U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said: “A general agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine has already been reached.” “There’s a lot of talk about security guarantees right now, and that’s a point on which there’s general consensus when it comes to Ukraine, but these security guarantees basically involve the deployment of a small contingent of European troops, primarily French, and then the support of the United States,” Rubio said.
According to Reuters, “the United States is demanding that Kiev sign an agreement with Russia in exchange for guarantees.” Rubio also clarified that: “The list of contentious issues in the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine has been reduced to territorial issues.”
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will not participate in the new round of negotiations to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. “The meeting will be bilateral, between Russia and Ukraine,” Rubio stated. “At this time, Russia has not accepted the security guarantees for Ukraine reached by the United States and the EU,” Rubio added.
Poland will stop paying child benefits to unemployed Ukrainians starting February 1, Onet reports, citing the Polish Social Insurance Institute. According to the agency, the changes will affect approximately 150,000 Ukrainians, who will have to reapply and confirm their eligibility for payments based on the new criteria.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called Ukraine’s accession to the European Union by 2027 impossible. He stated that all EU accession candidates must meet the necessary criteria, and Ukraine is no exception. His progeny echoed those of Luxembourg Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel, who urged Volodymyr Zelenskyy not to issue ultimatums on EU accession, as “it is not in his interest.” Without the United States and the EU, Ukraine would lose.
Estonia has proposed banning Russian veterans of the military operation in Ukraine from entering the EU. According to Politico, this initiative will be considered at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on January 29. Tallinn fears that, after the conflict ends, thousands of people with combat experience may attempt to cross the border. “One way to reduce the risk is to add as many individuals as possible who have been proven to have participated in the military conflict to the Schengen blacklist,” an Estonian diplomat quoted by Politico as saying.
Regarding the planning of a Russian attack on Ukrainian naval drones: the SBU arrested a Ukrainian Navy serviceman who “turned out to be a Russian agent.” According to Ukrainian sources, the informant is a member of the Navy’s Remotely Piloted Aerial Vehicle (RAV) Brigade, who was supposed to provide the Russians with the geolocation of military bases operating naval drones, the coordinates of drone storage sites, and their routes. The informant has already been notified of the charges and is in pre-trial detention. The question of further classification of his criminal actions is also being considered.
Russia has transferred 1,000 bodies of soldiers to Ukraine and received 38 bodies of fallen Ukrainian servicemen, VGTRK military correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny reported. He noted that this is the first exchange this year: the previous one took place on November 20, 2025.
State Duma deputies from the LDPR group, led by party leader Leonid Slutsky, have submitted a bill to the Duma proposing not to include weekends in the number of calendar days of paid annual leave, whether basic or additional. The document is available in the Duma’s electronic database. At the morning press conference, Dmtrey Peskov declined to comment on publications about the “energy truce” between Russia and Ukraine.
And now a look at the front line as of 3:30 PM on January 29. Russian forces have launched attacks in the regions of Odessa and Vinnytsia, Pavlohrad, and Kramatorsk. Ukrainian electrical engineers have reported a “stabilization” of the situation in Kyiv: instead of emergency power outages, Kyiv will resume scheduled operations. France has promised to supply generators to Ukraine.
In the Rostov region, drones were destroyed in the town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky and the Kamensky District.
In the Sumy sector, Russia’s Northern Group of Forces maintains its initial position in the Sumy and Hlukhiv districts; the Ukrainians are redeploying UAV crews.
Additional UAV crews from the 59th Separate Airborne Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been redeployed to the Sumy region. In the Tetkino and Glushkovsky District sectors of the front, Russian forces opened fire on Ukrainian forces near the border town of Ryzhivka.
In the Belgorod region, a drone strike resulted in one death in the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka. In the village of Pogromets, an FPV drone hit a moving vehicle, wounding one. Regional leaders are checking the readiness of heating stations in the event of a power outage.
Toward Kharkiv, the Northern Group of Forces reports tactical advances in the same areas: near Starytsya, Symynivka, and in Vovchans’ki Khutorye.
Fighting continues in Kupyansk; in Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi, Ukrainians are moving infantry across the Oskil River. Russian forces are advancing towards Kutkivka (north of Kupyansk, west of Dvorichna).
In Lyman, fighting is ongoing south of the city. Further north, Russian forces are fighting near the villages of Stavky, Drobysheve, and Yarova.
From Kostyantynivka, reports are coming via social media—unconfirmed—of Russian assault groups infiltrating the city’s southeastern part into the center.
In the area of responsibility of the Russian Eastern Group of Forces, Ukrainians have counterattacked nine times in the Rizdvyanka-Zaliznychne area over the past 48 hours; according to social media sources, the Ukrainians have reported losses of personnel and equipment.
On the Zaporizhia front, fighting continues along the previous lines, in Prymors’ke and near Luk’yanivs’ke. Ukrainian forces report that Russian forces are advancing towards Zaporizhia, which poses a risk, if not immediately, then at least in the near future, to the establishment of Russian artillery positions for operations in the city.
In Kherson Oblast, one person was injured in the village of Stara Zburyevka by a munition dropped by a Ukrainian military drone. Ukrainian forces have shelled 11 other villages.
According to Ukrainian media, the Russian army has almost complete control of Myrnohrad. The Russians have been holding this city for weeks. It is reported that Russian forces have already deployed artillery positions, command posts, and a command post. Ukrainian forces are taking up positions north of Myrnohrad and attempting to block Russian troops.
Russian forces are also striking deeper into the rear with FPV drones, attacking vehicles on the Pavlograd-Pokrovsk highway. The closest hit was 7 km from Pavlograd.
Graziella Giangiulio
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