Saturday, January 13

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky walks with Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv on Jan.12, 2024. Sunak visited Kyiv to launch “a major new package of support” for Ukraine and increase military funding for this financial year to £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion), his office said. (Stefan Rousseau/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Zelensky: Security agreement with UK ‘unprecedented,’ today ’entered history of our state.’ The deal, published on the presidential office’s website, sets out a mode of cooperation in the military sphere, maritime security, defense industry, protection of critical infrastructure, and cybersecurity.

Sunak confirms $3.2 billion aid package for Ukraine, signs security deal with Zelensky. U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the expected 2.5-billion-pound ($3.2 billion) military aid package during his visit to Kyiv on Jan. 12, according to the Kyiv Independent reporter.

US Congress continues to fight over border security, stalling Ukraine aid. The latest round of comments about the failure of negotiations came after U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said on Jan. 10 that he would block any legislation with aid for Ukraine unless it contained border security provisions unpopular with Democrats.

Swiss Foreign Ministry: Ukraine Peace Formula meeting to take place in Davos.

Davos will host the fourth Ukraine Peace Formula meeting on Jan. 14, where over 80 delegations are expected to participate, Switzerland’s Foreign Ministry announced on Jan 11.

Military intelligence: Russia lacks some modern weapon parts due to sanctions. “They (Russia) face several restrictions and sanctions. They (sanctions) create additional complications when it comes to modern optics, electronics, and microchips, which is what the enemy lacks,” Military Intelligence (HUR) spokesperson Andrii Yusov said on air.

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Support grows for petition to revoke Hungary’s voting rights at European Parliament. Petri Sarvamaa, a senior member of the EU’s parliament, initially launched the petition on Jan. 9, which seeks to revoke some of Hungary’s membership rights, including voting, due to the country’s “erosion of the rule of law” and obstructive behavior in the face of EU consensus building.

SBU charges bishop of Kremlin-linked church with assisting Russian occupation authorities. Vasyl Povorozniuk, metropolitan of the Luhansk Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), has been accused of cooperating with Russian occupation authorities in Luhansk, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported on Jan. 12.

Commander: Ukraine needs more attack aircraft. Ukraine requires more attack aircraft, including jets to support infantry and planes to fire long-range missiles, Ground Forces Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said in an interview with Reuters published on Jan. 12.

Moldova denies claim from Transnistria of training Ukrainian soldiers to commit ‘terrorist actions.’ Earlier on Jan. 12, self-proclaimed authorities in the Russian-backed region of Transnistria released a statement accusing Moldova of training more than 60 people, including Ukrainian soldiers, to “organize terrorist actions” on Transnistrian territory.

Bloomberg: Russia preparing legal defense to slow, prevent seizure of frozen assets. Russia is pursuing legal means, including obtaining representation from international law firms, to stymie efforts by the U.S. and its allies to seize frozen Russian assets, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 12, citing unnamed sources.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Sunak unveils $3.2 billion package, signs security deal in Kyiv.

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the expected 2.5-billion-pound ($3.2 billion) military aid package during his visit to Kyiv on Jan. 12, according to the Kyiv Independent reporter.

Photo: Stefan Rousseau /POOL/AFP via Getty Images

This Week in Ukraine S2 E1: Russia’s economic war against Ukraine.

Season 2 Episode #1 is dedicated to foreign investment in Ukrainian business and what makes them critical to bolstering Ukraine’s economic front.

Photo: Kyiv Independent

Human cost of war

Russian attacks in Kherson Oblast kill 1, injure 3 over past day. Russian forces launched 73 strikes against Kherson Oblast over the past 24 hours, killing one person and wounding another three, Oleksandr Prokudin, the regional governor, reported early on Jan. 12.

Russian shelling of Kherson kills 2 civilians. The victims include an 80-year-old woman and a driver of a car whose identity is being determined, according to officials.

General Staff: Russia has lost 368,460 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022.

Russia has also reportedly lost 6,060 tanks, 11,254 armored fighting vehicles, 11,612 vehicles and fuel tanks, 8,710 artillery systems, 957 multiple launch rocket systems, 642 air defense systems, 329 airplanes, 324 helicopters, 6,836 drones, and 23 boats.

American microchips are killing Ukrainians

International response

Council of Europe raises concerns about Russia’s national minorities. The FCNM’s Advisory Committee issued a statement saying that this step “deprives more than 25 million persons belonging to the Russian Federation’s numerous national minorities from the protection offered by this unique international treaty.”

Ukrainian diaspora asks Australia to send 45 retired helicopters to Ukraine.

In its statement, the Ukrainian diaspora organization in Australia said that these vehicles “could be a game-changer in Ukraine.”

Russia calls urgent UN Security meeting over Yemen strikes. Russia requested an emergency meeting of the UN security council on Jan. 12 after the U.S. and U.K. launched strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen, RIA Novosti reported, citing Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova.

European Commission approves Romanian 126 million euro fund to support Danube ports impacted by war. The fund will be dispersed in grants of up to 10 million euros for companies willing to invest in increasing their storage capacity in the region.

Foreign Ministry: 4 Ukrainians on UN helicopter captured by Somali militants. Four Ukrainians were among those captured by Somali militants after local anti-governmental forces took control of a UN helicopter, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko confirmed on Jan. 12

Media: New French foreign minister to visit Kyiv, meet Zelensky. The recently appointed French foreign minister, Stephane Sejourne, is expected to visit Kyiv on Jan. 13 and meet President Volodymyr Zelensky, the BFM TV channel said on Jan. 12, citing sources close to the minister.

In other news

Military: Kremlin using coal subsidies to force Russian passports on residents in occupied Kherson Oblast. Moscow-installed illegal occupation authorities in Kherson Oblast are offering coal subsidies for heating purposes, but only to those residents who became Russian citizens, the Ukrainian military’s National Resistance Center reported.

Russian soldier who killed two civilians in Kyiv Oblast sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia. A senior lieutenant of Russia’s tank brigade who shot and killed two civilians near Kyiv Oblast’s village of Mriia in 2022 was sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia on Jan. 12, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported.

IAEA experts continue to be denied access to reactor halls at Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Experts at the International Atomic Energy Agency continue to be denied access to the reactor halls of units 1, 2, and 6 of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, hindering their ability to monitor nuclear safety, the IAEA said on Jan. 12.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Toma Istomina, Nate Ostiller, Martin Fornusek, Dinara Khalilova, Kateryna Hodunova, Katya Denisova, and Dmytro Basmat.

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