Witkoff and Kushner plan to visit Moscow soon and hope to meet Putin, Bloomberg reports. According to the agency, Ukraine hopes to finalize security agreements with the United States and European countries at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed Yaroslav Merezhko as Deputy Head of the SBU. The Verkhovna Rada has appointed Denys Shmyhal as Energy Minister and First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Parliament also appointed Mykhailo Fedorov as the new Defense Minister. 277 deputies voted in favor. He was previously Minister of Digital Transformation.
In his first statement, the minister said: “The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense is falling into my hands with 300 billion in budget losses, 2 million Ukrainians wanted, and 200,000 in the Special Operations District. We must resolve these issues to move forward.”
Also on the subject of politics: NABU and SAP conducted searches at the headquarters of the Batkivshchyna party for almost the entire night, Strana reports. The leader of Yulia Tymoshenko’s party has been accused of bribing parliamentarians, Ukrainska Pravda reports. Media outlets have published footage of Tymoshenko and the moment of the official indictment.
The energy crisis continues in Kiev. Five missiles hit Kyiv’s thermal power plant No. 5: due to the severe damage, it is very difficult to restore the heating supply, Rada MP Kucherenko says. Fifth day without electricity: people are blocking roads in Dnipropetrovsk, according to local public groups.
The mandatory evacuation of children, along with their parents or legal guardians, from five settlements in the Zaporizhia region has been announced, according to Oleksiy Kuleba. “We’re talking about 40 children from 26 families in two communities. They will be welcomed and hosted in the Cherkasy region,” added the Minister for Community and Territorial Development.
EU countries are discussing the possibility of appointing a special representative for the negotiations on a Ukrainian agreement, who could lead the dialogue with the Russian side on behalf of the community. Finnish President Alexander Stubb is among the possible candidates for this role, Politico reports, citing sources.
Ukraine will have to repay €90 billion in funding to European taxpayers for 2026-2027 only if Russia “pays in full for the damage caused,” or if the money can be repaid through the expropriation of frozen Russian assets in the future.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Valdis Dombrovskis announced the move at a press conference in Brussels.
There is, however, disagreement among EU countries over how much of the €60 billion Kiev can spend on weapons produced outside the EU, reports the Politico newspaper. The European Commission has reached an agreement to provide Kiev with a €90 billion (8.1 trillion rubles) loan, Ursula von der Leyen announced. €60 billion will be earmarked for military support and €30 billion for budget support.
A video emerged online of a Ukrainian drone striking an oil tanker in the Black Sea on January 13. The Kazakh Foreign Ministry on the attacks on oil tankers in the Black Sea: “The growing number of incidents near the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) indicates growing risks to international energy infrastructure; The attacked tankers had all the necessary permits and were equipped with identification devices; Kazakhstan expresses concern about drone attacks on oil tankers in the Black Sea; Following the attacks on oil tankers, Kazakh diplomats discussed measures to ensure the safety of oil shipments with European and American officials.” The tanker attacked in the Black Sea was chartered by the American oil company Chevron. The American oil company Chevron confirmed it was aware of reports of incidents involving vessels bound for the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal in the Black Sea, according to Reuters.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov: “When the United States begins to act, ignoring all the norms it itself promotes, it suggests that our American colleagues are unreliable.” The comment was in reference to Venezuela and Iran.
And now a look at the front line updated at 3:30 PM on January 14. The Ukrainian armed forces attacked Rostov-on-Don during the night. Four people were injured in apartment buildings. Industrial buildings and warehouses in the western industrial zone caught fire. One fire was extinguished, and the second was contained by morning. During the night, airstrikes were repelled in 10 cities and districts of the region (Rostov, Novocherkassk, Volgodonsk, Bokovsky, Kasharsky, Millersky, Myasnikovsky, Milyutinsky, Kamensky, and Ust-Donetsk districts). In the Stavropol Krai, authorities reported a drone attack on the Nevinnomyssk industrial zone. During the day, during a massive air strike in the southern regions, the oil tankers Delta Harmony and Matilda were attacked near the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal in Novorossiysk. Between 11:00 PM on January 12 and 11:00 PM on January 13, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported the downing of 108 drones.
In Kiev, the effects of the attacks on the energy sector are becoming increasingly evident: with the cold, parliamentarians’ calls to consider evacuating the city are increasing, and power and heating outages are becoming more severe. During the night, explosions were heard in Pavlohrad, Kryvyi Rih, the Odessa region, and Dnipropetrovsk.
In the Bryansk region, FPV drones of the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked two civilian vehicles in the village of Belaya Berezka, in the Trubchevsk district, leaving one injured.
Toward Sumy, the Northern Group of Forces is fighting in the same front lines, attempting to intensify attacks on Ukrainian Armed Forces positions. The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to fortify their defenses and are attempting to counterattack.
In the Belgorod region, following attacks by Ukrainian forces on the energy sector, the governor urged the population to consider evacuating children and relatives to places with electricity and heating. It is impossible to fully restore the electricity supply. A civilian was killed in Shebekino following the explosion of a Ukrainian drone.
In the direction of Kharkiv, the Sever Group of Forces continues to penetrate Ukrainian defenses near Vovchansk and Milove-Khatnie. Ukrainian forces are attempting to undermine their positions during their retreat, including from a distance.
In Kupyansk, fighting continues. Russian forces are controlling the northern and eastern areas of the city, while Ukrainian forces are attempting to strengthen their presence in the urban area.
In the village of Borova, Kharkiv Oblast, Russian forces are assaulting Ukrainian strongholds, straightening the front line, and attempting to reach the Oskil River.
Southwest of Seversk, Ukrainian forces report intensifying hostilities by Russian units near Sviato-Pokrovske. Ukrainian reports after the capture of Seversk indicate the direction as “Slavyanskoye” (25 km west of this city).
The Vostok Group of Forces reports that Ukrainian forces are continuing persistent attempts to recapture the settlement of Hulyaijpole and are moving its most combat-ready units to this sector of the front. Six attempts have failed in the last 24 hours. Russian efforts are focused on destroying Ukrainian forces in strongholds near Pryluky and Olenokostiantynivka, Sviatopetrivka, and Staroukrainka.
On the Zaporizhia front, fighting continues near the northern outskirts of Prymorsk. Russian forces are pushing their way toward Veselyanka (9 km north of Stepnohirsk).
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/
