This time, Kiev was a no-show at the Davos meeting for the Russia-Ukraine peace talks. As planned, Steve Witkoff met with Kirill Dmitriev. Witkoff stated that he assessed the talks with Dmitriev as “very positive.” And Dmitriev stated that his meetings in Davos were constructive. He also noted that more and more people are realizing the correctness of Russia’s position.
Today, Witkoff will meet with Vladimir Putin, as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated at the press conference. Witkoff stated that the United States has offered to join the Peace Council to both Russia and Ukraine and expects consensus from both sides.
Ukraine continues to struggle with a lack of energy. Russia plans to strike large substations, including those essential for the operation of nuclear power plant cooling systems, said Zhmailo, executive director of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation. “In Kiev alone, as of the evening of the 20th, over 1 million consumers are without electricity. More than 4,000 apartment buildings are without heating,” Zelenskyy said.
“Government officials must present innovative proposals that protect human lives and help restructure businesses. Maximum coordination with businesses is essential: how to redistribute existing production and consumption so that people can experience a stabilization of the situation, and what additional support programs are needed. I expect a specific and clear list of actions and decisions tomorrow,” he said.
Among the Ukrainian president’s complaints is the Air Force’s failure to provide satisfactory answers to the Gerans. “There are interceptors, many forces are involved—mobile fire teams, F-16s—and the Air Force’s operations must be organized differently. We have discussed this situation separately with the Defense Minister—we will draw conclusions,” he said.
Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov was more optimistic: “We have every chance of ending this war. Ukraine isn’t counting on anyone to save it. We’re counting on our own forces.” The Ukrainian Defense Minister noted that the support Ukraine receives from its partners is already significant, but the key issue remains organization. “Our partners must feel that this is their war, too… Our partners want our data. We will build a system on which they can train their software products using our data. Today, data from the front is extremely valuable,” Fedorov noted.
Daniil Getmantsev, member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and chairman of the Finance Committee, said he “roared like a lion” on the advice of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, but it didn’t do him much good.
The FSB foiled a terrorist attack in Ufa, planned by two citizens of a Central Asian country, the FSB’s Public Relations Center told TASS.
The State Duma approved in first reading a bill banning the expulsion of foreigners who have fought in the Russian Armed Forces.
And now a look at the front line, updated as of 3:30 PM on January 21. Kiev is heading for a humanitarian catastrophe, Klitschko said in an interview with the Times. He claims that 600,000 people fled the capital in January alone. The toilet water is freezing. Publicly, these actions are motivated by his public conflict with Zelenskyy, whom he accuses of appointing the capital’s district heads without the approval of the mayor’s office. Among other things, the new attacks have indeed caused significant damage to Ukraine’s energy sector.
The Ukrainian armed forces responded with a massive airstrike. A regional energy plant in Belgorod was damaged. Sirens sounded in the Krasnodar region, and Sochi managed to repel the attack, but in the village of Novaya Adygeya (Republic of Adygea, adjacent to Krasnodar), an explosion occurred near a residential building during the deployment of defense forces. Eight people were injured. In the Oryol region, “minor damage was caused to the region’s energy and fuel infrastructure,” the governor reported. Several homes and private vehicles were damaged in Oryol and other municipalities. Power and water outages were reported in Two neighborhoods of the city.
In the Bryansk region, on January 20, a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone struck a car in the village of Chausy, Pogarsky District, killing two civilians.
In the Sumy sector, the Northern Group of Forces is conducting tactical advances in the Sumy, Krasnopil’s’kyi District, and Glushkovsky District, engaging in combat, supported by aviation and artillery. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are using armored vehicles to defend themselves and are mining access to their positions.
In the Belgorod region, in Novaya Tavolzhanka, an FPV drone attacked a car, killing one person. The assistant security chief of the Graivoronsky District was killed in a drone strike by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Two other injuries were also reported.
In the Kharkiv sector, the Northern Group of Forces is fighting for an advance around Vovchansk and on the Milove-Khatnie front.
In Kupyansk, the situation in the city center appears to have improved for the Russian forces and worsened for the Ukrainian forces: Ukrainian positions are being systematically destroyed. However, the interpenetration of forces on both fronts (the “layer cake”) does not encourage a quick resolution. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have released deepfake videos from the city center.
There are reports that Russian Armed Forces units have established control of wastewater treatment plants north of Pokrovsk, which will allow Russian forces to further increase pressure on Hryshyne from the east.
In eastern Zaporizhia Oblast, the Vostok Group of Forces continues to repel enemy attacks on Hulyaypole: Ukrainian forces have made six unsuccessful counterattacks, concentrating their efforts in the Zaliznychne, Staroukrainka, and Tsvitkove directions. The forces are systematically penetrating Ukrainian defenses in the north.
In the Zaporizhia region, the now Russian regional authorities have opened heating stations for residents in all municipalities. Four civilians have been injured by Ukrainian shelling in Vasylivka in the past 24 hours.
In the Kherson region, one person has been killed in Oleshky due to attacks by Ukrainian forces; 24 settlements have been subjected to shelling and attacks.
Graziella Giangiulio
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