Friday, January 3
Russia’s war against Ukraine
Relatives and friends gather next to the coffin of late Ukrainian serviceman Danylo Bobrykov, callsign “Harvey,” during funeral ceremony in Kyiv on Jan. 2, 2025 (Tetiana Dzhafarova/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukraine downed 2 Russian helicopters in sea drone attack, HUR says. Two Russian helicopters were downed in a recent strike by the Ukrainian-made Magura V5 naval strike drones, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) reported on its Telegram channel. HUR earlier said on Dec. 31 that only one helicopter had been destroyed.
Ukraine strikes Russian command post in Kursk Oblast, General Staff claims. The strike targeted the 810th Russian Brigade, resulting in significant losses, according to Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s counter-disinformation center.
European gas prices rise after Russian gas transit through Ukraine halts. The rise in gas prices to 51 euros per megawatt-hour is the highest since October 2023.
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Russia loses key leverage over Europe after Ukraine halts gas transit, FM Sybiha says. Ukraine terminated Russian natural gas transit through its territory on Jan. 1.
Ukraine to conduct review of Ground Forces command, defense minister announces. “Victory requires a deep analysis of experience, and an honest understanding of mistakes,” Rustem Umerov said.
Slovakia may cut aid to Ukrainian refugees over Russian gas transit halt, PM Fico says. The announcement follows Robert Fico’s earlier threats to cut off electricity exports to Ukraine.
Read our exclusives
Ukraine war latest: Kyiv strikes Russian command post in Kursk Oblast, General Staff claims
The Ukrainian Armed Forces conducted a precision strike on a Russian army command post in Maryino, Kursk Oblast, Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Jan. 2.
Photo: Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images
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‘Trump can be decisive in ending war’ — Zelensky on Ukraine’s outlook for 2025
President Volodymyr Zelensky, joined alongside his wife First Lady Olena Zelenska, delivered a candid, wide-ranging interview on Ukrainian television released on Jan. 2, laying out his vision for Ukraine’s prospects of a potential peace in 2025.
Photo: Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images
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‘Ukraine today is in the strongest position ever,’ ex-foreign minister Kuleba says
If the parameters of any peace deal are likely to remain obscured for months to come, Ukraine’s ex-Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says one thing is clear — Russia is not going to ask for peace.
Photo: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Human cost of war
Russian strike kills civilian in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. A Russian attack overnight killed a civilian in the town of Stepnohirsk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Governor Ivan Fedorov reported on his Telegram channel on Jan. 2.
International response
Leader of German social-democrats supports more phone calls between Scholz and Putin. “These conversations must be held again and again in order to find out what can be done to finally put an end to the killing and the dying,” the leader of Germany’s social-democratic party (SPD) Saskia Esken told German television news channel N-Tv on Jan. 2.
Polish farmers to protest Ukrainian imports, EU policies, in Warsaw on Jan 3. The protest follows a series of demonstrations by Polish farmers against Ukrainian agricultural imports since the start of the full-scale war.
Citing Orban’s ‘corruption,’ Hungarian opposition leader calls for early elections in video address. Peter Magyar accused Prime Minister Viktor Orban of turning Hungary into “the EU’s poorest, most corrupt nation.”
Finland’s Fingrid requests seizure of Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker over suspected cable sabotage. The damaged cable is one of several recent incidents in the Baltic Sea under investigation as possible acts of sabotage.
Transnistria faces industrial collapse after Russian gas suspension, senior official says. Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean has criticized the Kremlin for using energy as a “political weapon.”
In other news
Ukraine’s electricity imports increased more than fivefold in 2024. Ukraine’s electricity import increased more than fivefold in 2024 to 4.4 million megawatt-hours (MWh), ExPro consulting company’s electricity monitoring data showed on Jan. 2.
US looking into restricting or banning drones made by ‘foreign adversaries,’ including China, Russia. The Bureau of Industry and Security said on Jan. 2 that the involvement of foreign adversaries in “supply chains, including acute threats from China and Russia – may offer our adversaries the ability to remotely access and manipulate these devices, exposing sensitive U.S. data.”
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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Chris York, Liliane Bivings, Boldizsár Győri, Tim Zadorozhnyy, Dmytro Basmat, and Volodymyr Ivanyshyn.
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