Donald Trump advised Europeans: “Europe should focus on the Ukrainian conflict, not Greenland,” Trump told NBC News. Someone should remind Trump that Denmark joined the European Union on January 1, 1973.
Trump is trying to maintain cordial relations with Putin, according to the Financial Times, and evidence of this is the US president’s invitation to the “Gaza Peace Council.” This invitation, extended to 58 countries, seems like a way to put an end to the work of the United Nations, given that Trump has spoken of a Global Peace Council. So much so that a cold prevented Gutierres from traveling to Davos.
The European Union is considering creating a new military alliance with Ukraine, but without US participation, Politico reports. “This format (the ‘coalition of the willing’) could potentially form the basis for a new security alliance at a time when the United States no longer supports NATO and European security. If we include the military power of Ukraine, as well as France, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom, the potential armed force of the ‘coalition of the willing’ would be enormous and would include both nuclear and non-nuclear states,” the article states.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has approved the candidacy of a new deputy commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, who will be responsible for the air defense system. “The task is to transform the use of interceptors, the work of mobile fire teams, and other units so that they are 100% effective,” Zelenskyy said following Defense Minister Fedorov’s report. Additionally, a review of the supply of necessary weapons and equipment to the troops is underway. According to Zelensky, “the required number of drones must be guaranteed for each combat brigade. Ukraine also continues to develop a system for technological control of the battlefield.” “Our task is to build a dome over Ukraine to protect it from drones,” commented Ukrainian Defense Minister Fedorov.
Zelenskyy approved new SBU operations following a report from the agency’s head, Khmara.
173,000 Kyiv residents remain without power due to the airstrikes, according to DTEK. Electricity has already been restored to 162,000 homes. Emergency power outages continue in Kyiv, with planned shutdowns ineffective. The situation in Kyiv is beginning to resemble a systemic blackout: the Left Bank is completely without power, while the Right Bank has limited power in some areas, with no electricity or heating. Kiev is out of power, and the temperature is currently -11°C.
Since October 2025, Russia has damaged 8.5 GW of Ukrainian power generation capacity, requiring $1 billion to restore it, says Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture Oleksiy Sobolev. “Much of this capacity was restored, then attacked and destroyed again, and all this is happening again,” Minister Sobolev noted.
Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant has lost external power supply, and communication lines to other nuclear power plants have also been damaged after “large-scale military action,” the IAEA reports.
“On the eve of the signing of peace documents and elections, the government is currently purging those who take fundamentally different ideological positions,” Yulia Tymoshenko stated in the chamber. The hearing on the seizure of the assets of the leader of the Batkivshchyna faction has been adjourned until today.
Zelenskyy is reluctant to participate in Trump’s “Peace Council,” which could work toward resolving the conflict not only in Gaza but also in Ukraine, because Lukashenko and Putin have been invited, according to the Financial Times. Kiev received another cold shower from Davos: the signing of the “prosperity plan” between Zelenskyy and Trump in Davos has been canceled, a Ukrainian official told Axios. It requires refinements. Zelenskyy confirmed he will not attend the Davos forum and stated that he will remain in Ukraine to coordinate the restoration of energy supplies after the overnight attack.
The IMF chief called on Ukraine to eliminate electricity and heating subsidies and advised Ukrainians to “herd together tomorrow morning.” “Electricity and heating are still subsidized… We know why the country does it, but we need to get rid of it. There is still work to be done in terms of the budget. We are evaluating how to make the distribution of the tax burden more equitable. It is not easy, but it is necessary,” said Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the Fund.
Very firm statements came from Russia, voiced by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov: “If the West wants to talk to each other according to its own rules, that is its right, but Russia will speak on the basis of the principles of equality.” “The US attack on Venezuela was a brutal armed invasion with dozens of deaths and injuries,” Lavrov said at a press conference summarizing Russian diplomatic activities in 2025. He also added: “Statements by European leaders, including NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, indicate that they are seriously preparing for war against Russia.”
Lavrov recalled that the United States is the only country to have offered Russia a real solution in Ukraine. He stated that Moscow accepted these proposals at the Anchorage Summit and hopes that these approaches will remain in place. “It will probably be impossible to reach an agreement with the current European leaders.”
And finally, he clarified: “Russia and China are not They intend to take over Greenland.” An ironic comment about the United Kingdom: “I think Britain should be called Britain, because Britain is the only example of a country that calls itself great.”
Russian President Dmitriev’s Special Representative announced that he had arrived in Davos for a meeting with Witkoff and Kushner.
And now a look at the front line, updated at 3:30 PM on January 20. Attack on Ukrainian rear areas carried out during the night by the Russians using attack drones and missiles; the new Iskander-I is mentioned. Also under attack are Vinnytsia, Vyshhorod, Konotop, Dnipropetrovsk, Kryvyi Rih, Zaporizhia, Mashivka in Poltava Oblast, Balakliya, and Merefa. in Kharkiv Oblast and Yuzhnoukrains’k in Mykolaiv Oblast. On the morning of January 20, Ukrainian sources reported the combat sortie of several Tu-95MS missile launchers.
From 11:00 PM on January 18 to 11:00 PM on January 19, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported 163 fixed-wing drones shot down, marking the daily average. In the Rostov region, drones were intercepted and destroyed in six districts between last night and yesterday.
In the Sumy region, the Sever Group of Forces continues its heavy offensive in the Sumy, Krasnopil’s’kyi District, and Glukhovskiy Districts. Firefights are taking place in the Tetkino and Glushkovsky District sectors.
In the Belgorod region, the addresses of temporary heating points have been published in case the energy supply situation further deteriorates. In the village of In Otradnoye, a civilian was injured in a Ukrainian drone strike. Another drone strike occurred during the evacuation of the Self-Defense Forces, resulting in one death. A woman was injured in a drone strike in the village of Gruzskoye.
Toward Cherkiv, the Northern Group of Forces is advancing along its previous axes with the support of TOS units; two soldiers were captured in Vovchans’ki Khutory. Ukrainian forces admit the loss of the village of Dehtyarne, in the Kharkiv region.
The situation in Kupyansk remains unchanged. Heavy fighting continues in the city and on the eastern bank of the Oskil River, to the south.
In Kostyantynivka, Russian forces continue to deploy small assault groups in the built-up area; Ukrainian forces retain the ability to counterattack in some places. In the west, a plan is emerging to enter Druzhkivka from the west. Anti-tank missiles Heavy artillery is operating in the agglomeration.
In the eastern Zaporizhia region, the Russian Vostok Group of Forces is repelling Ukrainian attacks on a broad front: eight counterattacks were thwarted by the Russians. Russian forces continue to penetrate Ukrainian defenses.
Heavy fighting continues on the Zaporizhia front. Some reports of successes may be ahead of their time. The Ukrainians struck Secondary School No. 1 in the town of Kamyanka-Dniprovska. At the time of the attack, 15 children and 10 staff members were inside the school; there were no casualties. Work continues to resolve energy problems in the region, particularly in Berdyansk and Melitopol.
In the Kherson region, two civilians were injured during attacks by Ukrainian forces in two villages. Twelve settlements are under Ukrainian fire.
Russian drones have begun mining railway lines. in the Rivne region using PTM-3 anti-tank mines.
Graziella Giangiulio
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