Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 01-24-2025

Doppelganger started out by imitating Western media outlets to relay anti-Ukraine and anti-Western messages.

Social media giant Meta made hundreds of thousands of dollars last year from content posted by a well-known pro-Russian disinformation network, researchers have claimed.

Tens of thousands of Facebook users in France, Germany, Poland and Italy were targeted with cartoons mocking French politicians, messages hostile to European aid to Ukraine and other so-called sponsored content.

Ukraine’s defense ministry announced on Thursday that the two nations had committed to the future implementation of joint industrial defense projects in line with Kyiv’s stated priorities.

The development of greater long-range strike capability for Ukraine came another step forward with a meeting of Ukrainians and Swedes in Kyiv.

The meeting was on Thursday between teams led by, Serhiy Boev, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Defense for European Integration, and Johan Axelsson, Director of Sweden’s Technical Systems Testing and Evaluation Department FMV – and it was to finalize details of a proposed collaboration on defense projects.

Friday’s repatriation is at least the fifth involving 500 or more Ukrainian bodies since October.

Kyiv said Friday it had received the bodies of hundreds of Ukrainian troops killed in battle with Russian forces, in one of the largest repatriations since Russia invaded.

The exchange of prisoners and return of their remains is one of the few areas of cooperation between Moscow and Kyiv since the Kremlin mobilized its army in Ukraine in February 2022.

Around two dozen villages effected

Ukraine announced on Friday that dozens of families with children from frontline villages in the eastern Donetsk region would be evacuated, as Russia’s troops continue their advances in the area.

The Russian military has made significant gains in the region in recent months, capturing several settlements, many of which have been completely destroyed.

A UK Defence Intelligence report says that command and control issues between North Korean and Russian forces in Kursk are leading to increased casualties and loss of operational cohesion.

North Korean forces have suffered significant casualties during offensive operations against Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region, with the numbers of killed and wounded reaching 4,000 by mid-January, according to the British Ministry of Defence’s report on X (Twitter).

The report said the total casualty rate to more than a third of the approximately 11,000 North Korean troops that originally deployed to the region with around a quarter of these being soldiers killed in action.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said a 15-year-old teenager in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region was tasked with spying on Ukrainian positions by another Russian agent.

A Russian agent enlisted the help of a 15-year-old acquaintance to spy on Ukrainian positions, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said in a Friday press release.

Both were working together to identify potential targets in southern Ukraine for Russian strikes and have been arrested, the SBU said.

Orban blames Ukraine – which is defending itself from an ongoing Russian invasion – for hurting Hungary’s economy

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday threatened to block attempts to renew EU sanctions on Russia, linking his support to his effort to reopen a gas pipeline across Ukraine to Central Europe.

Ukraine allowed a gas transit agreement with Russia to lapse on New Year’s Day as it tries to starve Moscow of revenues to fund its military and prolong the war on Ukraine that the Kremlin launched in February 2022.

Merz, favorite to become Germany’s next chancellor, said he wants peace in Ukraine, but not at the cost of offering up Ukrainian sovereignty to imperialistic Russia

Ukraine must win the war against Russia, regain lost territory, and be free to join military alliances, Friedrich Merz, favorite to become Germany’s next chancellor, said Thursday.

Merz said he wants peace in Ukraine but not “at the price of submission to an imperialist power” and stressed that “Ukraine must win the war.”

OSINT journalists have identified the Russian soldier responsible for the shooting as Oleg Yakovlev, a member of the Storm unit in Russia’s 30th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade.

A video showing the execution of six unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian soldiers began circulating online on Thursday, Jan. 23.

In the video, the date and location of which Kyiv Post was unable to independently verify, but said to be in the Donetsk region, Russian soldiers are seen shooting six captured Ukrainian soldiers. The fate of a seventh soldier is unclear, as the video cuts off.

In honor of Hrytsko Chubai (1949-1982) on his birthday: a Ukrainian poet who was in constant conflict with the Soviet regime. Excerpt from the book “Vertep” translated by Yuriy Tarnawsky.

From the book Vertep by Hrytsko Chubai (Jan. 23, 1949 – May 16, 1982), a brilliant Ukrainian underground poet, in constant conflict with the Soviet regime. Honoring him on his birthday with my translation. – Yuriy Tarnawsky

he saw today in his eye
yesterday’s tear

Latest from the British Defence Intelligence.

• On 17 January 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian signed a new 20-year Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement.
• Russia and Iran’s partnership has almost certainly been driven by mutual security and economic interests, with both states growing closer since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russia has remained reliant on Iranian military support as the war in Ukraine has continued. However, a level of mistrust remains and tensions in the relationship will highly likely present obstacles to the expansion of their cooperation.
• The agreement is part of a wider framework of cooperation between the two states across various sectors, almost certainly representing a commitment to strengthen bilateral ties. It covers cooperation across defence and security, economy, trade, transportation, energy, technology, information and cyberspace security. In contrast to Russia’s agreements with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Belarus, the Russia-Iran agreement does not include a mutual defence clause.
• The agreement highly likely provides a legal framework for further Iranian-Russian cooperation, formalising existing and future collaboration efforts. However, it is unlikely to represent any significant uplift to the partnership or materially expand the scope of their current cooperation.

Moreover, the Kremlin said it wanted to resume nuclear disarmament talks with Trump’s administration “as soon as possible.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to talk to US counterpart Donald Trump but is waiting for signals from Washington first, the Kremlin said on Friday, fuelling expectations the two would be in contact.

The Ukraine war has plunged relations between the two nuclear powers to their lowest levels since the Cold War, with Trump repeatedly promising to end the fighting with a “deal”.

The world in focus, as seen by Canadian leading global affairs analyst Michael Bociurkiw in a quick review of the biggest news in international media today.

In a meandering, wide-ranging speech beamed into the World Economic Forum in Davos, Donald Trump made a link between the war in Ukraine and oil prices. Trump said he would ask Saudi Arabia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to bring down crude prices. “If the price came down, the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately,” he said. (I later told ABC that OPEC member countries would have little desire to cut prices - especially as they embark on multi-billion, petro-dollar mega projects. Also that western nation price caps on Russian oil has done little to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin’s territorial ambitions).

Barbados, one of the most reputable global ship registry providers, and Panama are set to revoke the registration of over 100 Russian shadow fleet tankers. While most of these Russian vessels will likely find new registration in African nations, the constant need to evade detection significantly increases costs, complicates logistics, and deprives these tankers of high-quality services - Bloomberg

The contract was placed after a recent decision to relaunch Britain’s dormant howitzer barrel production in the summer of 2024.

A British government contract worth £61 million ($75 million) was placed with two British firms to produce artillery barrels in Yorkshire for Ukraine, a British Ministry of Defence (MoD) subsidiary announced on Wednesday.

According to a statement on social media by Defence Equipment & Support, which operates under the MoD, the contract was awarded to defense conglomerate BAE Systems and metalwork firm Sheffield Forgemasters.

Homes were set ablaze by falling drone debris in the Kyiv region, and a massive crater formed in the Lviv region as Russia launched a Shahed drone assault.

Russia launched a large-scale drone attack on Ukraine early Friday morning, Jan. 24, resulting in three fatalities, fires in the Kyiv region, and a massive crater in the Lviv region, according to Ukrainian officials.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia deployed 58 Shahed strike drones and other UAVs from various locations including Orel, Kursk, Bryansk, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk.

As intel reports suggest more North Korean troop and weapons reinforcements are on the way, milbloggers from both sides say its 122 mm BM-11 hidden in a cargo truck is already near the front line.

Intelligence sources report more North Korean soldiers and weapons reinforcements are on the way to augment Russian forces and to replace battlefield losses, with some artillery system vehicles likely disguised as civilian cargo trucks.

The New York Times reported that North Korea is planning to send military manpower and equipment reinforcements to support Russia in the coming months, citing unnamed Pentagon sources. The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate (HUR), Kyrylo Budanov, endorsed that assessment in an interview with the War Zone on Thursday.

The UAVs struck the Ryazan oil refinery, a critical supplier for Russia’s military and Bryansk’s Kremniy plant which produces missile system microelectronics.

[Updated at 13.55]: The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) confirmed on Facebook that SBU and SSO drones have attacked several Russian facilities involved in supplying the Russian military.

The General Staff also verified the destruction of the Kremniy El microelectronics plant in Bryansk, a key enterprise in Russia’s microelectronics industry.

Pavel Latushko, a prominent Belarusian opposition figure speaks to Kyiv Post about Lukashenko’s regime, living in exile the fight for freedom, and international justice”

On Sunday, January 26, the first round of the presidential elections will take place in Belarus, essentially the announcement of a result predetermined by dictator Alexander Lukashenko. This is the second part of an interview with Pavel Latushko, head of the National Anti-Crisis Management, deputy to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in the United Transitional Cabinet, and former Minister of Culture, who was sentenced in absentia to 18 years in prison by the Belarusian regime in March 2023. Part 1 can be read here.

Michał Kujawski: I have a personal question for you. You live in Warsaw, Poland. What is your most recent memory related to Belarus? What do you remember?

Residents of the occupied coastal city, still awaiting promised housing three years after losing their homes to the war, appealed to Putin, rejecting “ownerless” apartments and unaffordable mortgages.

Residents of Russian-occupied Mariupol, who lost their homes due to combat operations and have been waiting for promised new housing from the occupying authorities for the third year, appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin for help.

The homeless Mariupol residents greeted Putin on the occasion of Epiphany and “appealed for justice on this day.” The Russian Telegram channel Astra published a video showing residents of several districts of Mariupol lined up with signs reading “бомжи” [homeless people].

Hnezdilov said he was leaving the 56th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade, comparing his indefinite military service without rotation to “serfdom”. He will soon return to his former brigade.

A court in the city of Dnipro dropped the charges against him on Thursday, the UNN news agency reported, citing Hnezdilov’s lawyer Anastasia Burkovska. He will soon return to his former brigade, the agency reported.

A Ukrainian court has dropped desertion charges against a soldier who fled his army unit in protest over the lack of term limits for long-serving troops, Ukrainian media reported Thursday.

Atesh partisans report extensive fortifications, dugouts, and trenches being constructed on Crimea’s beaches near Yevpatoria.

Russian forces in Crimea are bolstering defenses and digging trenches along the beaches in anticipation of a possible Ukrainian airborne assault, the partisan movement Atesh reported via Telegram on Thursday, Jan. 23.

In his first days as president, Trump has made bold statements on Ukraine, Putin, and ending the war. Here are his 10 most notable remarks – and what they reveal about his strategy.

Since launching his 2024 campaign to retake the White House, newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours, suggesting that he would pressure both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin into negotiations. 

While never providing concrete details, Trump has hinted that his approach would involve cutting US military aid to Ukraine, leveraging economic deals or NATO membership, and giving Putin unspecified “incentives” to withdraw. Critics have pointed out that Trump has long expressed admiration for Putin and that his transactional approach could involve forcing Ukraine to accept territorial concessions. 

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russia is reportedly planning to deploy additional North Korean forces, missiles, artillery systems, and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) to Kursk Oblast to support Russian long-range fire operations.
• The Kremlin appears to be growing increasingly concerned about perceptions of Russia’s economic instability.
• Russian forces recently executed at least six unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in Donetsk Oblast.
• Russian forces recently advanced in Kursk Oblast and near Toretsk and Pokrovsk.
• The Kremlin is reportedly taking measures to protect industrial facilities in Russian border regions from Ukrainian strikes.

Trump’s nominee for CIA Director, John Ratcliffe, breezes through US Senate, while the president’s controversial Pentagon pick passes procedural vote, but not without Republican objection.

On Thursday, the US Senate overwhelmingly confirmed John Ratcliffe as the next Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director. In other hearings on the same day, two Republican senators voted “nay” on the first step of the confirmation of Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth. That was not enough to keep his nomination from going to a final vote.

Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, both considered moderates in the American legislature’s upper house, said they had reservations about Hegseth’s history of alcohol abuse and the stories of his abusive treatment of women.

As the exhibit opens its doors to Ukrainian refugees for free, Germany’s frontrunner for chancellor says Ukraine must win the war, and have its territorial integrity restored.

A Berlin gallery opened an exhibition Thursday of artworks from a museum in Ukraine that were evacuated to Germany in 2023 to spare them from Russian bombardment. 

Some 60 works from the Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art went on public display at their temporary new home in the Gemaeldegalerie in the German capital.