Tuesday, January 14

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukrainian military veterans work out in a gym in Kyiv on Jan. 13, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Tetiana Dzhafarova / AFP via Getty Images)

Ukraine’s special forces claim to repel North Korean assault in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, killing 17 soldiers. A Ukrainian mopping-up group encountered one surviving North Korean fighter who had set an unsuccessful trap. The soldier attempted to mislead the Ukrainian soldiers and then detonated a grenade to avoid capture, fatally injuring himself, according to the Special Operations Forces.

Russia claims to occupy 2 more villages in Ukraine’s east; Kyiv hasn’t confirmed. Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed on Jan. 12 that its forces had captured the village of Yantarne in Donetsk Oblast and Kalynove in Kharkiv Oblast.

Zelensky announces new sanctions on Russian financial sector. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on Jan. 13 imposing new sanctions on the Russian financial sector. The sanctions target 140 distinct entities.

Bryansk chemical plant hit in aerial attack, Russian media says. The Bryansk chemical plant produces gunpowder and explosives and is a key enterprise of the Russian military, according to Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s counter-disinformation center.

Putin has failed to meet any of his strategic objectives in Ukraine, Biden says. “When Putin invaded Ukraine, he thought he’d conquer Kyiv in a matter of days … He has failed thus far to subjugate Ukraine, failed to break the unity of NATO, and failed to make large territorial gains.”

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Fico invited Zelensky to Slovakia to discuss gas transit via Ukraine; Zelensky responds. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said he would like to hold a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Slovakia near the border with Ukraine “as soon as possible.” “Okay. Come to Kyiv on Friday,” Zelensky responded.

Macron, Zelensky discuss ‘practical steps’ for deploying peacekeeping troops in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the situation on the front line and the possibility of sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in a phone call on Jan. 13.

Ukraine opens doors to foreign firms for military equipment modernization. Ukraine’s government has approved a measure allowing foreign companies to participate in modernizing military equipment for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Defense Ministry announced on Jan. 13.

Russia’s federal budget won’t fund anti-drone systems at civilian airports, media reports. The government was originally expected to spend over 11 billion rubles ($106 million) by 2028 to equip 31 airports, including those in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Sochi, and other major cities, with drone defense systems.

Russia’s energy giant Gazprom plans major layoffs as Europe market shrinks, media reports. Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee Elena Ilyukhina reportedly sent a letter to Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller, outlining the need for cost optimization due to “challenges facing the Gazprom Group.”

Read our exclusives

**Ukraine’s new Kursk push brings minor gains, raising concerns over limited resources

**Since the new push in Russia’s Kursk Oblast in early January, Ukraine has made small gains and managed to capture the first North Korean prisoners of war in the area but experts have raised concerns about Kyiv’s use of limited resources while fierce battles rage elsewhere.

Photo: Ed Ram / For The Washington Post via Getty Images

Ukraine war latest: Russia claims to occupy 2 more villages in Ukraine’s east; Kyiv doesn’t confirm

Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed on Jan. 12 that its forces had captured the villages of Yantarne in Donetsk Oblast and Kalynove in Kharkiv Oblast.  Yantarne lies around 10 kilometers (6 miles) southeast of the town of Kurakhove, almost completely overrun by Russian forces.

Photo: Ivan Antypenko/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Everything we know about the North Korean POWs captured by Ukraine

Ukrainian forces fighting in Russia’s Kursk Oblast captured two North Korean soldiers, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Jan. 11, “irrefutable evidence” of Pyongyang’s involvement in Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

Photo: President Volodymyr Zelensky/Telegram

Human cost of war

Russian attacks across Ukraine kill 1, injure 17 over previous day. Russian forces launched 110 drones at Ukraine overnight from the directions of Millerovo, Bryansk, Orel, and Primosk-Akhtarsk in Russia, according to Ukraine’s Air Force.

‘Lack of understanding of modern warfare’ — Seoul reports 3,000 North Korean casualties in Russia’s Kursk Oblast. The NIS attributed the high casualties to the soldiers’ “lack of understanding of modern warfare,” including their “useless” attempts to shoot down long-range drones.

What we know about North Korean POWs captured by Ukraine

International response

EU announces additional $143 million in humanitarian aid for Ukraine. The European Union is allocating an additional 140 million euros ($143 million) in humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, the European Commission said in a statement on Jan. 13.

UK to finance production of air defense, long-range weapons in Ukraine, Umerov says. “The U.K. has already invested in the production of our weapons, and this collaboration continues — specifically, funding will be directed toward the production of air defense systems and long-range weapons,” Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said.

Germany announces first deliveries of promised RCH 155 self-propelled howitzers. Germany delivered the first batch of the promised 54 RCH 155 self-propelled howitzers, the country’s Foreign Minister Boris Pistorius said during a news conference on Jan. 13. Six out of the 54 howitzers will remain in Germany to train Ukrainian personnel.

Lithuania to deliver 4,500 drones to Ukraine this week. Sakaliene’s statement came shortly after the Lithuanian broadcaster LRT reported that thousands of drones, which were to be delivered to Ukraine several months ago, are still in Lithuanian warehouses as their delivery is delayed by bureaucratic obstacles.

Biden team preparing strong Ukraine policy foundation for Trump handover, Blinken says. According to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, there is no sense in “speculating on the point” that the war may not end in Ukraine’s favor under the new administration.

EU’s Nordic, Baltic members reportedly urge lowering of Russian oil price cap. The countries argue that a lower cap would further restrict Russia’s ability to finance its war against Ukraine while avoiding significant disruptions to global oil markets.

Russia, Iran to sign strategic partnership agreement on Jan. 17. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, will sign a strategic partnership agreement during the latter’s official visit to Russia on Jan. 17.

Opinions and insights

The question isn’t if China will turn on Russia, but when

“Like Czar Nicholas II, Russian President Vladimir Putin has misidentified his primary foe. Fighting a war of choice, he allows the real menace to his country to gather strength,” writes Sarah C. Paine, professor at U.S. Naval War College.

Photo: Sergei Bobylyov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Slavoj Žižek: The magic tricks behind Russia’s propaganda machine

“The standard explanation for magic tricks is that they usually rely on at least two different strategies, combining them to produce the desired effects — and Russia is doing exactly the same,” philosopher Slavoj Žižek writes.

Photo: Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images

In other news

Poland denies banning Slovak delegation’s flight to Moscow through Polish airspace. “We didn’t refuse the flight; the Slovak side simply sent us incomplete documents… when they were asked to complete them, they informed us about the change of route,” the Polish Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson said.

Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tankers carrying 2 million barrels of crude idling off China’s coast, Bloomberg reports. Three sanctioned tankers carrying over 2 million barrels of Russian crude oil are floating off China’s coast after they were hit by fresh U.S. sanctions last week, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 13.

For the first time, Russia labels independent media outlet as ‘terrorist group.’ Russia’s FSB has designated the independent media outlet Komi Daily as a “terrorist organization.”

Volyn exhumations in Ukraine’s Ternopil Oblast to begin in April, media reports. Exhumation of the remains of Polish victims of the Volyn massacre buried in Ternopil Oblast, where the village of Puzhnyky was located in the 1940s, will begin in April, Polish RMF FM reported on Jan. 13.

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