Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Kyiv, October 3, 2024 (AP)
Monday’s Coverage: Zelensky Offers Exchange of North Korean POWs
Map: Institute for the Study of War
UPDATE 1405 GMT:
An official in Ukraine’s State security service SBU says additional targets were struck by drone attacks inside Russia.
They include a munitions storage facility with guided bombs and missiles at the Engels-2 airbase in the Saratov region, close to an oil refinery that was also hit (see 1129 GMT); the Aleksinsky chemical plant in the Tula region; and the Saratovsky oil refinery.
The official said, “The SBU, together with the Defense Forces, continues to strike enemy military facilities and enterprises supporting Russia’s military-industrial complex. Each hit — whether on ammunition depots, refineries, oil depots, or chemical plants — weakens Russia’s capacity to wage war in Ukraine.”
UPDATE 1129 GMT:
Ukraine’s drones have struck one of Russia’s largest oil refineries, in the Saratov region 600 km (372 miles) from the border, for the second time within a week.
The latest strikes caused explosions and a fire at the Kristall refinery, which supplies the Engels-2 airbase.
Saratov Governor Roman Busargin confirmed a strike on an “industrial object”. He announced that schools in Saratov and Engels will shift to remote learning on Tuesday.
New drone attack hits oil depot in Russia's Engels
Peklo and Bober drones allegedly struck the facility, reigniting a fire just one day after the previous six-day blaze was extinguished.https://t.co/8XVwTRjzOF
TG/Astra pic.twitter.com/aFAJUFxudw— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) January 14, 2025
On January 8, drones set a fire which was only extinguished on Monday.
Ukrainian officials claimed, “The tank farm, which stored approximately 800,000 tons of fuel for the military airfield, has been rendered inoperable.”
They said three 120,000-cubic-meter tanks were destroyed, and the other three sustained significant damage.
Reports are also circulating of strikes on a chemical plant in western Russia.
Explosives factory targeted allegedly with ATACMS in Russia's Bryansk Oblast
Multiple explosions occurred at a Russian chemical plant producing military explosives late on 13 January, marking the latest in a series of attacks since 2023.https://t.co/E24GVq0Xu1
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) January 14, 2025
UPDATE 1046 GMT:
At least two civilians have been killed and 19 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.
Air defenses downed 58 attack drones over 11 regions. Another 21 decoy drones were lost to electronic counter-measures.
Two people were killed and two others injured in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.
Nine people were injured in the Kherson region, three in Dnipropetrovsk, and five, including two infants, in Kharkiv.
UPDATE 1034 GMT:
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico will not visit Kyiv to discuss the halting of Russian gas transit through Ukraine, a leading member of the Slovakian Parliament has told Russia’s State outlet TASS.
Fico posted a five-minute video and an open letter declaring Kyiv an unreliable partner and accusing Zelensky of pressuring European leaders: “He goes around Europe, just begging and blackmailing others, asking for money.”
Zelensky replied:
Ok. Come to Kyiv on Friday. pic.twitter.com/9lOSLCR7FD
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 13, 2025
Tibor Gaspar, deputy-speaker of the Slovak Parliament, said, “Yesterday, Prime Minister Fico published an open letter for Zelensky and invited him for talks. Zelensky replied that it was necessary to come to Kyiv on Friday. It’s not possible. I think it will not happen.”
UPDATE 1017 GMT:
The Australian Government is “making urgent inquiries” about reports of the death of one of its citizens in Russian detention.
Oscar Jenkins, a 32-year-old teacher from Melbourne, was serving alongside Ukraine’s armed forces when he was captured by Russian troops last year.
A video in December showed him, dressed in military fatigues and speaking English and Ukrainian, confirming his name and nationality. With his hands tied and dirt across his face, he was hit in the head by a person off-camera who asked him questions in Russian, including whether he was a mercenary.
“These reports have not been verified, but we continue to have grave concerns for Mr Jenkins’ welfare,” the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Department summoned the Russian Ambassador on Monday to seek information on Jenkins “and reiterate Australia’s expectations that Russia will comply with its obligations under international law”.
A spokesperson said, “The Russian Federation is obligated to treat all prisoners of war in accordance with international humanitarian law.”
At least seven Australians are believed to have died fighting in Ukraine during Russia’s full-scale, but Jenkins is believed to be the first to be held as a POW.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has called on Ukraine’s supporters to strengthen Kyiv before any negotiations to end Russia’s 34 1/2-month invasion.
Rutte told European Union legislators on Monday:
At this moment, clearly Ukraine is not there, because they cannot at this moment negotiate from a position of strength.
We have to do more to make sure by changing the trajectory of the conflict that they can get to that position of strength.
Rutte did not address Ukraine’s condition of an invitation to join NATO, pushed back by members including the US and Germany at a Foreign Ministers meeting in early December.
Instead, he said:
We all want this war to end, but above all, we want peace to last. Peace will not last if Putin gets his way in Ukraine, because then he will press ahead….I am convinced that peace can only last if Ukraine comes to the table from a position of strength.
In his final speech on foreign policy as US President, Joe Biden said allies “can’t walk away” from Ukraine. He declared that his administration and partners have “laid the foundation” for the incoming Trump Administration to help Ukraine negotiate a just end to the invasion.
He said Vladimir Putin had “failed to achieve any of his strategic objectives” but that “there is more to do”: “Today, Ukraine is still a free and independent country with the potential for a bright future.”
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky posted about a conversation with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron:
We…agreed to work closely with key allies on achieving peace and developing effective security guarantees.
As one such guarantee, we discussed the French initiative to deploy military contingents in Ukraine. We addressed practical steps for its implementation, potential expansion, and the involvement of other nations in this effort.
I spoke with President of France @EmmanuelMacron. We had a detailed discussion about the situation on the battlefield and the progress of Ukrainian forces in the Kursk operation.
I expressed gratitude to President Macron and the French people for their unwavering support, which… pic.twitter.com/z7SYj4U85H
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 13, 2025