An apartment damaged by a Russian drone strike on central Kyiv, Ukraine, January 1, 2025

Wednesday’s Coverage: Zelensky — “May 2025 Be Our Year”

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1458 GMT:

The wholesale price of gas is at its highest level since October 2023, after the halt of the transit of Russian supplies across Ukraine.

The price of gas for February delivery in the Netherlands rose up to 4.3% on Thursday, before easing back to 1.9% higher at €49.83 ($51.34) a megawatt hour.

UPDATE 0808 GMT:

Four civilians were killed and six injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine in the past 24 hours.

Two civilians were killed and six wounded in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine after Russian strikes on more than 38 settlements.

A civilian has been killed overnight by a Russian attack on the town of Stepnohirsk in the Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine.

The victim’s body was found under the rubble of a five-story building. Stepnohirsk was hit 11 times by Russian glide bombs.

One person was killed in the city of Mirnohrad in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

Russia launched 72 drones. Air defenses downed 47 over 12 regions, and forced 24 decoy drones to veer off course. One drone is still in the air.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Two of Ukraine’s leading scientists were killed in Russia’s drone strikes on Kyiv on New Year’s Day.

Neurobiologist Ihor Zyma and doctor of biological sciences Olesia Sokur, who were married, were slain. Zyma was a senior researcher and associate professor at the Institute for Biology and Medicine at the Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Sokur worked at the Institute as a deputy director of scientific work and a member of the Academic Council.

“The family devoted almost their entire lives to science,” Education and Science Minister Oksen Lisovyi said. “My sincere condolences to the relatives and friends of the deceased, as well as to all who suffered from today’s morning terror.”

Russia’s 34-month invasion has cut off access to critical input for research by 23.5% percent of scientists still living in Ukraine. Around 18% have fled the country.

At least six civilians, including two pregnant women, were injured in the assault. Two floors of a residential building were partially destroyed. Windows were blown out on the top floors of a building of the National Bank of Ukraine, near the President’s Office.

The Russians attacked with 111 drones. Air defenses downed 63 UAVs, while 46 decoy drones were lost from radar without causing any harm. Two drones returned to Russia and Belarus.

UAVs were intercepted over the Poltava, Sumy, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zaporizhzhia, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, and Mykolaiv regions.

“Even on New Year’s Eve, Russia was only concerned about how to hurt Ukraine,” noted Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.