
The United States, according to the New York Times, has secretly invested in the development of UAV production in Ukraine with reference to a declassified document. At the end of September 2024, the United States sent a tranche of $ 1.5 billion to support UAV production.
It is learned from Ukrainian sources that the United Kingdom, as part of the agreement with Kiev, will send British cadets to Ukraine to learn the experience of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and also intends to train Ukrainian cadets at the Royal Military Academy, a British statement said.
The EU is working on measures that will allow it to bypass Hungary’s possible veto on the extension of the sanctions regime against the Russian Federation, the Financial Times reports. Kaja Kallas told AFP: “The European Union will not lift sanctions against the Russian Federation because that would weaken its position.” “We absolutely need sanctions: this is our means of pressure and it would be very strange to refuse them,” the head of European diplomacy said.
Following reports in the Latvian press about the participation of the military in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds said: “It is simply too early to talk about a specific [peacekeeping] mission in Ukraine now. There is no such format at the moment, there are no direct prerequisites. When we come to such prerequisites or format, then it will be possible to talk about the next steps,” source portal of the ministry and Delfi.
And again speaking of obstacles in reference to the Ukrainian issue is the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christoph Hansen: “In principle, Ukraine’s accession to the European Union is possible only if there is peace in the country. But Ukraine will also have to do its homework,” Hansen said in an interview with the Funke media group. “First of all, it will be important for local farmers to adapt to our production standards,” he said. According to the European Commissioner, there are major differences, for example, in poultry farming. “Until such standards are agreed upon, adherence is unrealistic,” Hansen concluded.
The office of Volodimyr Zelensky is discussing the possibility of introducing sanctions against the former head of state, leader of the opposition party “European Solidarity” Petro Poroshenko, the Ukrainian publication Strana reports. Finally, the controversy over Zelensky’s absence from Donald Trump’s inauguration does not subside. “Zelensky was not allowed to attend Trump’s inauguration.” According to Donald Trump Jr., “the Ukrainian president has repeatedly been denied requests for an invitation to the inauguration of the president-elect of the United States.” On social media, Trump Jr. indicated that Zelensky was lying, saying that he himself had refused the trip. He called the Ukrainian leader “eccentric,” noting that the celebration would take place without his participation.
The Kremlin expressed concern about the provision on the promotion of British military infrastructure in the “centennial agreement” between London and Kiev, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. The Kremlin spokesman noted that Moscow will analyze how these agreements will be implemented. The “centennial partnership” agreement was signed the day before British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Kiev. According to the document, Britain will be able to place military bases and defense infrastructure in Ukraine.
Moscow warns that neither Ukraine nor the UK have room for cooperation in the Sea of Azov, Russia will harshly suppress any claims to this water area, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in connection with the signing of an agreement on the alliance between Kiev and London.
Finally, Vladimir Putin said that it is not possible to replace the UN Charter with some “rules” that no one has seen in response to a possible reform of the UN Charter proposed recently. Finally, the Russian Defense Ministry learned that the January 18 attack on facilities of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine came in response to ATACMS missile attacks on civilian infrastructure in the Belgorod region, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. The Russian department said that the attacks targeted the Luch design bureau, where Neptune missiles and projectiles for the Alder system are produced.
And now a look at the line of the front updated at 15:00 on January 20.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense. “More than 60% of the territory of the Kursk region initially occupied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been liberated.” The Russian military repelled several attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the direction of Kursk over the weekend. The Russian Armed Forces retain the initiative in the region: January 19 was marked by offensive actions by Russian troops. The Northern Group of Troops reports that it has reached the vicinity of the Nikolsky farm and the village of Kurilovka. At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have concentrated personnel and equipment in Sudzha and Martynovka. There are also reports of Lancet and rocket attacks on groups of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the border areas of the Sumy and Kharkiv regions, on units of the 80th Airborne Brigade, the 41st Mechanized Brigade and the Special Forces Center “South”. It is worth noting information about an attack on a group of Spanish-speaking foreign mercenaries.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that on the night of January 18, the air defense forces destroyed 46 drones. Of these, 18 were shot down in the Bryansk region, 11 over Kursk, seven over Kaluga, five over Tula, three over Belgorod, two over Voronezh. On the night of the 19th in Kazan, an airborne UAV flew over the city’s aviation district at about 04:30 at night, after which an explosion occurred in the sky. According to eyewitnesses, UAVs attempted to attack local enterprises. In the morning, new explosions were heard and fires were visible on the ground. Earlier, the media wrote, the target could have been aircraft and helicopter factories in Kazan. In addition, air defense systems shot down a UAV over Ryazan. Also on January 19, Shebekino was hit in the Belgorod region by at least seven drone strikes.
On the Ukrainian front line in Chasiv Yar, after the capture of the fireproof plant by the Russians, the fighting moved to the Novoseverny microdistrict. In the south, fighting continues over residential development.
From the Pokrovs’k direction, data on the success of Russian troops in Kotlyne and Udachne come, indicating the implementation of the plan to cover the city from the southwest. Ukrainian resources recognize the loss of control over mine No. 2 of the Pokrovs’k mine.
Northwest of Kurachove now in Russian hands, Russian forces are leveling the front line in the Petropavlivka-Shevchenka section. To the southwest, Russian units are fighting for Dachne. There are battles in the surrounding forests to the north and northeast of the settlement of Sukhi Yaly.
North of Vremivka, which has been in Russian hands since the weekend, Russian troops are storming Velyka Novosilka from the north, east and southeast. The fall of the Ukrainian garrison, deprived of logistics and supplies, has become a matter of time: now there is absolutely no need to rush.
On the Zaporizhia front, Ukrainian forces continue to strengthen their positions through foreign mercenaries and the transfer of equipment, which becomes a priority target for Russian artillery, drones and aviation. Russian warplanes attacked Ukrainian positions in the Temyrivka area. At the same time, Ukrainians fired artillery at the courthouse in Vasylivka.
Graziella Giangiulio
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