hostile” sabotage actions. Rutte went on to say that in order to fortify Kyiv’s position in the event that it engages in peace talks with Moscow, the bloc must increase military assistance.
          • Latvian Minister for Foreign Affairs Baiba Braze told the Reuters news agency during the meeting that although political leaders in NATO have agreed “in principle” that Ukraine will join the transatlantic alliance, some members are holding off on approving the move until Donald Trump’s administration takes office in the US.
          • As the alliance avoided Kyiv’s demand for an immediate membership invitation at Tuesday’s meeting of foreign ministers, Ukraine stated that it would not accept anything less than NATO membership to ensure its future security.
          • German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stated on the sidelines of the NATO meeting that Kyiv alone would determine whether to begin talks with Russia, adding that Ukraine needs strong security guarantees and a fair peace.
          • In a fresh demonstration of solidarity for Kyiv, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has told the Reuters news agency that Italy is drafting a new military aid package for Ukraine.
          • According to a US State Department-backed assessment by Yale’s School of Public Health, a Kremlin-funded initiative that employed a Russian presidential aircraft and funds to transport at least 314 children from controlled Ukrainian territory and place them with Russian families.
          • As Poland increase defense spending in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, state-owned insurance provider PZU intends to fund project with both military and civilian applications, according to Artur Olech, head of the firm. Olech excluded programs that were solely military but did not elaborate.
          • According to the Kremlin, the US’s decision to transfer another #725 million arms package to Ukraine demonstrates that President Joe Biden’s departing administration is committed to stoking the flames of the war in Ukraine in order to keep it continuing.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,013

Combating

• • • • • • According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia attacked the nation overnight with 110 drones. The Air Force reported that at least 50 drones were “lost” and that 52 of the 110 drones were shot down.
          • According to official news, which cited the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russia’s air defense systems shot down 15 Ukrainian drones over various Russian territories overnight.

Diplomacy and Military Assistance

• • • • • • According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine needs stronger air defense systems to defend its vital infrastructure against Russian missile assaults.
          • According to Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine would require tens of thousands of uncrewed robotic ground vehicles in the upcoming year in order to evacuate injured soldiers and deliver supplies and ammunition to infantry in the trenches.
          • F-35 fighter jets and NASAMS (short to medium-range) air defense systems will be sent to a logistics center in Poland that organizes military assistance for Ukraine, according to Norway’s Ministry of Defense. In addition to the fighter jets and air defense systems, Norway will deploy about 100 troops to protect the airspace over the Rzeszow airport starting in early December.
          • Hours after Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the deliveries during his surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday, a Defense Ministry official indicated that German military aid, including armed drones, Leopard 1 tanks, and IRIS-T air defense systems, would be sent to Ukraine in December.
          • Local authorities were attempting to stabilize the situation, but Russia would not intervene, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, comparing the wave of pro-EU protests in Georgia to an attempted Orange Revolution akin to the 2004 mass protest that overthrew a pro-Russian government in Kyiv.
          • According to senior NATO diplomats cited by Reuters, it is extremely improbable that NATO will accept Ukraine’s request for a membership invitation at a bloc summit scheduled for Tuesday. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote to his NATO counterparts prior to the conference, stating that an invitation would eliminate one of Russia’s primary justifications for fighting its war, which is to keep Ukraine from joining the alliance.
          • During their discussion, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov talked about Russia’s employment of new ballistic missiles, plans for Washington’s military assistance next year, and the upcoming weapons donor meeting.
          • As President Joe Biden’s departing government looks to support Kyiv before it leaves office in January, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the United States will deliver Ukraine $725 million worth of missiles, ammunition, antipersonnel mines, and other weapons.
          • While acknowledging that a negotiated conclusion to the war is possible, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that increasing assistance for Ukraine is crucial to putting Kyiv in a strong position for peace negotiations with Russia.
          • Prosecutors told a London court that a gang of Bulgarian nationals who are suspected of spying for Russia targeted an investigative journalist with the Bellingcat news site and attempted to trick him into falling into a “honey trap” on Facebook. Along with Orlin Roussev and Bizer Dzhambazov, Katrin Ivanova, Vanya Gaberova, and Tihomir Ivanchev also conducted surveillance on a US military installation in Germany that was used to train Ukrainian forces.
          • Threats to the institution, such as potential US sanctions and Russian warrants for employees,”jeopardize its very existence”, according to Tomoko Akane, president judge of the International Criminal Court. Two months after the Hague court issued one for Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the ICC.
          • During a visit to Beijing, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock claimed that Putin is using North Korean troops and Chinese-made drones to pull Asia into the conflict in Ukraine.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,012

Combating

• • • • • • Viacheslav Negoda, the commander of the military administration of the Ternopil region, said that Russia’s drone attack on the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil resulted in one fatality and other injuries. The victims were staying in a residential structure, and the fire also damaged parts of that building.
          • Regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said a Russian drone attack on the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine killed at least three persons. The attack injured seven more people.
          • According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at least four persons were killed in a Russian missile strike on a town in the central Dnipropetrovsk area of Ukraine. A toddler was among the more than a dozen other people injured.
          • According to Governor Alexander Bogomaz, a huge Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s western Bryansk region killed one child and destroyed one house in the Starodubsky area.
          • According to the RIA official news agency, which cited the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russia’s air defense systems shot down 15 Ukrainian drones over various Russian territories overnight.
          • According to the Russian Defense Ministry, its troops have taken control of the eastern Donetsk area of Ukraine, specifically the communities of Illinka and Petrivka.
          • Additionally, the ministry reported that in the last 24 hours, its air defense system shot down 55 Ukrainian drones.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • In an unexpected trip to war-torn Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised 650 million euros ($680 million) in further military assistance to reinforce Berlin’s support for Kyiv in its conflict with Russia.
          • Zelenskyy urged former US President Joe Biden to assist in persuading NATO members to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance.
          • Zelenskyy met with Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council, in Kyiv and commended his intention to travel to Ukraine right after taking office. Before holding discussions with Russia, he informed Costa and Kaja Kallas, the new head of diplomacy for the European Union, that Ukraine needs more weaponry to defend itself and security guarantees from NATO.
          • Following allegations that some unnamed Western officials had advised Biden to do so before he leaves office, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated that the US is not considering restoring to Ukraine the nuclear weapons it gave up after the Soviet Union fell.
          • China is allegedly supplying Russia with weaponry for its conflict with Ukraine and endangering peace in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, according to German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. Next week, Baerbock will travel to Beijing to speak with Wang Yi, her Chinese counterpart.
          • A budget for 2025-2027 with a military focus has been authorized by Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a document posted on the official legal acts website. As the nation continues its military campaign in Ukraine, its includes a 25 percent increase in military budget

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,011

Combating

• • • • • • According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at least four persons were killed in a Russian missile attack on a town in the central Dnipropetrovsk area of Ukraine. A business and residential structure were wrecked, and over a dozen others, including a kid, were injured.
          • According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine’s port infrastructure has been struck around 60 times in the past three months, and 15 of the country’s civilian airports have sustained damage since Russia invaded in February 2022.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • In an interview, Zelenskyy hinted that granting Ukraine NATO membership while letting Russia retain the area it had taken temporarily would be a way to put an end to the conflict’s “hot stage”, which has been going on for 33 months.
          • Antonio Costa, the head of the European Council, and Kaja Kallas, the EU’s new top diplomat, arrived in Kyiv on their first day in office as a symbolic gesture of solidarity of Ukraine.
          • In a phone conversation with Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macon underlined his support for Ukraine and his disapproval of an increase in Russian aggression on the nation, according to the two leaders.
          • In a letter seen by Reuters on Friday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged his NATO counterparts to invite Kyiv to a summit in Brussels next week to join the Western military alliance.
          • Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov has been informed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that Moscow has the right to defend itself and that Ukraine’s use of long-range weaponry is the consequence of direct US military participation.
          • Given the antagonistic US, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned official news agency TASS that a potential return to nuclear weapons testing by Moscow is still up in the air.
          • As Russia gains ground in the east and Kyiv’s troops struggle with a manpower shortfall, Zelenskyy replaced the head of the military’s land forces with Major-General Mykhailo Drapatyi. Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavliuk, who assumed command in a significant reorganization in February, is replaced by Drapatyi.
          • After visiting two important Ukrainian-held locations in the Donetsk region, Ukraine’s army chief Oleksandr Syrskii declared he would provide reserves, ammunition, and equipment to forces stationed on the eastern front.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,010

Combating

• • • • • • After visiting Pokrovsk and Kurakhove in the Donetsk region, Oleksandr Syrskii, the head of Ukraine’s army, declared he would provide reserves, ammunition, and equipment to bolster troops on the eastern front. Ukrainian military are still fending off Russian advances in the east, according to Syrskii.
          • According to Kyiv, Russian officials have returned around 500 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers who were killed in battle, the majority of whom died in the eastern Donetsk region.
          • On Friday, social media footage showed the Atlas Oil Depot in Russia’s Rostov Region on fire.
          • Major-General Mykhailo Drapatyi was named the next commander of Ukraine’s ground forces by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “For the Ukrainian army to fully accomplish the objectives of our state, internal reforms are required”, Zelenskyy stated.
          • Amid escalating Russian counterattacks, Ukraine has lost almost 40% of the area it took in August during a surprise invasion of Russia’s Kursk region.
          • According to military analysts, Ukraine’s military is facing a manpower shortfall, which makes it more difficult to build up reserve forces or rotate troops out of the more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) of front line.
          • After Russia launched about 200 missiles and drones at Ukraine’s energy infrastructure a day earlier, leaving over a million households without electricity, residents of Kyiv went about their daily lives on Friday with flashlights and candles.
          • Early on Saturday, a senior Russian ambassador was quoted as saying that Moscow’s potential to resume nuclear weapons tests is still up in the air due to hostile U.S. policies. When asked if Moscow was thinking about starting testing again, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov responded, “This is a question at hand”, according to the TASS news agency.

Diplomacy

• • • • • • According to Pyongyang official media, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and decided to increase military cooperation between the two countries.
          • According to the country’s KCNA news agency, Kim informed Belousov that Moscow has the right to strike in self-defense and that Ukraine’s use of long-range weaponry is the outcome of direct military intervention by the United States and the West.
          • According to his office, French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to give Ukraine strong assistance in its fight against Russia’s “escalation” of its invasion.
          • At a meeting in Brussels next week, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha is said to have pushed NATO allies to invite Kyiv to join the Western military alliance.
          • Offering Ukraine NATO membership while letting Russia retain the area it has taken temporarily may be a way to put an end to the “hot stage” of the 33-month conflict, Zelenskyy stated in an interview broadcast on Friday.
          • The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ spokeswoman demanded that Russia “immediately cease all attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure”.
          • The conflict between Russia and Ukraine “has shown us the weakness of the rules-based international system”, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
          • Josep Borrell, the departing head of European Union foreign policy, called the situation in Ukraine “worsening” and expressed doubt that US President-elect Donald Trump can make it better. According to Borrell, Ukraine can only protect itself if its allies stand by it.
          • In a call on Friday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised Zelenskyy Germany’s sustained support and they agreed to keep in touch, with a focus on potential routes to a just peace, he posted on social media site X.
          • After Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidza of Ukraine announced that his nation would halt EU accession negotiations, Ukraine accused Georgia of attempting to “please Moscow”.

Security in the region

• • • • • • In addition to increasing its nuclear saber-rattling to deter other nations from supporting Ukraine, Russia is engaging in a “staggeringly reckless campaign” of sabotage across Europe, according to the chief of the UK’s MI6 foreign spy organization.
          • Poland has strengthened the NATO brigade in Latvia by sending Leopard 2 battle tanks there.
          • Rheinmetall, a German defense company, and Lithuania inked agreements to start building a $190 million ammunition plant in Lithuania to produce artillery shells domestically.
          • According to a parliamentary budget committee source who spoke to the AFP news agency, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius wants to purchase four additional submarines to help meet NATO’s security needs in Europe.
          • The BfV domestic intelligence agency in Germany has issued a warning about potential attempts by other states to sway the next federal election.

Human Rights

• • • • • • In a second hearing, Russia condemned Alexei Gorinov, the first person convicted for criticizing Moscow’s military campaign Ukraine, to an additional three years in prison. The 63-year old, a former city councilor from Moscow, was convicted in 2022 and is currently serving a seven-year term.

SOOURCE: ALAJZEERA

Key events list, day 1,009

Combating

• • • • • • At least a million people in three western areas experienced catastrophic power outages as a result of Russia’s second significant attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure this month. Regional governors claimed that 523,000 customers in the Lviv area, 215,000 in the Volyn region, and 280,000 in the Rivne region lost power as a result of the attacks.
          • Russia employed 91 missiles and 97 drones in the strike, according to Ukraine’s air force, with 12 of them striking their objectives, the majority of which were fuel and energy installations.
          • President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow used US medium-range ATACMS missiles to retaliate for Ukraine’s strikes on Russian territory. He cautioned that further targets might use its new Oreshnik hypersonic missile, which Moscow says cannot be intercepted, to attack “decision-making centers” in Kyiv.
          • Russian employment of cruise missiles with cluster munitions in the attack was criticized by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “despicable escalation”. Zelenskyy claimed he was negotiating with Western leaders, such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, to develop a response to Russia’s effort to “drag out the war”.
          • Another to Regional Governor Yuri Slyusar, Russian air defenses shot down or destroyed shot down or destroyed 30 Ukrainian drones in the southern Rostov region early Friday.
          • Late Thursday, fragments of downed Russian drones hit buildings in two area of Kyiv, injuring one person, according to officials.
          • Reports of a cruise missile attack in the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa prompted explosions to be heard there thursday morning.

Politics, Diplomacy, and Finances

• • • • • • Ukraine’s first wartime tax rises have been signed into law by President Zelenskyy. According to Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko, the bill is essential to ensuring seamless financing for the country’s defense industry. The personal income war tax will increase from 1.5 percent to 5 percent as a result of the amendments, which will go into effect on December 1.
          • Following a top US administration official’s call for Kyiv to lower the conscription age from 25 to 18, Ukraine has encouraged its allies to expedite military help, arguing that delivering vital battlefield equipment more quickly is more crucial than recruiting more soldiers.
          • According to Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff to the Ukrainian president, Ukraine is prepared to organize a second international summit with the goal of putting a stop to Russia’s invasion in the “nearest future”. In June, Ukraine hosted its first “peace summit” in Switzerland.
          • France has refused to declare if it would be willing to arrest President Putin under a similar demand. France is under fire for its position that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is exempt from an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.
          • At a news conference in Kazakhstan, Putin declared that if Kyiv were to obtain nuclear weapons, Russia would employ “precisely all means of destruction available” against Ukraine and that he would be “watching their every move”.
          • Putin went on to say that there were no requirements to begin negotiations with Ukraine on a potential peace agreement, but that the conditions he laid out in June-such as Kyiv abandoning its NATO aspirations-remained the same.
          • According to the German Defense Ministry, Germany has offered to re-deploy Patriot air defense missiles to NATO ally Poland at the beginning of the new year.
          • Dmitry Talantov, an attorney who has defended opponents of Moscow’s war in Ukraine, was found guilty of disseminating misleading information about the Russian army and “inciting hatred” and was given a seven-year prison sentence by a Russian court.
          • In a recent humanitarian exchange mediated by Qatar, Russia and Ukraine agreed to return a total of nine children to be reunited with family members.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,008

Combating

• • • • • • According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Russian soldiers have seized control of the community of Nova Illinka, which is near the beleaguered town of Kurakhove in the Donetsk area of eastern Ukraine.
          • Three persons were injured in a Russian drone strike on Kyiv, with two of them admitted to hospitals, according to officials in the Ukrainian capital.
          • According to state-run news agency TASS, Russia is moving quickly to deploy its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, which is a component of its strategic nuclear arsenal, on combat duty.
          • According to reports from both sides, Russian air defense systems destroyed 22 Ukrainian drones overnight, while Ukraine’s air defenses shot down 36 of the 89 Russian drones that were launched in strikes.
          • According to a senior U.S. administration official who wished to remain unnamed, Kyiv is not mobilizing or training enough new soldiers to replace those lost on the battlefield, thus Ukraine should think about reducing the age of military duty for its soldiers from 25 to 18.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • Bruno Kahl, the head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service, has stated that NATO may eventually trigger the alliance’s Article 5 mutual defense clause in response to Russia’s sabotage actions against Western targets.
          • According to the president-elect, Donald Trump has appointed retired US lieutenant general Keith Kellogg, who gave him a strategy to end the war in Ukraine, as a special envoy for the conflict. During Trump’s 2017-2021 administration, Kellogg served as the White House National Security Council’s chef of staff. Prior to that, he served as Vice President Mike Pence’s national security adviser.
          • During a visit to Seoul this week, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said he spoke with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol about taking collaboration security measures. Kyiv’s team also allegedly asked for military support during the meeting.
          • A German national has been detained by Poland and accused of supplying Russia with dual-use commodities that were “illegally sent to Russian military plants involved in the production of weapons”.
          • According to Russia’s Foreign Ministry, the notion that Washington should arm Ukraine with nuclear weapons, which is allegedly being discussed in the West, is “insane”, and one of the reasons Moscow invaded Ukraine was to avoid such a situation.
          • Sergey Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, cautioned the United states to stop what it described as a “spiral of escalation” over Ukraine, but he also promised to continue updating Washington on test missile launches to prevent “dangerous mistakes”.
          • After the Kyodo news agency revealed that Japan and the US are working to develop a unified military strategy for a potential Taiwan emergency, Russia claimed that the US missiles stationed in Japan would jeopardize Russian security and provoke a retaliatory response from Moscow.
          • At the beginning of his second trial on charges of justifying terrorism, Alexei Gorinov, a Moscow district councilor serving a seven-year term for opposing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, conducted an antiwar demonstration from the courtroom cage.

Military Assistance

• • • • • • According to the Reuters news agency, which cites two unidentified US sources, US President Joe Biden’s administration is putting up a $725 million arms package for Ukraine. According to reports, the shipment will contain antitank weaponry such as drones, Stinger missiles, antitank land mines, and ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).
          • In a joint statement, the leaders of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Norway, Poland, and Sweden promised to increase their assistance for Ukraine and provide it with more weaponry in the upcoming months.
          • Any decision by President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration to withdraw support for Ukraine would be a “death sentence” for the Ukrainian army, Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy told the UN Security Council, accusing Kyiv of attempting to bring NATO nations into direct conflict with Russia.
          • Ukraine’s 2025 budget, which calls for the first wartime tax rises in the nation’s history, will be signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,007

Combating

• • • • • • According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Russian forces have taken control of the village of Kopanky in the northeastern Kharkiv region of Ukraine.
          • Russian bombardment in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy has killed two citizens, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who also stated that a rescue effort is underway and that further victims may be buried beneath the rubble.
          • According to the Moscow Defense Ministry, Russia is contemplating retaliation measures after Ukraine twice used American-made Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) against Russia in the recent three days. Without mentioning any losses, it said that both strikes were directed at Russian forces in the Kursk area.
          • Overnight, Russia launched its biggest drone strike against Ukraine, destroying residential buildings in the Kyiv region and causing damage to the Ternopil system, which shut off power to around 70% of the country, according to Ukrainian officials.
          • Ukraine lost sight of 96 drones and shot down 76 of the 188 drones that were used during the night.
          • According to the Russian Defense Ministry, 39 Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russian air defense systems throughout seven locations during the course of the night.
          • According to independent Russian news organization Agentstvo, Russian soldiers have occupied an area half the size of London in the last month, marking the fastest advance in Ukraine since the early stages of the full-scale invasion in 2022. According to the report, Russian soldiers set a weekly record for 2024 by capturing about 235 square kilometers (91 square miles) in Ukraine in the last week.
          • According to two senior Ukrainian government sources, Russia fired a new experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile toward the Ukrainian city of Dnipro last week. The missile did minor damage and contained multiple warheads but no explosives.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • Following Russia’s launch of the new ballistic missile last week, NATO members met with Ukrainian authorities and reiterated their support for the country.
          • In a draft statement released following a two-day meeting, foreign ministers from the Group of 7 (G7) countries warned that North Korean support for Russia represents a dangerous extension of the conflict and reaffirmed their support for Ukraine while denouncing Russia’s “irresponsible and threatening nuclear rhetoric”.
          • Following the G7 meetings, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the United States is still providing a large amount of security assistance to support Ukraine’s eastern defenses. He said that Washington is keeping an eye on what Russia is doing for North Korea in return and that Russia’s use of North Korean forces in its conflict with Ukraine is a “serious concern”.
          • Following a report in The New York Times last week that suggested President Joe Biden could provide Kyiv with nuclear weapons, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declared that Western discussions about equipping Ukraine with nuclear weapons are “absolutely irresponsible”.
          • According to Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s foreign intelligence, Moscow wants a “solid and long-term peace” that addresses the fundamental causes of the problem, which is why Russia is against merely freezing the conflict in Ukraine.
          • According to South Korean media, a Ukrainian team headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov is in South Korean this week to request arms for its conflict with Russia.
          • In another setback to deteriorating relations following Ukraine’s firing of UK-made Storm Shadow missiles against Russian targets, Russia announced it was expelling British diplomat Edward Wilkes for spying, a claim the UK has disputed.
          • Before the year is out, Ukraine will receive two more IRIS-T air defense systems, according to German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

Finances

• • • • • • Putin will visit Kazakhstan this week to discuss energy connections, according to the Kremlin. Kazakhstan receives food, electricity, and refined oil products from Russia and exports the majority of its oil through it.
          • In its internal forecasts for 2025, the Russian state-controlled gas company Gazprom aims to stop sending gas to Europe through Ukraine after December 31, a source familiar with the preparations told the Reuters news agency. After more than 50 years of gas flows from Siberia to central Europe, which started during the Soviet era, Kyiv has stated its intention to terminate the transit agreement, a reliable source of Russian income.
          • According to Turkish officials, Turkey is negotiating with Russian and the US to obtain a waiver of US sanctions so that it may keep paying Gazprombank for Russian natural gas imports.
          • According to diplomats from the 27-nation bloc, European Union envoys will debate the 15th batch of penalties in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. These measures would target Chinese companies that manufacture drones for Moscow as well as tankers transporting Russian oil. In all, 54 people and 29 entities will be added to the current list’s 2,200+ members.
          • According to Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Norway has agreed to increase its projected fiscal help for Ukraine from 27 billion kronor this year to 30 billion kronor ($207 billion) next year.
          • The $50 billion loan guaranteed by frozen Russian assets must be disbursed to Ukraine as quickly as possible, according to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,005

Combating

• • • • • • On his Telegram channel, Alexei Smirnov, the regional governor of Kursk, stated that seven Ukrainian missiles were destroyed overnight over the Kursk region by Russia’s air defense systems.
          • According to regional governor Vladislav Shapsha, falling debris from downed Ukrainian drones caused a fire at an industrial complex in Kaluga, Russia. He reported that three drones were destroyed and that no one was hurt.
          • A security source told Russia’s RIA Novosti state news agency that Russian forces had taken a British mercenary, named as James Scott Rhys, who was engaged in combat with the Ukrainian army in the Kursk region of Russia.
          • In reaction to a fresh Russian drone attack, Kyiv’s air defenses were activated, Mayor Vitali Klitschko posted on Telegram.
          • According to the Ukrainian military, 50 out of 73 Russian drones that were launched at different targets were already shot down by Ukraine’s air defenses.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • In order to safeguard people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged its Western allies to focus their efforts on assisting in the provision of an air defense system.
          • According to the Kommersant newspaper, Russia will shortly appoint Alexander Darchiev, who currently leads the Foreign Ministry’s North American division, as its new ambassador to Washington.
          • Days after the United States announced it would provide antipersonnel landmines to Ukrainian forces fighting Russia’s incursion, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticized the “renewed threat” of these weapons.
          • Following Moscow’s announcement that it has tested its new Oreshnik hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile, Ukraine has revealed journalists pieces of the Russian missile that was used to attack the city of Dnipro last week.
          • According to a bill signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, those who volunteer to fight in Ukraine can write off about $100,000 in outstanding obligations, the administration said.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,004

Diplomacy

• • • • • • Prior to Monday’s G7 foreign ministers meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels to Italy to speak about the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
          • French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told the BBC that Western allies should “not set and express red lines” and “not put any limits on support for Ukraine”.
          • During his visit to Ankara on Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will speak with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte about the most recent events in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, according to a Turkish official.
          • According to The Kyiv Independent, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated his belief that his nation has a high possibility of resolving the conflict with Russia by 2025 while speaking at the Third Food Security Summit in Kyiv.
          • Zelenskyy stated at the same event that since July 2023, Russia has damaged 20 foreign commerce ships and 321 port infrastructure installations, the news agency added.
          • At the Halifax International Security Forum, former Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen emphasized the need of US assistance for Ukraine, claiming that a victory for Ukraine over Russia would act “as the most effective deterrent to future aggression”.

Combating

• • • • • • According to a senior Ukrainian military official who spoke to the Reuters news agency, Russian forces have launched rounds of counterattacks, costing Ukraine more than 40% of the area in Russia’s Kursk region that it quickly captured in an unexpected invasion in August.
          • According to a Russian government website, Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed legislation that will forgive up to 10 million roubles ($95,869) in debt for new army recruits who enlist to fight in Ukraine.
          • The name of 79,819 Russian servicemen who have died since the war began are listed in a report published by Mediazona, an independent Russian media organization that works with BBC Russia.
          • According to Reuters and local media in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv heard explosions that sounded like air defense troops in action.
          • Since around 1:00 GMT, there have been air raid alarms for the Ukrainian capital, the surrounding area, and the majority of northeast Ukraine.
          • According to Russia’s Defense Ministry on Telegram, 34 Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russian air defense systems, including 27 over the Ukrainian border region of Kursk.
          • According to the governor of Kursk, two “Ukrainian missiles” were shot down by Russian air defense units over the area overnight.
          • Putin emphasized the accuracy and strategic potential of the Oreshnik intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) by asserting that its widespread use may equal the devastating force of nuclear weapons.

SOURCE: ALJZEERA

Key events list, day 1,003

The Military

• • • • • • The Oreshnik is an experimental hypersonic missile that was launched toward Ukraine on Thursday, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed future military test firings of the weapon.
          • According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine is asking its partners for upgraded air defense systems in reaction to the growing threat posed by Russian hypersonic missiles.
          • According to experts, the Oreshnik can travel ten times faster than sound and may potentially hit targets as far distant as 5,500 kilometers (3,400 miles).
          • The chief of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces, General Sergei Karakayev, stated that the Oreshnik could be equipped with either conventional or nuclear warheads and could reach targets all over Europe.
          • Following Russia’s confirmation that it had launched a new ballistic missile at Ukraine, China’s Foreign Ministry reiterated pleas for “calm” and “restraint” in the conflict.
          • In his evening address, Zelenskyy claimed that international demands for de-escalation were being mocked by Russia’s intensification of the conflict. He claimed that Russia was making fun of the stance taken by nations like China, the Global South, and some politicians who consistently advocate for moderation.
          • Donald Tusk, the prime minister of Poland, acknowledged that some people were alarmed by the most recent developments in Russia’s war on Ukraine. The eastern conflict is about to hit a pivotal stage. We are all aware of this”, he stated. “The events of the past few dozen hours demonstrate that there is a real and serious threat of global conflict”.
          • The deployment of hypersonic missiles is a “terrible escalation, just like the use of North Korean soldiers, who are now being deployed and dying in this war for Putin’s imperial dream”, according to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
          • Russia launched a strike with the experimental, hypersonic ballistic missile, prompting NATO and Ukraine to hold emergency talks Tuesday.
          • Fearing an attack, Kyiv’s parliament canceled its regular Friday questions to the administration. A number of parliamentarians announced that Friday’s session had been canceled and that they were working remotely.

Combating

• • • • • • The village of Novodmytrivka in the Donetsk area of eastern Ukraine has been taken by Russian forces, according to the country’s defense ministry. This is the latest in what Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov called an expedited offensive.
          • The hamlet was one of eight villages where Russian forces were fighting and attempting to advance, according to Ukraine’s General Staff.
          • Russian soldiers are moving “200-300 meters a day” closer to the Ukrainian center of Kurakhove in the eastern Donetsk region, according to a Ukrainian military source. According to the insider, the situation is “worse” than it is near Pokrovsk, another important Russian target.
          • According to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, the US anticipates that hundreds of North Korean forces gathered in Russia would “soon” engage in war against Ukraine. According to Austin, there were perhaps 10,000 North Korean soldiers stationed near Kursk, which is on the Russian border, where they were being “integrated into the Russian formations”.
          • Authorities in the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine said that a Russian drone assault killed two individuals and injured another twelve. The territory serves as a vital supply line for the Ukrainian forces that have taken control of a portion of western Russia’s Kursk region.

Diplomacy

• • • • • • Russia’s threat of future strikes with new weapons should be taken seriously, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned, adding that “there will be consequences”. Orban sated that Russia values its position as “one of the most powerful militaries in the world, with some of the most modern and destructive weapons”, and that it “bases its policy and its place in the world on military force”.
          • According to a White House statement, US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron have spoken about the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
          • According to four people familiar with the transition arrangements, US President-elect Donald Trump is thinking of appointing his former intelligence chief, Richard Grenell, as a special envoy for the Russia-Ukraine crisis. According to rumors. Grenell, who was Trump’s ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence during Trump’s 2017-2021 term, will be instrumental in Trump’s attempts to stop the war in Ukraine if he is chosen for the position.
          • As part of his legal team during his first impeachment hearing, Trump’s attorney general nominee, Pam Bondi, was accused of threatening to cut off military supplies to Ukraine unless it agreed to conduct a corruption investigation into Trump’s Democratic opponent, now-President Joe Biden.

Security in the region

• • • • • • At the Baltic Council of Ministers meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Friday, the leaders of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania reportedly discussed the threat of hybrid warfare by hostile powers as well as joint defense and security concerns.
          • Following the conference, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal stated, “the importance of protecting our critical undersea infrastructure has been underscored by the recent damage to the Lithuania-Sweden and Finland-Germany cables in the Baltic Sea”.
          • Authorities in Norway have reported that a 20-year-old Norwegian student who was employed as a guard at the US embassy in Oslo was detained on suspicion of espionage for Iran and Russia. They ordered the man, who has not been named, to be detained for four weeks. According to Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, he co-owns a security frim with a dual citizen of Norway and an unnamed Eastern European countries.
          • After determining that around 645,000 rounds of Swiss-made small-calibre ammunition ended up in Ukraine in contravention of Swiss law, the Swiss government announced that it is prohibiting exports to a Polish
          • military hardware provider. Exports to the Polish company will be prohibited due to “the risk of diversion to Ukraine being assessed as being too high,” according to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs. Exports of
          • Swiss-made or Swiss-owned military equipment to warring nations are prohibited by Swiss law.
          • In a UK court, a man entered a guilty plea to an arson attack on a London company with ties to Ukraine, which the prosecution claims was committed on behalf of Russia’s paramilitary Wagner group. During his video-link appearance at London’s Woolwich Crown Court, 23-year-old Jake Reeves guilty to aggravated arson and taking money from a foreign intelligence agency. He is among six individuals facing charges related to the March fire at an industrial building in Leyton, east London, which took 60 firemen to extinguish.

Humanitarian

• • • • • • According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine will soon receive $4.8 billion from the World Bank for social and humanitarian purposes. Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian assault in February 2022, Ukraine has already gotten over $100 billion in foreign aid.
          • Following infrequent and “painful” negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv, dozens of citizens from the Kursk region on the Russian border have been repatriated to Russia from Ukraine. Kyiv did not immediately react, and it was unclear why the residents had been moved into Ukraine. Tatyana Moskalkova, the Russian human rights ombudsman, stated that 46 people from the Kursk region returned to Russia from Ukraine today after engaging in negotiations with the Ukrainian side.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,002

Attack by ballistic missiles

• • • • • • In a further escalation of the 33-month-old conflict, President Vladimir Putin confirmed that Russia launched a Hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in retaliation for the United States and the United Kingdom permitting Kyiv to attack Russian territory using cutting-edge Western weapons.
          • Putin claimed that the battle has “acquired elements of a global character” and that civilians would be alerted before any more strikes using such weapons.
          • Using the new missile was “a clear and severe escalation”, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who also called for strong international condemnation, regretting that “right now, there is no strong reaction from the world”.
          • However, US officials and NATO echoed Putin’s description of the weapon as an intermediate-range ballistic missile, which has a shorter range of 3,000 to 5,500km (1,860-3,415 miles). Kyiv first suggested Russia fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, a weapon designed for long-distance nuclear strikes and never used in war before.
          • Russia informed Washington just prior to the missile strike, according to an anonymous US official who spoke to the Reuters news agency. Another person claimed that the US had briefed Kyiv and allies to become ready for the potential deployment of such weapons.
          • Russia’s ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, has warned that Britain “is now directly involved in this war”, as the country’s defense ministry reported that air defense troops had shot down two British Storm Shadow cruise missiles fired by Ukraine.
          • According to Russia, the establishment of a new US ballistic missile defense installation in northern Poland will raise the total risk of nuclear war. Moscow’s “threat”, according to Warsaw, only serve to bolster the need for NATO defenses.

Combating

• • • • • • According to Russia’s defense ministry, Russian troops have taken Dalne, a village in the Donetsk area of eastern Ukraine.
          • Although the General Staff of Ukraine would not declare that Dalne was in Russian hands, they did note that it was one of seven villages in an area where Russian soldiers had attempted to breach Ukrainian defenses 26 times in the previous day.
          • Because of “potential security issues”, the Ukrainian parliament has postponed a meeting that was scheduled for Friday.
          • The severity of the most recent blow to the national grid is demonstrated by the fact that three of the five operational thermal plants owned by Ukrainian power company DTEK were struck by Russian missile strikes over the weekend, and one of them is still offline, according to an industry source.

North Korea

• • • • • • Two people aware with the decision told Reuters that President Joe Biden no longer opposed Ukraine using US missiles at targets inside Russia in retaliation for North Korea’s war entry.
          • According to state media, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has charged that the United States is increasing tension and provocations, claiming that the Korean Peninsula has never been at such risk of nuclear war.
          • According to a statement released by Seoul’s Defense Ministry, the defense ministers of South Korea and Japan denounced North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia during negotiations.

Sanctions

• • • • • • The Department of Treasury’s website carries a notice that the United States has imposed fresh sanctions on Russia, including on Russia’s Gazprombank.
          • In a letter to the European Commission, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia have demanded that fertilizers from Belarus and Russia be subject to customs duties.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,001

Weaponry And Combating

• • • • • • According to pro-Russian Telegram channels, Ukraine fired 12 British Storm Shadow cruise missiles into the Kursk area of Russia. These missiles are the most recent Western weapon that Ukraine has been authorized to employ against Russian targets.
          • In the town of Gubkin in the Belgorod area of Russia, around 168 kilometers (105 miles) from the Ukrainian border, the Ukrainian military said that a Russian command post had been “successfully struck”.
          • According to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, Russian forces have seized control of the village of Illinka in the Donetsk area of eastern Ukraine.
          • By pretending to be Ukrainian intelligence and disseminating a fictitious warning about an impending huge air attack, Russia has launched “a massive information-psychological attack”, according to Kyiv, which also said the letter “contains grammatical typical of Russian information and psychological operations”.
          • After closing its embassy in Kyiv on Wednesday over what it described as the prospect of a major air strike, the United States has restored it.
          • Russia would punish any NATO nations who assist Ukraine in striking deep into Russia with long-range Western weaponry, according to Sergey Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service.
          • Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, has declared his objection to the United States’ plan to permit Ukraine to launch an attack inside Russia using long-range missiles, claiming it will intensify the crisis.
          • Russian President Vladimir Putin’s move to reduce his nation’s threshold for a nuclear strike has been dismissed by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot as being “rhetoric”, claiming that France is “not intimidated”.
          • According to the Dutch Defense Ministry, the Netherlands has given the last two of the 18 promised F-16 fighter jets to a training center in Romania, where Ukrainian pilots and ground crew are being trained to operate and maintain the aircraft.
          • More ammunition for the HIMARS rocket system is part of the $275 million in military assistance that the Pentagon has pledged for Ukraine. Congress could yet thwart the Biden administration’s efforts to cancel $4.7 billion in US loans to Ukraine.

North Korea in Ukraine

• • • • • • According to South Korean politician Lee Seong-kweun who cited the nation’s spy service, around 11,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Kursk as part of Russian’s airborne unit and marines, with some of them already taking part in combat against Ukrainian troops. According to Lee, North Korea has also sent more weapons for the conflict in Ukraine, such as multiple rocket launchers and self-propelled howitzers.
          • Following negotiations in Pyongyang that covered trade, the economy, science, and technology, North Korea and Russia inked another protocol on cooperation, according to North Korean state agency KCNA.

Global Diplomacy

• • • • • • Britain and Romania inked a new security and defense partnership deal with the former Soviet state, offering Moldova assistance in addressing the aftermath of Russia’s 1,000-day invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
          • Following accusations by European governments that Russia was responsible for cutting two fiber-optic data communications cables in the Baltic Sea-one between Sweden and Lithuanian and the other between Finland and Germany-Russia denounced as “absurd” any suspicions that it was involved in the damage.
          • The Kremlin-controlled gas company Gazprom’s decision to stop supplying Austria, according to Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, demonstrated how weak the rule of law was in Russia and sent a message to businesses worldwide.

Russian-related matters

• • • • • • In response to the “shameful” imprisonment of a pediatrician in Moscow over remarks she allegedly made criticizing the war in Ukraine, a group of Russian physicians have appealed to President Putin.
          • According to the Federal Security Service, Russia has arrested a German national on charges of terrorism and explosives smuggling after he allegedly blew up a pipe at a gas distribution station in the Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 1,000

Weaponry And Combating

• • • • • • According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Ukraine has utilized the long-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), manufactured in the United States, to strike a military installation in the Bryansk area of the Russian border after Washington removed limits on their deployment against Russian targets.
          • According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Moscow will respond “accordingly” to Ukraine’s use of the ATACMS, which he said signaled a “new phase of the Western war” against Russia.
          • According to reports, US President Joe Biden has approved the provision of antipersonnel land mines to Ukraine, marking yet another policy reversal about the armaments his outgoing administration supplied to Kyiv.
          • According to US officials cited by the Associated Press news agency, the pentagon would deliver Ukraine at least $275 million in new weapons.
          • The US Department of State Consular Affairs announced on social media site X that the US embassy in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, will close after receiving reports of a “potential significant air attack” on Wednesday.
          • According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, 44 Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russian air defense systems overnight, including 20 over the northwest Novgorod region and 24 over other central and western regions.

Diplomacy

• • • • • • According to the Reuters news agency, Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to talk to US President-elect Donald Trump on a ceasefire agreement for Ukraine, but he denies making any significant territorial concessions and wants Ukraine give up its aspirations to join NATO.
          • In its defense against Russia’s invasion, Ukraine has vowed to “never submit” and issued a warning that the world must not show any sympathy to Putin, who formally approved lowering the bar for Russia’s deployment of nuclear weapons. According to the dossier, if Russia were the target of a conventional missile attack backed by a nuclear state, it might think about using nuclear weapons.
          • Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s state news agency TASS that the emergency hotline between the Kremlin and the White House, established following the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, is not in use at the moment.
          • A German national was seized by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) on suspicion of sabotaging electricity installations. According to an FSB statement quoted by official media, the guy was charged with involvement in an explosion that occurred at a gas distribution station in Kaliningrad in March of this year.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 998

Combating

• • • • • • In the Black Sea city of Odesa, Ukraine, a Russian missile strike on a residential neighborhood has left 10 persons dead and 44 injured. According to local officials, three persons are in critical condition and four children were among the injured.
          • The settlement of Novooleksiivka in the Donetsk area of eastern Ukraine was seized by Russian forces, according to the country’s Ministry of Defense.
          • As Kyiv commemorates 1,000 days since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to the eastern front-line towns of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk.
          • According to the world’s chemical weapons watchdog, samples collected last month on the Russian front line evidence of tear gas. Although the team was not required to place responsibility, the US and Ukraine have asserted that Russian has unlawfully used tear gas to clear trenches.
          • As of Monday morning, Odesa residents had been without electricity for 24 hours, and more outages were anticipated nationwide due to damage to energy infrastructure caused by a Russian missile strike.

Long-range Missiles

• • • • • • Following a warning from the kremlin that Washington was throwing “fuel to the fire” by permitting Kyiv’s military to launch strikes deep into Russia with US-made weapons, the United States claimed that Russia was intensifying its war in Ukraine by sending North Korean troops.
          • Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to attack Russian territory would be a drastic escalation of the conflict, prompting “an adequate and tangible” response, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed.
          • Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary for the Kremlin, stated that modifications to Russia’s nuclear doctrine have already been drafted and only need to be formalized.
          • Allowing Ukraine to use US-manufactured weapons to strike inside Russia was a “good decision” made by US President Joe Biden’s administration, according to French President Emmanuel Macron.
          • Jean-Noel Barrot, the minister of foreign affairs, also hinted that France, which has given Ukraine long-range missiles, would yet let Kyiv to attack military targets within Russia.
          • Allowing Ukraine to employ American-made weaponry to attack deep within Russia might be a game-changer in the war, according to Polish President Andrzej Duda.
          • Despite Washington’s action, Berlin is continuing to refuse to supply Ukraine with long-range missiles, according to a spokesman for the German government.
          • Robert Fico, the prime minister of Slovakia, declared his adamant opposition to the US action, describing it as a “unprecedented escalation of tensions” intended to obstruct peace talks.
          • Peter Szijjarto, the foreign minister of Hungary, called the action “astonishingly dangerous”.
          • Josep Borrell, the head of EU foreign policy, expressed his optimism that the bloc will consent to allowing Ukraine to launch an armed attack within Russia. He also voiced alarm about claims that China, North Korea, and Iran are manufacturing and supplying Russia with weaponry for its conflict in Ukraine.

Global Diplomacy

• • • • • • A narrow agreement on Russia’s intensifying war centered on “human suffering” and its economic consequences was reached by leaders of the Group of 20 major economies who are gathering in Brazil this week. They released a joint statement stressing the agony caused by hostilities in Gaza and Ukraine
          • In response to a news that a Chinese manufacturer is manufacturing military drones for Russia, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that he will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 about the supply of dual-use goods. Additionally, Scholz stated that he would convey to Xi that the deployment of North Korean troops to attack Ukraine is intolerable.
          • Yoon Suk-yeol, the president of South Korea, called on Russia and North Korea to stop their alleged unlawful military collaboration during his speech at the G20 summit.
          • British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that backing Ukraine is “number one” on his agenda while speaking on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
          • According to US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US will soon announce more security aid for Ukraine.
          • Scholz’s chat with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, was a “strategic mistake” that undermined European solidarity in the face of Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine.

Sanctions

• • • • • • The European Commission said that European Union had expanded sanctions against Iran due to Tehran’s backing of Russia in its conflict with Ukraine. The penalties were aimed at Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and its director, Mohammad Reza Khiabani, among other entities.
          • In reaction of Iran’s purported delivery of ballistic missiles to Russia for use in combat against Ukraine, the United Kingdom placed sanctions on Iran’s primary airline and shipping company.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 997

Combating

• • • • • • According to Ukrainian sources, a Russian missile struck a residential building in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, killing ten people, including two children. Another missile attack knocked off power in the administrative center of the region. The city council reported that at least 55 individuals were hurt, including eight children.
          • Overnight, Russian air defense units shot down 59 Ukrainian drones, including two that were en route to Moscow. According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, 45 drones were destroyed over the Bryansk area.
          • Russia launched 90 drones and 120 missiles in its biggest airstrikes against Ukraine in nearly three months on Sunday. According to officials, the power grid suffered significant damage and at least seven individuals were murdered.
          • The Ukrainian air force claimed to have shot down 42 drones and deflected 104 of the 120 incoming missiles. According to the report, 41 more vanished from radar.
          • Following Russia’s most recent aerial attack on the region’s energy grid, Ukraine’s energy operator DTEK declared “emergency power cuts” in the Kyiv region and two more in the east.
          • During the strike, Russian drones and missiles breached Moldovan airspace, according to Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Mihai Popsoi. Poland, a NATO member that shares a border with Ukraine, announced that it had reorganized its air force as a precaution.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • In a major change of Washington’s stance on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, President Joe Biden’s administration has permitted Ukraine to deploy US-made weapons to strike deep into Russia, according to Reuters and other news sources, which cited two US officials and a source familiar with the decision.
          • Senior Russian MPs stated on Sunday that Washington’s decision to allow Kyiv to launch long-range US missile strikes deep into Russia intensifies the situation and raises the possibility of another world war.
          • A significant Russian airstrike against Ukraine, according to French President Emmanuel Macron, demonstrated that Russian President Vladimir Putin “does not want peace and is not ready to negotiate”.
          • According to three diplomats familiar with the discussions, the Russian airstrikes on Ukraine also upended a tenuous agreement among the Group of 20 major economies crafting their joint statement at an annual leaders summit in Rio de Janeiro.
          • The Russian airstrike on Ukraine, which he said targeted “energy and critical civilian infrastructure”, was denounced as “unacceptable” by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
          • Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, claimed that his hour-long chat with Putin has revealed no change in the Russian leader’s position on the conflict in Ukraine. He defended his widely criticized choice to contact the Kremlin over the phone.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 996

Combating

• • • • • • According to sources, Kyiv heard blasts early on Sunday after Ukraine’s air force issued a warning about a serious threat of a Russian missile attack. On the Telegram messaging app, the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council stated that several missiles were in the air.
          • The Ukrainian military claimed that its air defense forces were attempting to fend off a Russian air strike on the nation’s capital. A residential structure was hit by Russia and was on fire, according to the Reuters news agency.
          • After Russia began a missile attack on Ukraine, Poland’s military says it has altered its aircraft to safeguard its airspace.
          • The leader of the Udmurt Republic stated on Sunday that a drone had crashed into a factory workshop in west-central Russia, resulting in an explosion and one person being injured. One individual was admitted to the hospital with “moderate” injuries.
          • According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Russian forces have taken control of the villages of Makarivka and Hryhorivka in the Donetsk area of Ukraine. It took some time for Moscow’s assertion to be independently confirmed.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • As President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he hopes to conclude the war through negotiations next year, leaders of the Group of Seven alliance have reiterated their support for Ukraine “for as long as it takes”.
          • The G7 industrialized countries said in a statement commemorating the approaching 1,000 days of the Russian invasion that Russia is only one to blame for impeding a just settlement to end the conflict in Ukraine.
          • Olaf Scholz’s political enemies claimed that his phone conversation with Vladimir Putin regarding the conflict in Ukraine had given the Russian president a “propaganda win”. Juergen Hardt, the foreign policy spokesperson for the Christian Democratic Union party, claimed that Scholz has “not made any concrete new proposal or even issued an ultimatum” during the call.
          • North Korean troops joining the fight in Ukraine will have a “very significant” impact on East Asian security, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya has warned. Tokyo is “seriously concerned: about the incident and “strongly condemns it”, according to Iwaya, who was in Kyiv.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 995

Combating

• • • • • • According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, 15 drones were shot down by air defenses in the Kursk area near the Ukrainian border.
          • According to the ministry, one drone each was destroyed in the central Oryol region, Lipetsk, further north, and the Bryansk district, which is also on the border.
          • Although there were no confirmed casualties, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod area, which is frequently targeted along the Ukrainian border, said a series of strikes had destroyed windows in an apartment building and caused other damage.
          • In Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, dozens of mourners flocked to a golden-domed Orthodox cathedral to honor 32-year old Maria-Khrystyna Dvoinik, a cherished combat nurse who was slain this week on the front lines.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • For the first time in almost two years, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged Moscow to withdraw its troops from Ukraine and start negotiations with Kyiv.
          • “Detailed and frank exchange of views over the situation in Ukraine” is how the Kremlin characterized the call. According to the report, Putin told Scholz that any deal to end the war should “address the conflict’s underlying causes and, most importantly, proceed from the new territorial realities”.
          • Scholz’s phone conversation with Putin sparked a “Pandora’s box” that weakened attempts to isolate the Russian leader and bring the war in Ukraine to a “fair peace”, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “This is precisely what Putin has long desired: it is crucial that he reduce his isolation and engage in normal talks”, he stated.
          • After the center-right opposition indicated a willingness to amend the so-called debt brake, Scholz stated that adjustments to Germany’s expenditure cap are necessary to address the “financial emergency” of the war in Ukraine.
          • Russia’s war on Ukraine will “end sooner” under US President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, Zelenskyy told Ukraine’s public TV Suspilne.
          • In a move that foreshadows the impending termination of Moscow’s final gas supplies to Europe, Russia has notified Austria that it will halt gas deliveries through Ukraine beginning on Saturday.
          • Austria’s vast gas storage facilities are 93 percent filled, according to Chancellor Karl Nehammer, and the nation is prepared to handle Russia’s decision to halt gas imports.
          • Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov told a news conference in Norway that Ukraine is not changing its war strategy and is fighting to retake all of the area that Russia has taken over in the past ten years.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 994

Combating

• • • • • • According to Ukrainian officials, a Russian airstrike destroyed a boiler plant used for heating, killed one person, and injured eight others when it attacked a residential structure and power installations in and around the Black Sea port of Odesa, Ukraine.
          • In an indication of increasing strain on the Ukrainian outpost, a small Russian assault squad briefly made its way to the outskirts of Kupiansk, a city in northeastern Ukraine, for the first time since September 2022. According to Ukraine’s military, its soldiers had halted the Russian advance and were still in complete control of the rail terminal.
          • According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Russian forces have taken control of the town of Voznesenka in the eastern Donetsk area of Ukraine.
          • Russia launched 59 attack drones overnight Thursday, and the Ukrainian military claims to have shot down 21 of them.

Russian-related matters

• • • • • • Anastasia Berezhinskaya, 43, was sentenced to eight years in a penal colony by a military court in Moscow for making antiwar remarks on the internet, including many that called for the murder of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Foreign Policy

• • • • • • According to Gennady Gatilov, Moscow’s ambassador for the UN in Geneva, Russia is amenable to talks to end the war in Ukraine if they are started by US President-elect Donald Trump, but they must be grounded in the facts of Russian progress in the battle.
          • As the new director of national intelligence for the United States, Trump has selected Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman who lacks intelligence and security credentials and is perceived as being friendly to Russia in its war on Ukraine, therefore the decision has shocked the national security establishment.
          • Boris Pistorius, the country’s defense minister, stated that if the US is less focused on Europe, Germany must increase its defense role. He also added that it was illogical to show President Putin a debt-free Germany that was less able to protect itself.
          • According to the nation’s defense minister, Boris Pistorius, Germany needs to play a bigger role in defense if the US is less concerned about Europe. Additionally, he stated that it was nonsensical to present President Putin with a debt-free Germany that was less self-sufficient.
          • On November 19, the foreign ministers of Poland, France, Germany, Britain, Italy, and Ukraine will gather in Warsaw, Poland, to talk about issues such as Trump’s reelection and the conflict in Ukraine.
          • The Kremlin has stated that President Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman spoke this week on the conflict in Ukraine, but it has declined to elaborate.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 993

Combating

• • • • • • According to Ukraine’s military, Ukrainian forces have driven back Russian troops close to the city of Kupiansk in the northeast. It further stated that Russian soldiers used tanks, armored vehicles, and a mine-clearing apparatus in their four waves of attack. It claimed that certain Russian personnel engaged in a war crime by dressing in uniforms that were similar to those of the Ukrainian military.
          • Further south, the city of Pokrovsk has seen heavy military activity, with Ukrainian forces fending off all but one of 36 attacks.
          • The village of Rivnopil in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine has been seized by Russian soldiers, according to the country’s defense ministry. According to Ukrainian police, two people were killed in a Russian attack in the Donetsk region’s Shevchenko village.
          • One of its highest-ranking targets to yet, according to a Kyiv security source, was senior Russian navy officer Valery Trankovsky, who was killed by a Ukrainian car bomb in the city of Sevastopol in seized Crimea.
          • Since August, Russia has attacked Kyiv with missiles for the first time; no significant damage or casualties have been reported. The air force reported that 37 drones, two incoming cruise missiles, and two ballistic missiles were all intercepted by air defenses nationwide.

Soldiers from North Korea in Ukraine

• • • • • • According to South Korea’s spy service, there is proof that North Korean soldiers have fought with their Russian partners against Ukraine.
          • According to Bonnie Jenkins, the top U.S. arms control official, the United States is worried about Russia’s expanding ties with North Korea, particularly the technology that the two nations might be sharing. “We have nothing definitive ,,, in terms of nuclear technology going from Russia to the DPRK [North Korea]”, Jenkins continued.

Foreign Policy

• • • • • • In Brussels, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte as the departing Biden administration looks to solidify support for Ukraine before Donald Trump takes office again.
          • In the months leading up to Trump’s return, Blinken promised NATO that the Biden administration will strengthen its backing for Ukraine, stating that North Korea’s involvement in the conflict in Ukraine “demands and will get a firm response”.
          • After speaking with Blinken about the potential for deep attacks on Russia and Euro-Atlantic integration, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha declared he was “cautiously optimistic”.
          • During a friendly encounter between Trump and Joe Biden, the outgoing US president allegedly made the case that backing Ukraine was beneficial for national security since a stable Europe would prevent America from getting drawn into conflict.
          • President Andrzej Duda claims that the US’s opening of a new air defense installation in northern Poland demonstrates that Washington is a “guarantor of Poland’s security” and that Poland is safe as a NATO member.
          • Saudi Arabia’s official news agency reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke over the phone about the events of the war in Ukraine.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 992

Combating

• • • • • • According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Ukraine shot down 46 of 110 Russian drones that were launched overnight. Two Russian drones headed into Belarus, and another 60 were lost in Ukrainian airspace. In addition to guided aerial bombs, the Air Force reported that Russian forces launched three missiles during the nocturnal operation.
          • According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense,13 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight by Russian air defense systems in areas that border Ukraine.
          • According to the US State Department, North Korean troops have started fighting alongside Russian forces. More than “10,000 DPRK [North Korean] soldiers have been sent to eastern Russia”, with the great bulk going to the Kursk region, where they have “begun engaging in combat operations with Russian forces”, according to spokeswoman Vedant Patel.

Foreign Policy

• • • • • • According to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Russia’s expanding military and economic ties with China, North Korea, and Iran “are not only threatening Europe”, but also “threatening peace and security” in the Asia Pacific and North America.
          • Strong ties between Moscow and Beijing are a stabilizing force in the world, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu told China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi in Beijing.
          • According to the State Department, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Brussels to meet with counterparts from the European Union and NATO to discuss support for Ukraine.
          • According to Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Ukraine is almost ready to establish three new joint ventures with European manufacturers of weapons in order to increase its production of munitions. Five joint ventures with Western weapons manufacturers, including German and Lithuanian firms, had already been established, she claimed.
          • At her confirmation hearing at the European Parliament to become the next head of the EU’s foreign policy, Estonia’s former prime minister, Kaja Kallas, stated that China must pay a “higher cost” for its backing of Russia, which allows Moscow to continue its conflict in Ukraine.
          • After former US President Donald Trump was re-elected, former Russian President and deputy head of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev charged that European leaders were attempting to drive the crisis in Ukraine “into an irreversible phase” and dangerously intensify it.
          • Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was given a 15 year prison sentence for disclosing highly confidential US military documents to a group of gamers over the chat app Discord. Information about the usage of US equipment in Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion was among leaks.

Russian-related matters

• • • • • • Moscow-controlled Ukrainian territory will be included in Russia’s estimations for this year’s grain harvest and the winter grain sown area, the country’s Ministry of Agriculture announced. The ministry predicts this year’s grain harvest will be 130 million tones and 18 percent from the record 158 million tones in 2022, following months of unfavorable weather.
          • According to the city’s executive governing board, the Helsinki Arena, the largest sports and events venue in the Finnish capital, would be forcibly taken from its sanctioned Russian owners.
          • According to Russian media, a Russian Navy ship outfitted with the latest generation of hypersonic cruise missiles is conducting exercises in the English Channel and is currently performing missions in the Atlantic Ocean.
          • In an attempt to increase the lagging birthrate as death rates are rising as a result of Moscow’s war in Ukraine, Russia’s lower house of parliament overwhelmingly decided to outlaw “propaganda” advocating a childless lifestyle.
          • After the mother of one of her patients publicly condemned a Moscow pediatrician for allegedly making disparaging remarks about Russia’s war in Ukraine, a Russian court sentenced her to five and a half year in a prison colony.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 991

Combating

• • • • • • In the city of Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk area of central Ukraine, Russian shelling has killed two persons and injured five more.
          • A Russian missile attack on a residential building in Kryvyi Rih, also in the Dnipropetrovsk region, killed at least one woman and injured 14 residents.
          • In Russia’s southern Belgorod region, a fire was started by a Ukrainian drone strike, according to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
          • Russia’s Ministry of Defense claims that Russian forces have taken control of the village of Kolisnykivka in the eastern Kharkiv area of Ukraine.
          • According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s forces are engaged in combat with around 50,000 enemy troops in the Kursk region of Russia. He also stated that Ukraine will “considerably strengthen” its positions on the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove fronts in the east, where the most intense fighting is occurring.
          • According to EU foreign policy leader Josep Borrell, the EU has provided Ukraine with over 980,000 shells for the conflict and intends to surpass the one million mark by the end of this year.

Soldiers from North Korea in Ukraine

• • • • • • According to North Korea’s state media, KCNA, on Tuesday, the two nations have ratified a mutual defense treaty that was signed by their leaders in June and stipulates that in the event of an armed attack, one side must assist the other.

Global Diplomacy

• • • • • • Reports that US President-elect Donald Trump had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin were rejected by the Kremlin as “pure fiction”. The denial follows reports from unnamed sources that Trump warned Putin during a phone conversation that Moscow shouldn’t intensify its conflict in Ukraine.
          • As French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reiterated their support for Kyiv during discussions in Paris, France’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot warned that Ukraine’s allies should not “prejudge” how Donald Trump will conduct the situation there.
          • Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen stated that imposing neutrality on Ukraine would not result in a peaceful resolution to the conflict with Russia and that Moscow could not be relied upon to uphold whatever agreements it signs.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 990

Combating

A day after Moscow and Kyiv launched unprecedented nocturnal drone attacks on one another, regional governor Vitaly Kim posted on Telegram that Russian airstrikes in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, killed at least five people.

Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said a separate Russian attack in Zaporizhzhia killed one person and injured at least 18 others, including five children.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia launched 145 drones at Ukraine in the past 48 hours, more than any other nighttime raid throughout the conflict.

Additionally, Russia claimed to have shot down 34 Ukrainian drones that were aiming for Moscow, the most attempts to assault the city since the war began in 2022.

Ukrainian attempts to take control of a Russian Mi-8MTPR-1 electronic warfare helicopter were thwarted by Russia’s Federal Security department (FSB), according to Russian news media that cited the FSB’s press department.

The population of Moldova was put in risk when two Russian “decoy” drones, which are meant to fool Ukrainian air defenses during operations, broke through Moldovan airspace and crashed deep within its borders.

The village of Vovchenko in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk area, where the army has been advancing in recent weeks, has been taken by Russian soldiers, according to the country’s defense ministry. The village is located 3 miles (5 km) from Kurakhove, a key Donetsk city.

Diplomacy and Politics

The Reuters news agency reports that US President-elect Donald Trump has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin not to intensify the conflict in Ukraine. It was not immediately clear what the call was about.

Although he cautioned that it was hard to anticipate how Trump would act in office, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow saw “positive signals” from his stance on Ukraine.

Heorhii Tykhyi, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, told Reuters that there was no truth to claims that Kyiv was notified ahead of a phone conversation between Trump and Putin.

According to Berlin, Trump also had a phone conversation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, during which they “agreed to work together towards a return to peace in Europe.”

According to US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, outgoing US President Joe Biden would advise the US Congress and the new Trump administration not to abandon Ukraine since doing so could lead to further instability in Europe.

In addition, Sullivan warned of the worldwide repercussions of the US withdrawing its assistance for Kyiv and stated that the Biden administration will use the $6 billion in remaining Ukraine money before Trump takes office in January.

After Trump’s win sparked worries about a decline in US support for the fight against Russia, which Downing Street called a “barbaric invasion,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet with French President
Emmanuel Macron to discuss measures to assist Ukraine.

In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy stated that diplomacy and strength must be combined to end the Russian war in Ukraine and prevent a future conflict of this nature.

According to EU foreign policy leader Josep Borrell, Russia should pay for the devastation it has caused and be held accountable for war crimes committed in Ukraine in any future peace agreement.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 988

Combating

• • • • • • Russia sent a volley of drones and missiles into Ukraine overnight, killing one person in the Black Sea port city of Odesa and injuring over 30 others nationwide, according to Ukrainian officials.
          • Ukrainian national television Suspilne said that Russian drones hit an apartment complex in Odesa, causing a massive fire. Online videos displayed burning houses and automobiles with dense smoke rising into the air.
          • At least 25 people were injured when Russian forces used guided bombs to bombard the northeastern city of Kharkiv, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov.
          • According to regional governor Alexander Bogomaz, Russian air defenses intercepted and destroyed 15 Ukrainian drones over the southern Bryansk region; no harm or casualties were reported.
          • According to military bloggers, Russian soldiers on the eastern front of the conflict un Ukraine have advanced into the village of Sontsivka and are getting closer to seizing Kurakhove, a city in the northwest of the country, as part of their westward advance to seize the whole Donbas region.
          • In his evening video message, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy admitted that the battle was most intense on the eastern front around Kurakhove and Pokrovsk, a significant supply hub to the northwest.
          • According to Ukraine, Russian authorities have handed over the bodies of 563 soldiers, primarily those who lost their lives in fighting in the Donetsk region in the east.

Diplomacy And Politics

• • • • • • As Russia steps up its strikes throughout Ukraine, Zelenskyy has reiterated his call on Ukraine’s partners to support the country’s air defenses and impose additional sanctions on Moscow.
          • US media said that Zelenskyy made a 25-minute celebratory call to US president-elect Donald Trump, joining billionaire businessman and Trump supporter Elon Musk. The news site Axios claims that Musk promised to keep providing Ukraine with Starlink satellites.
          • In a major policy change intended to support Kyiv’s conflict with Moscow, US President Joe Biden has let US defense contractors to operate in Ukraine to maintain and repair weapons supplied by the Pentagon, according to US sources.
          • The “deepening military cooperation” between North Korea and Russia “impact Euro-Atlantic security, with implications also for the Indo-Pacific”, according to the 32-member NATO alliance. The NATO declaration was also endorsed by South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Ukraine. Thousands of North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia.
          • In a rare encounter in Belarus, Russian and Ukrainian human rights officials shared list of POWs. According to both officials, they also helped move an elderly woman from Ukraine to Russia.

The Economy

• • • • • • India’s Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri wrote on X that if the world’s third-largest importer, India, had not purchased oil from Russia after the war in Ukraine, oil prices “would have hit the roof”. India, the third-largest importer and user of oil worldwide, has emerged as the leading purchaser of cheap Russian seaborne oil that Western nations have spurned since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Key events list, day 987

Combating

• • • • • • According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, Russian forces have taken control of the town of Kreminna Balka in the eastern Donetsk area of Ukraine.
          • In the southeast Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, a Russian-led bombing has destroyed homes and damaged an oncology center, leaving four people dead and 33 injured.
          • During midnight drone strikes, Russia struck an energy facility in the Zhytomyr region of northern Ukraine, injuring at least three persons nationwide, according to Ukrainian officials.
          • A man was hurt in the southern city of Odesa, where the Russian drone attack also damaged an 11-story building, automobiles, and a gas pipeline. In Kyiv, fragments from downed drones injured at least two people and damaged ten buildings, including a medical facility, a business center, and apartment blocks.
          • Ukraine’s air force reported that it shot down 74 out of 106 Russian-launched drones nationwide, while another 25 were “locationally lost”.

Soldiers from North Korea in Ukraine

• • • • • • North Korea’s general delegate in France has been called by the French Foreign Ministry to voice opposition to the country’s forces being sent to Russia to aid in the war against Ukraine and to warn of the repercussions.
          • According to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, growing connections between Russia and North Korea pose a threat to American security as well as that of Europe.
          • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated during the European Political Community conference in Budapest that some of the 11,000 troops dispatched to the Kursk area of Russia had participated in combat and that North Korea had already lost soldiers in battle against Kyiv’s army.
          • Zelenskyy warned that unless something was done, more North Korean troops will be sent to Russia’s side.

Safety

• • • • • • Leaders of the European community decided at the summit that they must be less dependent on the United States and take greater responsibility for their own security. French President Emmanuel Macron reminded other leaders, “We cannot give the Americans our security indefinitely”. He cautioned that Europe must avoid becoming a helpless “herbivore” surrounded by “carnivores”, saying, “We need to be able to defend ourselves”.
          • According to the Reuters news agency, which cites budget committee sources, Germany will be able to supply the majority of the 4 billion euros ($4.3 billion) it has promised Ukraine, even if the 2025 budget cannot be agreed on time when the country’s coalition government collapses.
          • Targeting 56 organizations and individuals implicated in the conflict in Ukraine, mercenary groups based in Africa, and a nerve toxin attack on British territory, the British government said it has implemented its largest sanctions package on Russia in 18 months. Ten Chinese-based companies that were allegedly supplying parts for the Russian military were among those sanctioned.