US and Ukraine flags outside the Capitol, Washington, DC, April 2024 (Getty)
EA-Times Radio VideoCast: Trump Rattles Putin Over Ukraine
Saturday’s Coverage: Zelensky — Putin Will Try to Manipulate Trump
Map: Institute for the Study of War
UPDATE 1507 GMT:
Russia is on the verge of its first significant advance in 2025, poised to capture the logistics hub of Velyka Novosilka in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine’s 110th Separate Mechanised Brigade said troops successfully withdrew from some areas to avoid being encircled, with fighting ongoing around the village. Equipment on both sides is depleted, but but Russian infantry vastly outnumbers the Ukrainian side.
Velyka Novosilka is lies around 15 km (9.3 miles) east of the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The brigade said Russia will struggle to advance further, as the Mokri Yaly River is an obstacle and Russian troops are in a vulnerable “fire pocket”.
UPDATE 1450 GMT:
Ukrainian soldiers say highly-skilled air defense personnel are being sent into the infantry, despite a pledge by commanders to halt the deployment.
Earlier this month the start of the transfer of 5,000 to 6,000 personnel was revealed. It was widely criticized as air defense units were said to be depleted by up to 50%, with President Volodymyr Zelensky joining the condemnation.
Three servicemen said commanders continue sending more waves of personnel to the infantry.
An Air Force officer confirmed that the transfer will continue, because of poor results with mobilization, but said he could not officially reveal the figure.
UPDATE 1231 GMT:
Ukraine has struck the Ryazan oil refinery, one of the four largest in Russia, for the second time in three days.
Residents reported 12 to 15 blasts between 1:30 and 2 am. Video showed explosions and fire at the facility southeast of Moscow.
Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov confirmed the attack without referring to the refinery. He claimed all the UAVs were destroyed, said material damage is being assessed.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed to have shot down 15 drones overnight: 8 in Ryazan, 6 in Kursk, and 1 in Belgorod.
Such claims almost always contradict observable reality.
TG/Eto Rostov, via @hochu_dodomu pic.twitter.com/hT9649wErS— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) January 26, 2025
UPDATE 1225 GMT:
Air defenses downed 50 of 72 drones launched by Russia overnight, and nine decoy drones were lost to electronic counter-measures.
However, the UAVs hit an education facility, an apartment building, and administrative buildings in the Sumy region in northern Ukraine. No casualties were reported.
UPDATE 1209 GMT:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has offered to ease the energy crisis in the Russian-occupied Transnistria region of neighboring Moldova.
At a joint press conference in Kyiv with Moldovan President Maia Sandu on Sunday, Zelensky said Ukraine can supply Transnistria with coal at low prices or exchange it for electricity from the Moldovan region.
Supplies to Transnistria were affected from January 1 when Kyiv, because of Russia’s 35-month invasion, declined to extend a contract for the transport of Russian gas across Ukrainian territory.
Zelensky noted that Transnistria’s cooperation with Moldova and Ukraine would help reduce electricity prices throughout all of Moldova by 30%.
However, Transnistrian authorities have refused Moldovan and Ukrainian offers of help, talking of schemes in which Moscow directly or indirectly will provide enough gas to cover domestic electricity needs.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: US diplomats are requesting an urgent exemption for Ukraine-related programs from Trump Administration’s 90-day freeze on foreign aid and its “stop work” orders.
The new Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, issued the order — taking immediate effect and exempting only programs for Israel and Egypt — in an internal document leaked to media outlets on Friday. It followed an executive order by Donald Trump for the suspension.
Citing national security concerns, senior diplomats in the State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs asked Rubio to grant a full waiver to exclude the work of the US Agency for International Development in Ukraine.
“We do not know at this time whether this request will be approved — in whole or in part — but there are positive signals thus far out of Washington,” said an e-mail sent to USAID staff in Ukraine on Saturday.
USAID in Ukraine had temporarily held off issuing “stop work” orders while the exemption request is being considered. However, by Saturday evening in Kyiv, some partner organizations began receiving “stop work” orders.
USAID asked staff to assess programs “and find ways for them to more clearly support the Secretary of State’s directive to make the US safer, stronger and more prosperous”.
The Pentagon assured on Thursday, “Security assistance to Ukraine is not subject to the restrictions of the recent foreign assistance order, as it only applies to development programs, not military support.”
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky followed up on Saturday, “I can only say what Ukraine may not receive and what I am doing – I am focused on military aid. It has not been stopped, thank God.”
However, he said he could not comment on the status of other assistance programs.
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