On Wednesday, January 22, the following events took place:
Conflict
- Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russia launched four missiles and 131 drones towards Ukraine overnight. Of those drones, 72 were destroyed and 59 did not reach their intended targets.
- The Ministry of Defence in Moscow announced that Russian troops intercepted and destroyed 55 Ukrainian drones in six Russian regions overnight. In Voronezh, six drones were brought down, resulting in falling debris that caused a fire. No injuries were reported.
- Kyiv’s military claimed responsibility for attacking an aviation manufacturing plant in Russia’s Smolensk region, where combat aircraft are being modernised and produced. They also conducted an attack on Voronezh, leading to a fuel depot fire. These attacks were coordinated between drone units and special forces, according to Ukraine’s General Staff.
- Russian state news agency TASS stated that Moscow’s forces had taken control of Vovkove village in eastern Ukraine, near Pokrovsk city, a key supply hub for Kyiv’s troops. They also captured the village of Shevchenko.
- The authorities in Russia’s Orenburg region advised residents to seek shelter from a potential Ukrainian drone attack, as the region is home to Russian strategic missile force sites.
- The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced the detention of the Ukrainian army’s chief psychiatrist on charges of corruption. The suspect is accused of concealing around $1 million in unjustified assets thought to have been accumulated since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- Russia’s Army Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov visited a tank division and a motorised rifle brigade near the Ukrainian supply hub in Pokrovsk. He was seen arriving by helicopter and presenting medals to soldiers.
- Moscow’s air defence units destroyed seven Ukrainian drones over Crimea and nine over Rostov in southern Russia, with no reported casualties or damage.
- According to AFP news agency, approximately 229 Ukrainian civilians remain in Chasiv Yar, a city under heavy Russian fire. Many of those remaining are elderly or disabled.
Politics & Diplomacy
- President Donald Trump of the United States expressed his intention to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and criticized Putin for not agreeing to a ceasefire deal with Ukraine, stating that he believed Russia would face consequences. Trump also mentioned the possibility of imposing new sanctions on Russia if negotiations did not progress.
- Trump also mentioned the US considering sending weapons to Ukraine and highlighted the need for the European Union to provide more support to Kyiv.
- Chinese President Xi Jinping held a video call with Putin to discuss the potential for a peace deal to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as well as other international issues such as the Korean Peninsula, the Middle East, Syria, and Taiwan.
- A Turkish news agency quoted an aide of Putin as saying that the Trump administration had not yet reached out to Moscow for a meeting.
- At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for Europe to establish itself as a strong global leader with a joint defence policy and increased defence spending for peace and security.
- Zelenskyy also questioned Trump’s dedication to NATO and European security, mentioning efforts to arrange a meeting with the US president.
- Zelenskyy affirmed that Ukraine would not comply with Russian demands to reduce its military capabilities in any future peace agreement. He emphasized the need for at least 200,000 European peacekeepers as part of any settlement to end the conflict with Russia.
- TASS reported that Putin had a phone conversation with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, discussing joint projects, the situation in the Middle East, and Ukraine.
