Monday, January 29

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline use mortar strikes to engage Russian troops, in a photo shared by President Volodymyr Zelensky on Jan. 28, 2024. (President Volodymyr Zelensky/Telegram)

Sky News: Ukrainian Navy Commander signals Kyiv would win faster if there’s permission to fire Western weapons deep inside Russia. Ukrainian Navy Commander Oleksii Neizhpapa told Sky News that the state of the war would have been very different if allies had not given restrictions to Kyiv on the use of Western weapons.

Stoltenberg: China is watching allies’ resolve on Ukraine. NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg visited Washington to persuade the U.S. Congress to pass a new $61 billion aid package for Ukraine. Republican lawmakers have opposed the bill.In an interview with Fox News, Stoltenberg said that supporting Ukraine and eventually adding it to the alliance would be a “good deal” for the U.S. and NATO, as Beijing is watching and taking note of the allies’ resolve.

Germany’s finance minister says Europe must do more to support Ukraine. “It cannot be the case that Germany does more so that others can continue to do too little,” said German Finance Minister Christian Lindner at the European Liberal Party Conference in Berlin on Jan. 28.

Zelensky releases personal financial declarations showing fall in income over 2022. President Volodymyr Zelensky on Jan. 28 released a mandatory declaration of his income and assets. The summary on the presidential website says that his household income fell by UAH 1.8 million ($47,50) to UAH 3.7 million ($97,706) in 2022, compared to 2021.

FT: Russia’s proposed gas pipeline to China hindered by construction delays. Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene said that China and Russia have not yet agreed on some of the crucial details of the planned 3,550-kilometer pipeline.

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State Border Guard: About 1,300 trucks in line to enter Ukraine from Poland, no delays in checks. Roughly 1,300 trucks are currently waiting in line at the Polish border with Ukraine, but the pace of passing the border has been quicker after the blockade was completely lifted, State Border Guard spokesperson Andrii Demchenko said on Jan. 28.

Human cost of war

​​Russian attacks in Kherson Oblast injure 2, including 89-year-old woman.

The Jan. 28 attacks came after Russian forces killed one person and injured two more over the previous day.

Russian forces shell Sumy Oblast 267 times in one day. Russian forces shelled Sumy Oblast 267 times, firing at eight communities along the border on Jan. 28, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported.

General Staff: Russia has lost 382,110 troops in Ukraine since start of full-scale invasion. This number includes 740 casualties Russian forces suffered over the past day.

International response

Hungarian far-right leader calls for seizure of Ukraine’s Zakarpattia Oblast if Russia wins war. The Our Homeland party, which currently holds six seats out of a total of 199 in Hungary’s parliament, has been criticized for its nativist views and rhetoric. Party leader Laszlo Toroczkai has made a number of controversial statements, including some deemed to be antisemitic, anti-Roma, and anti-immigrant.

Finland presidential election to go to runoff, former PM ahead. Finland’s presidential election is set to go to a runoff next month, as no candidate gained a majority of the votes on Jan. 28, in a race that has heavily focused Nordic nation’s new role as a neighboring NATO country with Russia

In other news

UK Defense Ministry: Increase in arson attacks at Russian enlistment offices likely signals ‘disaffection’ amid war, potential mobilization. The doubling of arson attacks on Russian enlistment offices in the past six months is likely attributed to a “greater sense of disaffection” among Russians as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues and a potential second wave of mobilization looms, the U.K. Defense Ministry’s assessed in its intelligence report on Jan. 28.

Ukraine’s Kichenok loses Grand Slam Doubles Final to No 2 seed. Ukrainian tennis player Lyudmyla Kichenok and Latvian Jelena Ostapenko lost their Australian Open doubles final to the second seeds with a 1-6 5-7 score.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Igor Kossov, Francis Farrell, Nate Ostiller, Asami Terajima, Oleksiy Sorokin, Martin Fornusek, Alexander Query, and Dmytro Basmat.

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