• Zelensky invites Trump to Kiev: “He says he can end the war in 24 hours, he is welcome here.”
• Macron will be in Kiev in February. French President: “A Russian victory in Ukraine would be the end of European security”
• Kiev says there have been over 375,000 Russian deaths since the conflict began.
• Berlin: “Putin could attack a NATO country in 5-8 years”
• Suspicion of Russian electronic warfare: GPS out of service in Poland and Sweden
4:04 p.m. – A soldier's wife to Putin: Bring my husband home
“Vladimir Putin issued a decree that my husband must be there (in Ukraine). I would like to know when he will issue an order that my husband must be at home.” Maria Andreyeva's appeal is desperate. As the wife of one of the many Russian soldiers who fought against the Ukrainian invasion, the woman appeared outside the Russian president's electoral headquarters to demand her husband's return to his homeland. In a gesture of defiance against a government that has made Russia a hostile country to those who openly criticize the war. Andreyeva – Portal reports on her website – was involved in a heated exchange with another woman who told her that Russian soldiers in Ukraine were defending her homeland and that she should pray for them. “So what’s the next step? The Ministry of Defense has spent its money, now we have to squeeze everything out of our children, squeeze the last drop of life out of them? So that they come back to us like tree stumps?” Andreyeva asked. “What will they give me in return? A man without legs, without arms, a sick person?” The discussion took place during a visit to Putin's election headquarters by a small delegation from The Way Home, an organization of soldiers' wives fighting for their return from the front. And it shows the great anger and desperation among the families of some Russian soldiers as there is no end to the war in sight. Andreyeva says they have received no response to their appeals and concerns. For this reason, it is time to intensify the campaign: “All my family’s problems can only be solved with one thing: the demobilization of my husband,” she concluded.
3:28 p.m. – According to British intelligence, Moscow's priority is to “expel Kiev forces from the left-bank Dnipro.”
Forcing the Ukrainians to withdraw from the bridgehead established on the left bank of the Dnipro River remains “a priority” for Russia, but so far Ukraine has “continued to repel all attacks” in the area, despite logistical problems. So says the daily bulletin of British military intelligence.
The Russian grouping of forces on the Dnipro “failed in all its efforts to drive out the Ukrainian defenders, despite the almost certain advantage in the balance of forces in this axis.” The reason? “Poor training and coordination of Russian forces in the region,” speculates British intelligence.
“Forcing Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the left bank of the Dnipro remains an operational priority for Russian objectives.” “It is very likely that Russia will continue to carry out attacks in the Krynky area in the coming weeks, despite increasing personnel losses,” it said in the bulletin concluded.
2:54 p.m. – Lukashenko: “Received Iskander missiles from Russia”
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced that he had received Iskander-type hypersonic tactical missile systems from Russia. “We received these Iskander systems from the Russians, paid for by them, even though we pay them for other things.” It is a particularly dangerous weapon. I signed an ordinance about how they should be used. “This can only happen with the president’s consent,” Lukashenko said, quoted by Ria Novosti. “We must thank the Russians” because they “helped us a lot last year,” Lukashenko continued in statements republished by Ukrainska Pravda. “I don’t even want to mention nuclear weapons, they put everyone in their place. As soon as Belarus got nuclear weapons, everyone lowered their feathers – he added – “God forbid that I or another generation of politicians should ever think about using nuclear weapons.” It is a terrible weapon.
1:58 p.m. – Russian forces launch seven Shahed drones against Ukraine overnight
Russian forces launched seven Shahed-136/131 attack drones against Ukraine on the night of January 19, four of which were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses. The Kiev General Staff announced this in a morning update. In the past 24 hours, Russia has fired at least one missile and 23 airstrikes and fired 59 times with multiple missile systems at Ukrainian troop positions and populated areas. Avdiivka, Orlivka and Novomykhailivka in Donetsk Oblast were targeted by airstrikes, while over 110 settlements in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts came under artillery fire, the Kyiv Independent reported, citing the Update.
12:50 p.m. – Zelensky invites Trump to Kiev: “He's welcome to come here, but I think he can't end the war in 24 hours.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited Donald Trump to visit Kiev in an interview with British broadcaster Channel 4 News. However, Zelensky added one condition: to demonstrate his ability to end the war with Russia within 24 hours, as he had declared. “He is welcome to come here, but I think he cannot end the war in 24 hours without giving Putin our land,” Zelensky said.
11:55 a.m. – According to Podoliak, Zelensky's advisor, Ukraine needs missiles with a range of 250 kilometers
Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said in an interview with the German newspaper Bild that for Ukraine in its war with Moscow, “missiles with a range of 250 kilometers or more are currently one of the most important solutions; can significantly change the situation at the front. Russia fights with quantity, not quality.”
Podoljak, whom Bild describes as the Ukrainian president's “most important adviser,” recalled that “Ukraine defends itself in different directions and attacks in different directions.” The front line of today's intense fighting is 600-800 kilometers and the “entire” front line is “1,300 kilometers”.
“The problem at this stage of the war is that the number of weapons, drones, grenades, etc. “it is not evenly distributed” between the two sides and “that has to be balanced!”
Responding to a question about those in the West who claim that Ukrainian plans to retake all of the territory are “completely unrealistic,” Podoliak replied: “These people need to realize that this is a big war.” He (Russian President Vladimir Putin , editor's note) has started a big war and will not be satisfied with a small part of Ukraine, which means this war will not end.” “The question is whether Ukraine exists as a state or not “, he summarized. «Of course we have to talk to people; “We understand that two years is a long war,” “there are disappointments.” But: The state must be able to defend itself; The state must be able to defend its principles,” emphasized Zelensky’s adviser.
11:37 a.m. – US Security Advisor Sullivan and Intelligence Director Haines: “Without our help for Ukraine, Russia would win in a few weeks”
Russia could win the conflict in Ukraine in a matter of weeks or, at best, months if the US Congress does not approve further aid to Kiev. This is what US President Joe Biden's most important aides, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, said to lawmakers in Washington – according to NBC News. Sullivan and Haines expected some of the Ukrainian armed forces' air defense and artillery capabilities to be depleted in the coming weeks, two sources cited by the channel stressed, adding that officials expect Ukraine's situation to become more difficult.
If Russia succeeds because of the U.S. failure to provide military assistance to Kiev, “that would reverberate around the world,” Sullivan and Haines told lawmakers, adding that the case would affect other U.S. allies, including Japan and South Korea. could cause them to rethink their cooperation and trust in the United States.
10:43 a.m. – Kiev says there have been over 375,000 Russian deaths since the conflict began
More than 375,000 Russians have died since the conflict in Ukraine began. This was stated in the daily bulletin of the Kiev General Staff, according to which the total number of deaths among the Moscow forces is 375,270, including 750 yesterday.
10:13 a.m. – Zelensky remembers the soldiers who defended Donetsk airport from the Russian invasion between 2014 and 2015
“242 days of defense of Donetsk airport.” 242 days of steadfastness and courage of our defenders. “The performance of the cyborgs has shown that Ukrainians are indestructible”: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has continued to write this since the Russian invasion. “Then the world could already see what the Ukrainians were capable of,” Zelenskyy added. We remember everyone who fights for our country.” Today Ukraine remembers the defenders of Donetsk airport.
9:16 a.m. – Macron: “A Russian victory in Ukraine would be the end of European security”
According to French President Emmauel Macron, a possible Russian victory over Ukraine would mean “the end of European security.”
8:35 a.m. – The three Baltic states announce a common defense zone for anti-Russian purposes
The new doctrine of common defense of the three Baltic states against the Russian threat, explains our correspondent in Riga Lorenzo Cremonesi, is based on the principle of taking risks without delegation to others and of direct action.
This essentially involves the creation of a series of preventive measures, consisting of border fortifications, Himars missile sites, trenches, deep reserve bunkers, anti-tank obstacles and, in some cases, minefields (although these are heavily restricted so as not to have any impact). ). on the population) with the aim of stopping any attempted invasion at the front. Full article here.
8:10 a.m. – Kiev, 4 out of 7 Russian drones were shot down during the night
Russian forces fired seven kamikaze drones against Ukraine last night, four of which were shot down by Kiev's air defense: this was announced by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Ukrinform reported. “During the night, the Russian invaders carried out another attack, launching seven Shahed-136/131 unidirectional attack UAVs. Four enemy UAVs were destroyed by the Ukrainian Air Defense Forces,” the message posted on Facebook said.
12:13 a.m. – Aiea, mines are being laid again around the Zaporizhia power plant
The Russian-owned Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine is once again surrounded by mines. This was reported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). “Mines along the edge of the ZNPP (Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant) … have been repositioned on site,” the UN agency said in a statement. The devices, previously identified by the agency's experts in the area, were removed in November but have now returned, a fact that is “incompatible with IAEA safety standards,” the statement added.
The mines are reportedly located in “a restricted area inaccessible to plant operating personnel,” in a buffer zone between the plant’s internal and external fences. The IAEA added that its experts were not granted access to several reactor rooms and some other areas of the plant. “Such access is necessary to monitor nuclear safety and security,” the statement said. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has repeatedly warned of “ongoing nuclear safety risks at the site.” The power plant was repeatedly rocked by bombings and drone strikes in its surrounding area during the conflict and remained repeatedly isolated from the power grid, raising fears of a possible major nuclear accident.