Dispatches from Ukraine. Day 1,049
On Jan. 6, Russian forces introduced artillery, mortars and drones into the lands of Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, killing two civilians and wounding 11 others, the government said.
Donetsk region. The Russian troops executed 3 Ukrainian prisoners of war near the eastern line on January 3, announced the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner. The soldiers, who had delivered a battle, would have been united, led in front of the Russian positions in the small city of Neskuchne and fired on the back of the head. Lubinets, as well as human rights groups, condemned the law, accusing Russia of systematic abuse of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Dnipropetrovsk region. On Jan. 5, Russian artillery struck the industrial city of Nikopol in the country’s southeast, killing a 43-year-old man.
Despite Ukraine halting the transit of Russian natural gas through its territory, Russia will likely be able to mitigate the negative impact on its economy by selling more to Asian markets and boosting its LNG (liquid natural gas) exports, with losses projected at just 0.2–0.3% of GDP, according to Bloomberg. Europe continues to buy record amounts of Russian LNG, while Russian pipeline exports to China hit a record 31 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2024 and are expected to rise to 38 bcm when the Power of Siberia pipeline reaches full capacity in 2025. Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom may also boost sales via the TurkStream pipeline and redirect gas to Central Asia. Russia aims to triple LNG exports to 100 million tons by 2035, though sanctions may jeopardize these plans.
More than 1,000 North Korean troops were killed or wounded in Russia’s Kursk region, U. S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Jan. 6, while Russia and Ukraine would accentuate offensives ahead of U. S. President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, fierce fighting. It continued in Russia’s Kursk region for the time being, where Ukraine’s forces won and stayed on the ground, positioning itself for the lever of effect in long-term peace talks.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin reported significant advances in eastern Ukraine, claiming the capture of Kurakhove, a small town with a pre-war population near 20,000, bolstering Moscow’s push toward the strategic logistics hub of Pokrovsk in the eastern oblast, or region, of Donetsk. Officials in Kyiv acknowledged ongoing battles in Kurakhove, but stopped short of confirming its fall.
A recent survey of the kyiv International Sociology Institute shows a replacement in public feelings, 38% of Ukrainians now contemplate appropriate territorial concessions to succeed in peace with Russia, opposite to 32% in October. While regional diversifications show slight increases in territorial concessions, most Ukrainians still reject such commitments. However, the percentage of other people strongly opposed any 51% territorial commitment, compared to 58% in autumn.
Ukraine’s agricultural exports rose to $24. 5 billion in 2024, accounting for only about 60% of the country’s overall exports and marking the performance of the moment, after the 2021 record of $27. 7 billion. corn and wheat.
Russia has abolished one-time payments to prisoners recruited to fight in Ukraine, signaling mounting financial pressures amid the ongoing war, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service. The bonuses, which ranged from $1,700 to $3,500 in 2024, were eliminated as of January 1, leaving incarcerated recruits and their families without the financial benefits enjoyed by other combatants. By November 2024, Russia had mobilized 140,000–180,000 prisoners in its war against Ukraine, a significant portion of its shrinking prison population, which has dropped by half since 2014, likely due to war recruitment.
In a 3 -hour giant interview with Podcaster Lex Fridman on January 5, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed critical issues, adding the possible end of the war, the NATO club and security promises. Zelenskyy under the pressure that the initial peace discussions would be with the president elected American Donald Trump, followed through Russian discussions, hoping to obtain falsified security promises for Ukraine, prospectively through the NATO club. He proposed to use $ 3 hundred billion in frozen Russian assets to buy American weapons, emphasizing that Ukraine does not want documents, however, a monetary contrast in his defense. Zelenskyy also indicated that the elections in Ukraine can only be held after the end of the war or if legislative adjustments are made. He also declared that North Korea had lost 3,800 infantry soldiers fighting for Russia and reiterated the need for Ukraine to negotiate from a strength position of the army with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who described as deaf for diplomatic efforts.
By Danylo Nosov, Karina L. Tahiliani
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