Here is the situation on Monday, January 27:
Conflict
- Vadym Filashkin, the regional military administrator of Kyiv, reported that artillery fire from Russia in eastern Ukraine resulted in the death of a woman in the city of Pokrovsk and injuries to four individuals in the nearby town of Kostiantynivka. According to Ukrainian military analyst Andriy Ryzhchenko, Pokrovsk is a strategic target for Russia.
- The Ukrainian army claimed that Russian units carried out 38 attacks with artillery support at various points along the Ukrainian defense lines.
- Ukraine stated that its armed forces, in coordination with the country’s defense intelligence, targeted Russia’s Ryazan Oil Refining Company for a second time, just two days after the initial attack on the facility. Kyiv mentioned that the oil refinery is among the four largest in the Russian Federation.
- Russian media reported that Moscow’s Defense Ministry announced its troops had captured the settlements of Zelene and Velyka Novosilka in eastern Ukraine.
- Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for the third time in less than a year, replaced the commander of the Khortytsia operational strategic group responsible for defending Pokrovsk, which is currently at risk of falling into the hands of Russia. He appointed Major-General Mykhailo Drapatyi as the new commander of the ground forces.
Political & Diplomatic Developments
- Zelenskyy, during a press conference with Moldovan President Maia Sandu, expressed Kyiv’s willingness to provide coal to Transnistria at low prices or even for free, if the separatist enclave agrees to supply Ukraine with electricity in return. He also offered to send a team of specialists to help enhance the electricity output of the enclave’s power plant.
- The Institute for the Study of War reported that members of the Kremlin-linked Telegram channel Rybar, including its founder Mikhail Zvinchuk, visited Iraq in the past week in an effort to expand Russian influence in the region. The team reportedly met with several Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani.
- Polish President Andrzej Duda, in an interview with Al Jazeera, suggested that NATO member countries should increase their defense spending to at least 3 percent of their GDP to establish a security buffer against the “resurgence of Russian imperialism.”
- Exit polls indicated that Belarusian President Lukashenko, a close ally of Russia, was likely to secure 87.6 percent of the votes in the country’s presidential election, prolonging his tenure in power. Lukashenko also expressed no regrets about allowing Russia to use Belarusian territory for the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
