Tuesday, January 9

Russia’s war against Ukraine

An Orthodox Church of Ukraine priest blesses the waters of the Black Sea amid Epiphany celebrations in Odesa, Ukraine, on Jan. 6, 2024. (Oleksandr Gimanov/AFP/Getty Images)

Kuleba: Allies not pushing Ukraine to start talks on freezing war. “Our allies are not asking us to start talks with Russia in order to freeze the war - neither when we meet (Western) delegations nor at closed meetings,” he said. “Those who suggest a frozen conflict argue that they are acting in the best interests of Ukraine and the world, but in reality they are helping (Russian dictator Vladimir) Putin and ignoring what today’s Russia is.”

Military intelligence claims capture of Russian drone producer’s classified data. Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) seized 100 gigabytes (GB) of classified data worth around $1.5 billion from the Russian company Special Technology Center, the HUR said on Jan. 8.

Energy Ministry: Bad weather, Russian attacks cause widespread blackouts. Twelve oblasts throughout Ukraine were affected, causing at least 560 settlements to lose power.

Parliamentary committee sees corruption risks in new mobilization bill. The parliamentary body nevertheless recognized that mobilization is needed in Ukraine, lawmaker Anastasiia Radina added.

Umerov: More than $260 million in violations discovered at Defense Ministry. “One of the priorities of the Ministry of Defense team is to clean the system from unscrupulous participants - inside the institution and outside,” said Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

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Ex-defense officials charged with embezzling $25 million through bulletproof vest purchases. According to New Voice, the first two suspects are ex-Deputy Defense Minister Viacheslav Shapovalov and former State Procurement Department Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, who are currently in custody on other corruption charges.

Military: Russia keeps 19,000 troops on Ukraine’s northern border. “This number has not changed for several months, so there is no need to discuss signs of the enemy forming any strike groups,” the spokesperson of Ukraine’s northern forces, Yurii Povkh, said on television.

Minister: Nearly 15 million tons of cargo exported via temporary Black Sea corridor. “In the five months of the corridor’s operation, 469 new vessels arrived at our Ukrainian ports to receive cargo,” Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said, according to his Facebook channel.

Russian official claims Ukrainian attack on Belgorod Oblast, 3 injured. Several buildings and cars were also reportedly damaged, said Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.

Media: Explosions reported on railway by oil depot in Russia. The Russian state-run media outlet TASS, citing local authorities, said there was an explosion on the tracks but that there were no casualties or damage to infrastructure.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Russia launches another mass attack against Ukraine, kills 4, injures 45

Russian troops launched another mass missile and drone attack against Ukraine on Jan. 8, killing at least four people and injuring 45. Casualties and damages to civilian infrastructure were reported in Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv oblasts.

Photo: Serhii Lysak/Telegram

Human cost of war

4 killed, 45 injured in Russian missile attacks on Jan 8. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the casualties were reported in Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Khmelnytskyi oblasts.

Ukrainian Mig-29 pilot dies during mission. Vladyslav Zalistovskyi, a 23-year-old MiG-29 pilot known by the call sign “Blue Helmet,” died during a combat mission, the Defense Ministry’s news channel Armiia TV reported on Jan. 8.

Officials: Death toll of Russia’s Jan 2 mass attack rises in Kyiv, Kharkiv. Two more people died in Kyiv and Kharkiv hospitals after being injured in Russia’s Jan. 2 mass attack against Ukraine, bringing the total death toll in the two cities to six, local officials reported on Jan. 8.

Opinions and insights

Kosenko and Stiglitz: Seizing Russia’s frozen assets is the right move

“G7 leaders should send a clear message: no country can have it both ways. By deterring other bad actors from violating international law, such seizures could act as a peace-building measure,” economists Andrew Kosenko and Joseph E. Stiglitz write.

Photo: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg/Getty Images

International response

Scholz criticizes EU for providing insufficient military aid to Ukraine. “As significant as the German contribution is, it will not be enough to ensure Ukraine’s security in the long run,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Media: European Commission sends letter of concern to Poland over border blockade. Polish truckers have been blocking three crossings with Ukraine since November 2023 in protest of the EU’s liberalization of transit rules for Ukrainian truckers, causing massive lines on the border and negatively impacting Ukraine’s economy.

WSJ: Poland hindering investigation into Nord Stream explosions. The Nord Stream underwater pipelines connecting Russia to Germany were blown up in September 2022. Investigations have been ongoing since then, but have yet to produce a definitive conclusion into the source of the explosion.

Sweden to send troops to Latvia. Though Sweden’s accession to NATO is not yet complete, the government has signaled it is ready to contribute to NATO deterrence and the defense of Baltic countries.

In other news

Parliamentary committee supports firing MP Bezuhla from key security post. The Ukrainian parliament’s Committee on Rules of Procedure supported a resolution to dismiss Mariana Bezuhla, a member of parliament from President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party, from her post as deputy head of the National Security and Defense Committee, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on Jan. 8.

Ukraine, allies initiate proceedings against Iran over airplane downing. Flight 752 was a civilian passenger flight from Tehran to Kyiv that was hit by two missiles shortly after takeoff, with all 176 people on board being killed.

Controversial judge’s son wanted on murder charges. The suspect’s father was a judge of the Kyiv District Administrative Court (OASK), which has been involved in major corruption scandals. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a bill on the court’s dissolution in December 2022.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Teah Pelechaty, Dinara Khalilova, Martin Fornusek, Oleg Sukhov, Nate Ostiller, Olena Goncharova, and Abbey Fenbert.

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