According to the Financial Times: the leaders of Italy, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada will pressure Trump at the G7 to provide personal security guarantees to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, London has clarified that it will send troops to Ukraine “only if it is certain of their safety,” says the head of the British armed forces. Richard Knighton also stated that he is confident in his ability to ensure the safety of British troops who will be deployed to Ukraine to enforce the peace agreement.
Meanwhile, commenting on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s statement that sooner or later they will have to talk to Putin, European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho said: “It’s clear that at some point the EU will have to negotiate with President Putin as well. We’re not at that stage yet,” she noted. EU countries also have divergent positions on the issue of arms purchases for Ukraine under the €90 billion aid package. According to Politico, Germany and the Netherlands believe part of the sum should be spent on American weapons, while France insists on giving priority to European producers.
Finland and Sweden are calling on the European Commission to ban the export of luxury goods to Russia and the maintenance of Russian oil tankers, as well as reduce import quotas for Russian fertilizers, as part of the twentieth sanctions package, Euractiv reports, citing an anonymous diplomat.
Meanwhile, Ukrainians are experiencing freezing cold without power. Emergency power outages have been implemented throughout Kiev. The infrastructure cannot handle the load, says Yasno CEO Kovalenko. 85% of Kiev residents are without electricity.
The Rada’s Defense Committee did not support the resignation of SBU Chief Vasyl Malyuk.
The final decision rests with the Rada. Khmara has already been appointed acting head of the SBU. The Rada supported the resignation of Vasyl Malyuk as head of the Security Service of Ukraine. 235 deputies voted in favor of the corresponding resolution.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “We have intelligence information: the Russians are preparing a new massive attack. Drones are weakening air defenses and missiles. They want to take advantage of the cold weather. This attack could occur in the coming days.”
Russia has launched over 13,000 missiles and 142,000 drones against Ukraine since February 24, 2022, says General Syrskyi. The Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces noted that, in this context, Ukraine’s primary need is to strengthen its air defense by acquiring air defense systems and missiles, which the United States can supply.
On the night of January 13, “the Russians again attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure,” Zelenskyy said. According to the prime minister, Russian forces used nearly 300 attack drones, 18 ballistic missiles, and seven cruise missiles, striking eight regions of Ukraine. The attack has created a difficult situation in the Kyiv region, where several hundred thousand families are currently without electricity. He also added that Ukraine expects accelerated deliveries of supplies agreed with the United States and Europe, particularly missiles for air defense systems.
Energy facilities in the Kyiv-controlled part of Zaporizhia Oblast were also hit.
Russia’s international reserves have set a new record, rising to $763.9 billion, the Central Bank of Russia announced.
New appointments are being made in Moscow to replace former executives accused of corruption. Yuri Abrasimov, Deputy Director General for Economy and Finance, has been appointed Acting General Director of JSC Tupolev. Alexander Zhdanov, previously Director of the Financial Recovery Department of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, became head of the Deposit Insurance Agency on January 13. At the end of December, the Board of Directors of the Deposit Insurance Agency decided to dismiss Andrei Melnikov as CEO of the state-owned entity. Last October, the Lefortovo Court in Moscow authorized Melnikov’s arrest on fraud charges.
Law enforcement agencies are conducting an investigation at the Ural Federal University (UrFU) in Yekaterinburg, the university’s press office told RIA Novosti. Several Telegram channels reported searches at the UrFU and at the homes of “three senior university officials.”
In its plenary session, the Russian State Duma approved a bill guaranteeing widows of participants in the operation in Ukraine the right to free higher education was approved in first reading. The document provides for widows’ right to free university admission, within a separate quota, without entrance exams, for undergraduate and graduate programs. It proposes extending similar conditions to secondary vocational schools.
Russia’s new representative to the OSCE, Dmitry Polyansky, said in an interview: “Europe has ‘one or two years, no more’ to make a strategic breakthrough toward Russia, otherwise the continent will completely lose its independence.
And now a look at the front line updated at 3:30 PM on January 13. Overnight, Russian forces launched a massive combined strike (over 20 ballistic missiles alone) against energy infrastructure in the Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Zazaporizhia regions (the Kryvyi Rih and Trypilska thermal power plants are mentioned). In Kyiv and neighboring cities (Irpin, Bukha, and Gostomel), almost total power outages and problems with the water supply have been reported. Explosions have also been reported in the Zhytomyr region. and several Geranium missiles operational in Odessa. Russian drones struck two ships near Odessa.
Ukrainian forces attacked the Orel thermal power plant and a substation in the village of Stary Krym, near Mariupol. In the Lipetsk region, one person was injured in a drone attack on Yelets. An ambulance was hit by debris and damaged. Fires in private homes were extinguished. Air defense forces repelled an airstrike on Taganrog, the governor reported. No casualties were reported.
In the Bryansk region, one person was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in the village of Strachovo, Suzemsky District. In the village of Belaya Berezka, Trubchevsky District, one person was injured in a drone attack. Geran-2 drone strikes destroyed long-range drone depots and operator barracks near Shostka, Sumy.
In the direction of Sumy, the Russian Sever Group of Forces continues to fight in the Sumy and Krasnopil’s’kyi districts. Daily exchanges of fire are occurring in the Tetkino and Glushkovo areas.
In the Kursk region, Ukrainian forces struck a power plant in the Khmutovsky district with a drone. The disruption affected the districts of Rylsky, Glushkovo, Korenevo, and Khmutovsky.
Toward Kharkiv, the Northern Group of Forces is expanding its control zone near Vovchansk, in the Starytsya area, southwest of Lyman, in Vovchanskie Khutory, and in the Milove-Khatnye area.
Fighting is ongoing on the outskirts of Oleksandrivka, in the direction of Lyman. Russian troops are advancing in the Yarova and Svyatogorsk areas. Clashes are reported near Drobysheve.
In Kupyansk, near the city council building (city center), Ukrainian forces They released footage of their infantry moving with a flag; the Ukrainians moved relatively freely during the filming. Russian forces control the northern and eastern parts of the city.
In the direction of Hulyaypole in the Zaporizhia region, Ukrainian forces launched five unsuccessful counterattacks. The Russian Eastern Group of Forces is using artillery and drones in the village of Hulyaypole. To the west, it is striking at advancing Ukrainian reserves.
On the Zaporizhia front, Russian forces are fighting their way towards Stepnohirsk-Lukyanivsk and beyond. There is no objective footage of the capture of Novoboikivsk, and none is expected.
In the Kherson region, two men were killed in shelling last night in Novovolodymyrivka and Chulakovka. One was injured in Tarasivka. Ukrainian forces have shelled other 13 settlements. Russian forces are responding to fire across the Dnieper.
Graziella Giangiulio
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