Joint EU-Ukraine summit planned for next month in Kyiv
The EU and Ukraine will hold a summit on February 3 in Kyiv to discuss military and financial assistance, almost a year after the country’s full-scale Russian invasion began.
“The parties discussed the expected results of the next Ukraine-EU summit, which will be held in Kyiv on February 3, and agreed to intensify preparatory work,” the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement. It was read out after he spoke to EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Monday.
Zelenskyi said the first EU tranche of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine – a 18 billion euro ($19 billion) package – will arrive in January. Thanking von der Leyen, he said the EU’s financial support was “extremely important now that Russia is trying to gather new forces for aggression.”
— Natasha Turak
NATO discusses increasing need for military spending: Stoltenberg
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during the plenary session of the third day of the 68th Annual Session of the Parliamentary Assembly in the ground floor auditorium hall at Hotel Melia Castilla, November 21, 2022, in Madrid, Spain.
Alberta Ortego | Europe Press | Getty Images
NATO members plan to discuss military spending needs in the coming months as some countries call for the current 2% target to become the minimum contribution level for each country, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was quoted as saying by German media.
“Some allies are strongly in favor of making the current 2 percent target a minimum,” Stoltenberg reported in an interview.
“We will meet, we will have ministerial meetings, we will hold talks in capitals,” Stoltenberg said, adding that he would lead the negotiations.
The next NATO General Assembly will be held in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on July 11-12, by which time Stoltenberg wants to reach an agreement, Stoltenberg said.
— Natasha Turak
Russia wants to “exhaust” Ukraine with continued attacks, says Zelenskyy
“The morning is difficult. We are dealing with terrorists. Dozens of missiles, Iranian ‘Shahids’,” Zelenskyy wrote on his official Telegram account, citing the Iranian-made Shahid drones increasingly used by Russian forces.
Ukrinform | Future Publishing | Getty Images
Russia wants to “deplete” Ukraine with a sustained stream of attacks across the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his late-night address.
“We must ensure – and we will do everything to ensure this – that this goal of the terrorists fails like all others,” he said. “Now is the time when all involved in protecting Heaven should be extra vigilant.”
Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure have increased recently, marking three consecutive nights of bombing in the latest string of attacks that began on New Year’s Eve. The strikes are particularly targeting Ukraine’s power plants, leaving millions without heat and electricity amid the bitter winter cold.
Russian forces are increasingly relying on deadly Iranian-made Shahed drones that have devastated Ukrainian cities. Zelenskyy said that in the first days of January, the Ukrainian air defense shot down more than 80 such drones.
— Natasha Turak
Russian anger at its commanders over the deaths of troops in an attack in Ukraine
Russia made a rare public admission of human casualties after dozens of soldiers were killed in a Ukrainian attack on a makeshift barracks in Russian-held Donetsk on New Year’s Eve.
His admission that 63 soldiers were killed – a figure CNBC could not independently confirm but which Kiev officials claim is much higher – marks one of Ukraine’s brazenst moves in the war so far. It has fueled public anger in Russia by calling for punishment of commanders who allegedly put their troops in danger.
Russian military bloggers said the barracks in the town of Makiivka are in the same building as a large ammunition depot and the commanders knew they were within range of Ukrainian missiles, Portal reported. The amount of ammunition stored is believed to have caused the high level of destruction.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the attack was carried out using four missiles fired from HIMARS launchers made by the US and provided to Ukraine. Ukraine has not officially claimed responsibility for the attack, as is typical when the attack takes place on Russian-controlled land.
Ukrainian forces described the Makiivka attack as “an attack on Russian manpower and military equipment.”
— Natasha Turak