#UKRAINERUSSIAWAR. EU Commissioner Kubilius: EU must contain Russia and prepare for war within 5 years. Trump: 100 days to make peace agreement between Moscow and Kiev. Russian troops plant flag in Zapadne

86

The new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to the ABC TV channel about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict: “The United States has supported Ukraine, but this conflict must end.” Asked about Trump’s campaign promise to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on the first day, Rubio said that the issue is more complex and that the negotiations will not be held publicly. “Look, this is a complex and tragic conflict, started by Vladimir Putin and which, I would say, has caused enormous damage to Ukraine and also to Russia, but also to the stability of Europe. So the only way to solve these problems is to return to pragmatism, but we also need to return to seriousness, and this is the hard work of diplomacy. The United States has a role to play here. We have supported Ukraine, but this conflict must end,” the Secretary of State said.

US President Donald Trump, speaking at the White House, said it was likely that new sanctions against Russia would be imposed if the country’s leadership did not negotiate on Ukraine. Donald Trump said that contacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin would take place “very soon.” Speaking about the meeting with the Russian president, he said that he was ready to meet with Putin whenever he wanted. The fact is that for now, in addition to many words, Trump has not picked up the phone to discuss Ukraine with Putin.

The Pentagon has fired or suspended all those responsible for Ukraine, said Ukrainian journalist Roman Bochkala, who is in the United States. “Everyone who was responsible for Ukraine has been fired or suspended. Or they will be transferred somewhere to other positions. Complete reboot. So there will definitely be changes. A new format of relations,” he said after a meeting with Washington Post reporters. Trump also tasked his special representative Kellogg with resolving the conflict in Ukraine in 100 days, WSJ source.

European Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius said at the annual conference of the European Defense Agency in Brussels: “The European Commission must help prolong the conflict in Ukraine to contain Russia and prepare for war within the next five years.”

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban also returned to talk about Ukraine: “The situation in Ukraine has worsened, it has the role of a supplicant and has no right to dictate its conditions to the Central European countries that are members of the European Union,” the prime minister said after negotiations in Bratislava with his Slovakian counterpart Robert Fico. “The way in which the citizens of Kiev are trying to build relations with the states of Central Europe is unacceptable. We are ready to respect them, but we demand respect for ourselves.”

Volodymyr Zelensky returned to public statements and said: “Ukraine will need a million-strong army to defend itself from the Russian Federation. This will be necessary until the country becomes a member of some kind of security alliance.” He also explained that Ukraine will not agree to reduce its armed forces fivefold, as Putin demands, Zelensky said at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

According to statements by the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel: Deputy Foreign Minister Sharan Khashakal, in an official meeting with Ambassador Yevgeny Korniychuk, proposed to transfer to Ukraine Russian weapons captured as trophies in the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon and other areas of hostilities.

Ukrainian MP Maryana Volodymyrivna Bezuhla, known for initiating the most important scandals within the Rada and the Ukrainian army, reveals that the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces can receive a bonus of up to 20 million UAH, and the chief of staff – up to 2 million UAH. The military at the front will not like this news very much.

Compared to what President Trump reported, the Russians are very cautious: “There is a small window of opportunity for agreements with the new US administration,” said Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Ryabkov. “We cannot say anything today about the degree of negotiability of the incoming administration, but still, compared to the desperation in all respects of the previous owner of the White House, today there is, albeit a small, window of opportunity,” he said, speaking on Wednesday at the USA-Canada Institute

According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov: “to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, we can only talk about legally binding and reliable agreements with a mechanism that prevents its violation”.

And now a look at the front line as of 16:30 on January 22.

Yesterday evening, 7 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Crimea. At midnight, 9 Ukrainian UAVs were shot down in the Rostov region. At night, the governor of the Voronezh region reported that a Ukrainian drone was shot down.

In the Kursk region, the settlement of Nikolaevo-Daryino has returned to Russian hands, and the surrounding areas are currently being cleaned and consolidated. The Northern group of troops reports that Russian marines continue to destroy vehicles and strike Ukrainian military personnel in and around Kurilovka. On the next line of defense west of Kurilovka are Ukrainian units of the special operations forces “Vostok”, which will perform the tasks of the line infantry units. In addition, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to strengthen their forces in the Sudzhan border area. Kiev is currently waiting for the dispatch of two newly formed battalions of the 210th special unit “Berlingo” (considered an “elite” unit).

North of Kup”yansk, on the right bank of the Oskil River, Russian Armed Forces continue to advance to the western part of the village of Dvorichna, in the central part to the north and south of the Verkhnya Dvurechnkova River. The Ministry of Defense has stated that the Russian army has taken the village of Zapadne in the Kharkiv region.

In Chasiv Yar, south of the fire facility and in the Novoseverny microdistrict, fighting continues in the building.

In the direction of Pokrovsk, Russian Armed Forces have advanced to the forest southwest of the settlement of Slov’yanka. In the south, fighting is taking place in the area of ​​Petropavlivka and Shevchenko in the direction of Andriivka.

In Velyka Novosilka, Ukrainian units, which were supposed to ensure the withdrawal of the main forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, fled in order not to be surrounded. The capture of the settlement continues. The remaining Ukrainian garrison receives conflicting commands, has no transportation and evacuation possibilities and continues to resist.

On the Zaporizhia front, active counter-battery fighting took place on both sides along the entire front. A large number of attack and reconnaissance UAVs were observed in the sky. At least eight drone attacks were recorded in the Belgorod region.

Graziella Giangiulio 

Follow our updates on Geopolitical Gleanings - Spigolature geopolitiche: https://t.me/agc_NW and on our blog The Gleanings of AGCNEWS - Le Spigolature di AGCNEWS: https://spigolatureagcnews.blogspot.com/