Thursday, January 11

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Emergency workers tend to victims in Kharkiv after a Russian missile attack struck a hotel in the city center the night of Jan. 10. It was Russia’s fourth attack against Kharkiv in four days. (Ukraine State Emergency Services / Telegram)

11 injured in Russian missile attack on Kharkiv. The attack hit a hotel in the city center where over 30 civilians were staying. Eleven people were injured, with one man in critical condition.

Zelensky arrives in Vilnius as part of visit to Baltics. President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on Jan. 10 as part of a trip that will also see him visit Estonia and Latvia.

Zelensky: Ukraine needs more modern air defense systems. Ukraine currently lacks the ability to produce its own modern air defense system, something that it desperately needs to protect its citizens from Russian strikes, President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a joint press conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda in Vilnius on Jan. 10.

Economy Minister: Ukraine to launch 5 joint ventures with Western arms companies in 2024. Ukraine plans to launch five joint ventures with Western arms manufacturers this year, Economy Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko told the Kyiv Independent on Jan. 10.

South Korea: Ukraine ‘test site’ for North Korean nuclear missiles. UN delegates spoke out against Russia’s use of North Korean ballistic missiles in its war against Ukraine at a Security Council meeting on Jan. 10.

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MP Bezuhla resigns from Zelensky’s party. “I will continue to support the President’s initiatives, but I don’t want to have any common obligations with the MPs of the faction who stab me in the back.”

Bloomberg: Russia’s oil drilling continues to break records despite Western sanctions. Russia’s oil drilling industry is on track to set record highs for the second year in a row, raising doubts on the ability of Western sanctions to curtail profits from the lucrative sector, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 10.

Poll: Majority of Russians see war in Ukraine as ‘civilizational struggle with West.’ A majority (63%) of Russians continue to support the full-scale war against Ukraine, which is viewed by another 64% as symptomatic of a larger “civilizational struggle between Russia and the West,” according to a poll released on Jan. 9 by the University of Chicago’s nonpartisan National Opinion Research Center (NORC).

CPJ: Ukrainian journalist receives threats after report on Kherson politician’s Russian connections. Oleh Baturyn, a Ukrainian journalist working with the Center for Journalistic Investigations, received violent online threats after a story about a member of the Kherson regional council’s Russian connections, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported on Jan. 9.

Kyiv court reinstates judge with Russian citizenship to Supreme Court. Schemes’ investigation from September 2022 uncovered that Bohdan Lvov possesses a Russian passport, which was later confirmed by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Despite the judge’s denial of the report, the Supreme Court dismissed Lvov.

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Ukraine war latest: Russia reportedly to start production of new glide bomb

The bombs are designed to be dropped by jets far from their targets. The bombs then use a guided flight path to accurately deliver a payload that Western analysts consider to be a cluster munition.

Photo: Karopka.ru

Human cost of war

Russian airstrike against Kharkiv Oblast kills woman, damages school. Russian forces launched two guided aerial bombs against the village of Vilkhuvatka in the Kupiansk district of Kharkiv Oblast on Jan. 10, killing a 48-year-old woman, officials said.

Russian attacks injure 4 in Donetsk, Kherson oblasts over past day. In Donetsk Oblast, two people were injured during Russian attacks against Avdiivka, the regional military administration reported.

General Staff: Russia has lost 366,790 troops in Ukraine. This number includes 800 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

International response

Politico: Scholz to put additional pressure on EU to increase arms supplies to Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will use the upcoming EU summit in February as an opportunity to press Ukraine’s European allies to increase their provision of military aid, Politico reported on Jan. 9, citing an anonymous German official.

Lithuania pledges almost $220 million in 3-year support for Ukraine. “In January, we will again send ammunition, generators, detonation systems, and in February - M-577 armored personnel carriers,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda announced during the press conference.

NATO members pledge further support to Ukraine in 2024, outline plans for billions in aid. NATO members have reaffirmed their commitment to bolstering Ukraine’s defenses and will continue to provide military, economic, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine this year, the alliance announced in a statement following the NATO-Ukraine Council meeting on Jan. 10.

Media: A year later, Canada’s promised air defense system not yet delivered to Ukraine. The $406 million system would “help Ukraine strengthen its air defense systems against destructive air attacks on military sites, critical civilian infrastructure, and population centers,” Canada’s Defense Ministry said at the time.

Slovak PM decries Western strategy on Ukraine, says Russia ‘also needs security guarantees’. In his column, the prime minister claimed that the Western strategy has “failed,” saying it did not succeed in collapsing the Russian economy and Moscow continues to control parts of Ukraine.

Bloomberg: Italian PM urges Orban to support Ukraine aid in back-channel talks. The negotiations could result in Hungary’s right-wing Fidesz party joining the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), a pan-European coalition of far-right political parties.

Media: Polish minister opposes extending EU free trade agreement with Ukraine. In his letter, Polish Agriculture Minister Czeslaw Siekierski allegedly pointed out the “counterproductive effects” of the trade liberalization introduced in 2022. He emphasized that excessive imports are related not only to grain but “also sugar, poultry, eggs, soft fruit, and apple concentrate,” RMF24 reported.

In other news

Parliament approves in first reading lobbying bill crucial for EU integration. Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, approved in the first reading on Jan. 10 a bill on lobbying, one of the remaining requirements presented to Kyiv by the European Commission in its last assessment, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said.

Polish MP claims he is ‘political prisoner’ after arrest on abuse of power charge. Polish lawmaker Mariusz Kaminski claimed he is a “political prisoner” and will start a hunger strike on Jan. 10, one day after his dramatic arrest inside Poland’s presidential palace.

Former Deputy Prosecutor General and daughter found dead in Kyiv. Olha Kolinko served as Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine two times, first from 1993-2000 and again from 2003-2005.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Toma Istomina, Alexander Query, Martin Fornusek, Elsa Court, Teah Pelechaty, Nate Ostiller, and Abbey Fenbert.

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