As the war enters its 707th day, key developments include:
This is the situation as of Wednesday, January 31, 2024.
finding
- Russian artillery fire killed four people in two villages in northern Ukraine's Sumy region near the Russian border, and a woman was killed in a fresh attack on the devastated eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, local officials said. .
- There were also reports that three people were injured in a Russian drone attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, local officials said. The attack caused fires that damaged apartment buildings and infrastructure.
- According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched a total of 35 attack drones and two guided missiles targeting energy and military infrastructure near front lines and other Ukrainian regions, and air defense systems destroyed 15 of the 35. announced.
- In an internationally recognized action, Russia said it had shot down 11 Ukrainian-launched drones over Crimea, which it occupied and annexed in 2014. The Ukrainian military said it had attacked a Russian air defense radar base on the peninsula. Russian news agencies said several drones allegedly launched by Ukraine were also shot down over the Russian regions of Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga and Tula.
- Kirillo Budanov, head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency GUR, said he expected Russian aggression on the Eastern Front to subside by early spring. Russia has stepped up its attacks in the region in recent months, seeking to besiege towns such as Avdiivka. Budanov said they had achieved only “modest progress in some areas.”
- Ukraine's government has submitted to parliament an amended version of its controversial military mobilization bill that includes new provisions allowing certain people to serve in the military despite convictions. This bill aims to lower the military draft age from 27 to 25.
- Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence service, said Russia was “not prepared” to return the bodies of 65 Ukrainian prisoners who Moscow says died in the crash of a military transport plane last week.
- Ukraine says a cyber attack that destroyed a server used by Russia's Ministry of Defense temporarily disrupted military communications.
politics and diplomacy
- U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director Bill Burns, writing on the website of the journal Foreign Affairs, said that Ukraine is likely to face a tough year in the fight against Russia in 2024, and that the U.S. He said there were moves to cut off Russian aid. Kiev would score an “own goal of historic proportions.” A huge aid package for Ukraine is currently being held up in Congress as some Republicans seek to tie it to changes to U.S. border policy.
- Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza said in a letter to his lawyer that he has been held in solitary confinement for four months after being transferred to a new penal colony in Siberia. In a letter published by his wife, he said the action was a punishment for not standing up when he was ordered by a security guard, which authorities considered an “egregious violation.” said. Kara Murza, a critic of President Vladimir Putin and the invasion of Ukraine, was found guilty of treason in April last year and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
- Russian investigators have charged two 17-year-old boys with sabotage against Ukraine after setting fire to an equipment box next to a train in Moscow. The two have been remanded in custody and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
weapons
- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia has more than doubled production of air defense missiles and aims to increase production further, but there are “questions” that need to be addressed regarding production of engines and launchers. Ta.
- According to Politico, Ukraine is expected to receive the first batch of Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDB), a new long-range precision bomb developed by Boeing, as early as Wednesday. The new bomb can reach about 145 kilometers (90 miles) and will give Ukraine “a more powerful strike capability than we've ever had before,” a U.S. official told the magazine.