Monday, January 22

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A fire at the terminal of Russia’s Novatek natural gas company on Jan. 21, 2024. Explosions and large fires were reported in several Russian cities overnight on Jan. 21, in a possible coordinated effort by Ukraine to strike key targets deep inside Russian territory. (Governor Alexander Drozdenko)

Explosions, fires reported overnight deep in Russian rear in alleged long-range Ukrainian strikes. The Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of launching multiple drone attacks and claimed that one drone was shot down over Tula, four over Smolensk, and one over Oryol.

Russian proxies claim Ukrainian attack on Donetsk kills 27. Ukraine’s Tavria Group, the military units fighting on the southeastern front lines, denied involvement in the attack, which struck a busy market in the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk on Jan. 21.

Russian Novatek gas plant halts operations after suspected Ukrainian drone attack. The terminal of Russia’s Novatek natural gas company near St. Petersburg has halted operations after an alleged Ukrainian drone strike caused a large fire at the fuel plant, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 21.

Explosions reported in occupied Sevastopol. Local media and Russian occupation authorities reported several explosions in the port city of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea on Jan. 21.

Military: Russia’s capture of Kharkiv Oblast village a ‘temporary phenomenon.’ In its morning summary, Russia’s Ministry of Defense wrote that the village had been taken over by Russian forces. Fityo noted that Ukrainian troops had been moved to prepared reserve positions to hold the defense and prevent Russia from advancing further.

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Budanov: North Korea currently Russia’s largest arms supplier. North Korea is currently Russia’s largest arms supplier, Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) chief Kyrylo Budanov told the Financial Times in an interview published on Jan. 21.

ISW: Russian air defense may not be prepared for Ukrainian attacks. The ISW said that air defense systems in Leningrad Oblast may not be well-equipped to counter attacks from Ukraine, because they were not designed with southern attacks in mind.

CNN: Ukraine’s front lines infested with rats. The surge in rodents reflects not only weather changes and mating patterns, but also the static situation at the front as Ukraine enters its third year of war.

Prosecutors: Men who threatened Ukrainian journalist Yurii Nikolov identified. Authorities identified residents of Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Cherkasy Oblasts and searched the suspects’ homes. Law enforcement seized computer equipment and mobile phones used to record the threats.

Ukraine’s Kostiuk to play in tennis quarter-final after knocking out Russian opponent. Kostiuk knocked out Timofeeva, who is competing under a neutral status, resulting in 6:2, 6:1. She had previously beaten another Russian, Elina Avanesyan, in her last match.

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Ukraine war latest: Reports of explosions, fires in Russian rear, occupied Sevastopol after alleged Ukrainian strikes

The terminal of Russia’s Novatek natural gas company caught fire in the port of Ust-Luga in Leningrad Oblast near St. Petersburg. The explosions in Ust-Luga were a result of a planned operation by the Security Service of Ukraine, according to an unnamed source in the agency cited by Ukrainska Pravda.

Photo: Alexander Bogomaz/Telegram

Human cost of war

Russia strikes Zaporizhzhia Oblast 95 times, injuring civilian. A 71-year-old resident was injured in Huliaipole due to artillery shelling. There were two reports of the destruction of residential buildings.

1 killed, 1 injured in Russian rocket strike on Donetsk Oblast. Russian forces attacked the city of Kurakhove with Grad rockets, killing one civilian and injuring another, Donetsk Oblast Governor Vadym Filashkin reported on Jan. 21.

General Staff: Russia has lost 376,030 troops in Ukraine. This number includes 760 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

International response

Guardian: UK gives UN photos of North Korean shipments to Russia. The U.K. has given a panel of UN experts satellite photographs of North Korean cargo shipments to Russia as evidence in an investigation into illegal arms trading, the Guardian reported on Jan. 22.

Pritzker: US economic aid ‘essential’ for Ukrainian victory, global security. U.S. Special Representative for Economic Recovery in Ukraine Penny Pritzker said that supporting Ukraine with military and economic aid has “global stakes.”

Romanian farmers demand import limits on Ukrainian agricultural products, threaten more protests. Several Romanian farmers’ organizations sent a joint letter to Romanian government officials demanding that the country advocate for import limits on Ukrainian agriculture products ahead of the upcoming meeting of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council, Romanian outlet Digi24 reported on Jan. 21.

In other news

Reuters: Russian plane crashes in Afghanistan. The plane took off from Thailand’s Utapao Airport in Pattaya to Moscow via India and Uzbekistan but disappeared from radar screens 25 minutes after departing on Jan. 20.

Batumi shopping centers evacuated amid bomb threats. Authorities evacuated shoppers at Batumi’s Grand Mall, Metro City, Batumi Mall, and Plaza. The official reason for the evacuation was not disclosed, but an employee of Grand Mall said there were rumors of mines planted in the building.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Teah Pelechaty, Dominic Culverwell, Kate Tsurkan, Francis Farrell, Lili Bivings, Dmytro Basmat, and Abbey Fenbert.

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