According to Bloomberg: “Ukraine’s defeat will cost the United States $808 billion more than aid.” The agency estimates that if Russia succeeds in Ukraine, the United States will have to spend another $808 billion to deter potential Russian “aggressive actions” in Europe. These expenses will significantly increase the Pentagon’s military budget.
The Pentagon has published a list of weapons and ammunition included in the new aid package for Ukraine: AIM-7, RIM-7, AIM-9M air-to-air missiles; air-to-ground ammunition; auxiliary equipment for F-16 fighters; armored bridge systems; secure communications equipment; small arms; ammunition; spare parts, auxiliary equipment, services, training and transportation.
Polish presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki: “Today I do not see Ukraine in any structure. Neither in the European Union, nor in NATO”. Nawrocki noted that a state that cannot answer for a too brutal crime against 120 thousand of its neighbors cannot be a member of international unions. Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni ruled out the possibility of the United States using force to annex foreign territories. She also said that Ukraine needs guarantees to prevent another Russian invasion. She expects that the United States will not withdraw from Ukraine and that Trump should balance diplomacy with deterrence.
US President-elect Donald Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed a desire to meet with him and that the parties have begun preparing for the meeting, the timing of which he did not specify. He promised to later consider the possibility of a trilateral meeting with the participation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he would soon have a telephone conversation with Xi Jinping.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin was ready to meet Trump unconditionally, this requires political will from the United States. “Actions to organize contacts between Putin and Trump will begin when Trump officially takes office as US president,” Peskov clarified. “Just listen to what was said in English. That is, these are answers to purely hypothetical questions that journalists asked him,” Peskov said, commenting on Trump’s statement about the possibility of a trilateral meeting between him, Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The European Aviation Safety Agency has tightened its recommendations on the use of Russian airspace. The published press release recommends refraining from flying “at all levels” in Russian airspace “west of the 60th meridian of longitude east.” On January 10, the EU transferred 3 billion euros to Ukraine as the first tranche of a loan with the return of proceeds from frozen Russian assets. The total amount of the loan is 50 billion dollars and was previously agreed by the G7 countries.
Ukraine’s national debt exceeds 90% of GDP, amounts to 7 trillion hryvnia, Forbes reports. But apparently the economic data do not seem to worry President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is focused on foreign military in Ukraine, he said “that the deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine will help “force Russia to peace””.
“Martial law in Ukraine will not be lifted after the cessation of hostilities: only security guarantees are a prerequisite for lifting it. Ukraine must prepare for a long period of recovery”, reports Rada deputy Yaroslav Yurchyshyn
And now a look at the front line updated at 16:00 on January 10.
At night, Russian air defense repelled UAV strikes on Russian regions. In the Rostov region at least 16 drones were destroyed and suppressed by electronic warfare. Private homes and power substations in Crimea were hit. Drones were also destroyed on the outskirts of Voronezh, damage to private homes. At least three UAVs were shot down in the Bryansk region. The channels also reported on the work of air defense in the Krasnodar region.
Online information about the events in the Kursk region says that the Russian Armed Forces retain the initiative, the Northern group reports that the Ukrainians are surrounded in strongholds between Guevo and Kurilovka. Russian shock troops are advancing with persistent fighting in the forest belts of the Sudzhansky border region, in the vicinity of the settlements of Darino, Sverdlikovo, Orlovka, Nikolaevka, Makhnovka and Cherkasskoye Porechnoye. Five Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen and a Colombian mercenary were captured. Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have transferred units of several territorial defense brigades from Kramatorsk and a group of special forces from the Dnipro region.
The Russian bridgehead on the right bank of the Oskil River is expanding north of Kupyansk. In the village of Dvorichna, Russian troops advanced both into the village and its surroundings.
In Toretsk, heavy fighting continues in the north and west of the city, the Ukrainians are being pushed back to the outskirts, while maintaining control over important strongholds.
In the Pokrovsk direction, Russian troops are advancing south of the settlement of Baranivka, in the Vozdvyzhenka area in the direction of the Pokrovsk – Kostyantynivka highway. There is an offensive through Pishchane and west of Vovkove. South of Pokrovsk, Russian forces are breaking through Ukrainian defenses in the area of the settlement between Slovyanka and Petropavlivka. Ukrainian resources say they expect the transfer of Russian reserves to maintain a high pace of combat operations.
In the Zaporizhia region, two women are were killed as a result of a Ukrainian artillery attack on Kamenka-Dneprovskaya. The artillery attack was accompanied by Ukrainian drone strikes.
In the Kherson region, Podo-Kalynivka, Abrykosivka, Velyki Kopani and Nova Mayachka were hit by Ukrainian armed forces. Two people were killed and six people were injured.
In the Belgorod region, Ukrainian drones damaged civilian homes in several villages.
Graziella Giangiulio
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