Friday, January 27

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A man in a bus surveys a damaged vehicle after a morning missile strike on Jan. 26 in Kyiv, Ukraine. One person has been killed and two wounded in a Russian missile attack in the Holosiivsky district of Kyiv, a day after Germany and the United States announced new deliveries of tanks to Ukraine. (Photo by Yevhenii Zavhorodnii/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Zelensky: ‘Putin is nobody to me.’ “It is not interesting for me,” he said about a potential face-to-face meeting with Putin. “Not interesting to meet, not interesting to speak. Why? Because we had a meeting with him in Normandy Format, it was before the full-scale invasion. I saw the man who said one thing and then did another.”

Commander: Ukraine downs 47 out of 55 Russian missiles on Jan. 26. Ukrainian air defense shot down 47 out of 55 missiles Russia had launched on the country on Jan. 26, according to Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces. He said that 20 missiles had been destroyed over Kyiv.

Energy infrastructure hit in Odesa, Zaporizhzhia oblasts. Russian missiles hit an energy infrastructure site in Zaporizhzhia Oblast overnight, the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration reported on the morning of Jan. 26. In Odesa Oblast, two critical energy infrastructure facilities were damaged as a result of the mass missile attack in the morning.

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Nuland: US auditors arrive in Ukraine to ensure ‘no aid or weapons are diverted.’ This week, the U.S. has its auditors working in Ukraine alongside the World Bank and Deloitte consultants to ensure that “no aid or weapons are diverted,” U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said on Jan. 26.

Ukraine’s Security Service uncovers suspected Russian spy in its ranks. The detained lieutenant colonel is accused of conducting intelligence operations and passing state secrets to Russian contacts.

Ministry: Ukraine’s grain exports reach record low due to Russian obstruction. The ministry said that “on average“ two or three cargo ships have been leaving Ukrainian Black Sea ports every day in January.

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ISW: Russian warlord Girkin, Putin’s confidant Prigozhin likely competing for influence, patronage among pro-war politicians. Yevgeny Prigozhin and Igor Girkin are likely competing for favor with the same pro-war nationalist patronage networks within the Kremlin that outspoken nationalist politicians represent, the Institute for the Study of War said in their latest update. The experts also note that Prigozhin may have attempted to undermine Girkin to gain influence in the nationalist space while simultaneously but not necessarily intentionally discrediting one of the most prominent Putin critics.

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Ukraine war latest: Russian mass strike kills 11 across Ukraine, Moscow intensifies offensive in the east.

Russian forces began bombarding Ukraine a few hours after the U.S. announced its historic military aid involving 31 of its most advanced Abrams tanks late on Jan. 25.

Photo: Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images

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Europe still hooked on Russian gas despite deep cut.

The EU paid more to Russia in 2022 than in 2021, despite reducing its dependence on Russian energy. The EU imported $50 billion worth of Russian gas, fuelling Russia’s war machine and helping fund war crimes in Ukraine.

Photo: Jens Büttner/Getty Images

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How Western companies make a fortune on brokering deals for Ukraine.

When Russia unleashed its war last February, Ukraine urgently needed weapons and ammunition to defend itself. European private arms dealers saw an opportunity and drove the prices of their services up.

Photo: Dave Clark/AFP via Getty Images

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The human cost of Russia’s war

Emergency service: Russian attacks on Ukraine kill 11, injure 11 on Jan. 26. This is the total number of casualties in the missile and drone attacks that happened overnight and in the morning, the State Emergency Service’s spokesman Oleksandr Khorunzhyi clarified in his comment to the Kyiv Independent.

International response

Germany promises to deliver Leopard tanks to Ukraine by early April, while Poland says tanks to arrive in ‘a few weeks.’ Leopard 2 battle tanks promised for Ukraine by Germany will arrive in the country at the end of March or the start of April, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Jan. 26, cited by Deutsche Welle. Meanwhile, Poland may deliver its Leopard tanks “within a few weeks,” according to Polish Deputy Defense Minister Wojciech Skurkiewicz.

Minister: Canada to send 4 Leopard tanks to Ukraine. “These tanks will allow Ukraine to liberate even more of its territory and defend its people from Russia’s brutal invasion,” Anand said.

UK wants to deliver Challenger tanks to Ukraine by end of March. Equipped with state-of-the-art targeting technology and advanced armor, the Challenger 2 is considered to be superior to the Soviet-era tanks currently operated by both Ukraine and Russia in the war.

Bloomberg: IMF exploring new Ukraine aid package worth up to $16 billion. The International Monetary Fund is considering the possibility of providing Ukraine with a multiyear aid package worth as much as $16 billion to help cover the country’s needs. It might also serve as a catalyst for more international funding while Ukraine tries to repel Russian forces, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

Politico: US to provide Ukraine with more advanced Abrams tanks — but no secret armor. The U.S. is planning to send Ukraine a more advanced M1A2 configuration of the Abrams tank, rather than the older version that the American military has in storage, three people with knowledge of the matter told Politico. President Joe Biden announced on Jan. 25 that the U.S. will send Ukraine a battalion of 31 M1 Abrams tanks in a significant show of support for Kyiv’s fight against Russia.

Lockheed Martin ready to increase F16 production as allies seek to send fighter jets to Ukraine. Frank St. John, the chief operating officer of Lockheed Martin, said the the company was “going to be ramping production on F-16s in Greenville [South Carolina] to get to the place where we will be able to backfill pretty capably any countries that choose to do third-party transfers to help with the current conflict.”

US designates Wagner Group as ‘transnational criminal organization’. “Wagner personnel have engaged in an ongoing pattern of serious criminal activity, including mass executions, rape, child abductions, and physical abuse in the Central African Republic and Mali,” the Treasury Department said.

Bloomberg: EU has legal authority to use frozen Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine. The EU has the “legal authority” to use at least 33.8 billion euros“ of frozen assets of Russia’s central bank for the reconstruction of Ukraine, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.

In other news

Scandalous lawmaker fired from Zelensky’s party over trip to Thailand. Mykola Tyshchenko, a lawmaker from President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party, has been fired from the job of a deputy head of the party’s parliamentary faction, according to a statement released by the party’s spokeswoman Yulia Paliychuk on Jan. 26.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Olga Rudenko, Dinara Khalilova, Oleg Sukhov, Daria Shulzhenko, Oleg Sukhov, Brad LaFoy, and Olena Goncharova.

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