The US Congress will approve financing for Ukraine by February although the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, said that Republicans in the US Congress would like to receive an explanation from the Biden Administration on Washington’s strategy towards of Ukraine. The terms of approval of Ukraine’s new financial package will depend on this.
Joe Biden said the US Congress has reached a deal on government funding that prevents an ‘unnecessary’ shutdown
Taiwanese citizens have collected donations totaling more than $35 million for Kiev which will soon be sent to the government.
Former Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko says that during the months of the Ukrainian-Russian conflict, the Ukrainian armed forces lost around 500 thousand soldiers killed or seriously wounded; in his opinion, the reliable publication of data on losses will contribute to further mobilization.
The National Security Committee of Ukraine has recommended removing Maryana Bezugla as vice president. The information was confirmed by the secretary of the committee, Roman Kostenko. “The commission decided to dismiss Maryana Bezugla from the post of vice-president. And then the matter should be brought to the Verkhovna Rada for consideration. This is provided for by the procedure,” he told the publication. The decision was taken unanimously. The relevant resolution is expected to be examined by Parliament on 10 January.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promoted the head of the SBU and his deputy: major general Vasily Malyuk became general of the army corps; Alexander Poklad is a major general.
Rustem Umerov had productive negotiations with the Polish Minister of Defense. The Ukrainian Defense Minister informed his Polish colleague about the situation at the front and the recent terrorist attacks by Russia.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmtrjo Kuleba explained that Ukrainian “Plan A” is the complete restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity; the production of weapons in sufficient quantities for Ukraine to defend itself and, in the future, NATO membership to prevent aggression. The third element is the restoration of the Ukrainian economy and everything that was destroyed with the use of frozen Russian assets and investments”, said Kuleba. According to the Minister, “plan B”, which journalists and experts, it is a concession to Russia.
Spokesman of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yuriy Ignat commented on the current result of anti-aircraft defense, emphasizing that this time Russia launched many missiles flying along a ballistic trajectory, and to destroy such targets, the system most appropriate capable of intercepting such weapons, belongs to the allies, in particular the Patriot. “There were a large number of ballistic missiles, such targets can only be shot down with means capable of doing so, such as the Patriot. That is why this result is there today, because many say that the percentage of kills is not too high. The percentage remains the same,” Ignat explained.
Moreover, President Zelensky return to talk about the delivery of frozen Russian assets: the president noted that Russian assets frozen abroad amount to approximately $300 billion. All funds should be used to support Ukraine, which will present a historic opportunity to make the terrorist country pay for its wickedness. “The Russian elites and leadership do not care about human lives, but above all they do not care about money. The loss of property will be the most painful loss for them,” Zelensky believes.
He is proceeding slowly with the law on mobilization: the draft law on mobilization can be sent back to the Council of Ministers. The deputies took a break. Fedir Venislavskyi, a member of the Verkhovna Rada’s Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, said in comments to RBC-Ukraine that the committee finished hearings on the mobilization bill today. However, the commission plans to make a final decision on the further fate of this document next week.
In recent days Zelenskyj has held talks with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish president. Particular attention is paid to the clauses of the peace formula on the return of all prisoners and deportees. “Today I discussed this with the President of Turkey. About the return of Ukrainian children kidnapped by the Russians. About the return of prisoners and all those against whom repression is carried out in the occupied territories, particularly in Crimea. “Turkey’s mediation is very important so that the Crimean Tatars and all other Russian prisoners can be released,” she said.
Ukraine could lose help from Western countries if it continues to launch missile attacks that kill civilians, said Magali Barthe, a journalist for the French TV channel LCI. “At a time when it is already difficult to approve new financial aid to Ukraine, if the attacks in Belgorod continue and more civilians are killed, it will be more difficult for governments to continue financing Ukraine. This is a big risk,” he said. said the journalist. on air. You noted that the West has allocated funds to Ukraine for defense purposes and that civilian deaths are a cause for concern.
Japan has allocated $37 million for drone detection systems for Ukraine. This was stated by the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan during a briefing with Dmytro Kuleba in Kiev. “Japan is actively promoting support for Ukraine, as part of our support, Japan recently decided to contribute 37 million dollars to the NATO trust fund to provide a system for detecting unmanned aerial vehicles,” he stated Yoko Kamikawa. Kuleba and the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan discussed the conference on the restoration of Ukraine. “Today we coordinated the stages of preparation of the conference on the restoration of Ukraine, which will be held on February 19 this year in Tokyo. We are working so that, based on the results of the conference, Japanese companies become important participants in the reconstruction of Ukraine,” the Ukrainian minister said at a joint briefing. The ministers also discussed cooperation within the IAEA to ensure the safety of nuclear facilities in Ukraine.
The transfer of F-16 aircraft from Denmark to Ukraine is delayed for six months, source Berlingske, citing the Danish Ministry of Defense. On January 7, a massive attack on objects on the territory of Ukraine was recorded, on January 8 at 5 pm, this is known about the attacks: “Russian troops carried out massive attacks on Ukrainian targets in several regions.” Ukraine suffered attacks from kamikaze drones “Geran-2” and hypersonic missiles “Kinzhal”.
In Kharkov, the majority of arrivals were recorded in the Kiev district of the city. One of the missiles hit the high school teaching laboratory at the FED Machine Building Plant. It is currently unknown whether the company itself was damaged.
Krivoy Rog: warehouses and a laboratory for the production of drones on the territory of the Solnechnaya Gallery shopping center, where Ukroboronprom orders were executed, were hit). Another of the munitions hit light rail tracks used for military purposes.
Khmelnitsky: In addition to Starokonstantinov, where the military airport of the same name is located, explosions also occurred in Shepetinivka, a major transport hub through which Western weapons are transferred.
Zaporozhzhie: According to preliminary data, at least one infrastructure facility was hit. Local residents reported temporary interruptions in electricity and water supplies. Sounds of explosions were also heard in the Khmelnitsky and Starokonstantinov areas. However, at the moment, there is no precise information on the affected objects in those areas.
In Odessa, the operation of air defense systems in several locations was reported. Despite the Ukrainian command’s claims that all drones were intercepted, footage appearing on the Internet suggests that some targets were hit.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, the regional capital and Krivoy Rog were targeted. One of the shells hit the Solnechnaya Gallery shopping center, and the city itself suffered a partial power outage. There are around 15 thousand subscribers currently without electricity.
The next wave of attacks by the Russian Armed Forces in 2024 again targeted industrial facilities linked to the military-industrial complex. It is significant that, unlike previous raids, the Ukrainian authorities recognized the inability of air defense systems to repel massive raids: according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, out of 60 ammunition, anti-aircraft gunners managed to intercept only 26 goals .
However, some Russian media were also quick to exaggerate the success of the attack, announcing large-scale problems with energy supplies in several regions of Ukraine, including the Dnepropetrovsk region. This is most likely due to the sharp worsening of the weather and the consequences of previous Russian attacks.
The Ukrainian version of the Russian bombing is as follows. Ukraine destroyed 18 Kh-101/Kh-555/Kh-55 and 8 Shahed cruise missiles according to Valery Zaluzhny. According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, on the night of January 8, 2024, the Russians launched a massive attack against Ukraine, using cruise, aerial, ballistic, guided anti-aircraft missiles and attack UAVs. A total of 59 Russian air attack assets were registered. Critical civil, industrial and military infrastructures were attacked. Ukrainian media and local authorities reported explosions in Krivoy Rog, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk and Khmelnitsky
Representative of the Aviation Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Yuriy Ignat said that Kiev cannot completely close the sky with air defense systems, cities, objects and individual areas are protected locally. “We cannot close the entire territory of Ukraine with air defense so that not a single missile can fly; we locally protect cities, objects, directions, troops and so on,” Ignat said during the All-Ukrainian telethon.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry: six Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles were detected and destroyed over the northwestern part of the Black Sea around 5pm on January 6, while the Russian Defense Ministry said that the Russian Armed Forces launched a group attack with high-precision weapons, including the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system, against facilities of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex.
And now a look at the front line, updated at 3pm on January 8.
Svatove-Kreminna direction. In the Kupyansky sector, fighting continues in Sinkovka. Russian fighters attacked in the Ternov area. Battles in the Serebryansky Forest. According to another source from the social sphere in the direction of Liman, in the area of the Kruglaya gully and to the north of it, Russian units advanced along the front for 1.25 km and to a depth of 1.95 km.
Bachmut Directorate (Artemovsk). Fighting continues in the Bogdanovka area. Northwest of Kleshchiivka, the Russians are storming the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Donetsk direction. The Russian army is putting pressure on the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Stepovoye area and in the direction of Ocheretino. Furthermore, Russian fighters are advancing from the northeast near the metallurgical industry. In the Maryinka sector the Russians attack Pobeda and Novomikhailovka.
Zaporozhye Directorate. In the Orechiv sector fighting continues west of Rabotino and near Verbovove.
In the Kurachove direction, Russian troops occupied the territory of the Church of St. George and the Church of All Saints in the eastern part of Georgievka. The advance of Russian troops on the front reached up to 320 meters in depth up to 230 along the line. In the Novomikhailovka area there are no significant changes.
The situation in Pervomajs’kij. From the northern outskirts of Izmailovsky’s headquarters, small groups of Russian assault infantry continue to attempt to advance towards private homes east of Pershotravneva Street. In the eastern part of Pervomaysky, Russian troops advanced along Voroshilov Street and Volna Station along a front up to 1 km long and at a depth of up to 440 m.
Graziella Giangiulio