As the war enters its 689th day, these are the main events.
Here is the situation on Saturday, January 13, 2024.
Struggle
- Ukraine's air force said Russia launched about 40 drones and missiles, including hypersonic missiles.
- The commander of Ukraine's ground forces told Reuters news agency that kyiv needed more military aircraft, such as US A-10 attack aircraft, to support infantry, as well as aircraft that could fire long-range cruise missiles. scope.
- A senior Ukrainian presidential adviser has said he was confident that an amended bill seeking to toughen Ukraine's mobilization laws would be passed in the coming days or weeks.
Politics and diplomacy
- British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak signed a new security agreement with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine, and announced increased military funding for kyiv. Sunak said the UK would increase its support in the next financial year to 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2 billion), an increase of 200 million pounds ($255 million) on the previous two years.
- Zelenskyy said he was now more confident than last month that his country would get new financial aid from the United States.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with a senior Chinese official, Liu Jianchao, and discussed ties between North Korea and Russia, as well as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to his office.
- France's new Foreign Minister Stéphane Sejourne will visit Ukraine on Saturday on his first official trip.
- The foreign ministers of Hungary and Ukraine will meet in western Ukraine at the end of January, according to a statement from the Hungarian government.
- Afghanistan and Mongolia increased their imports of Russian fuel by about 28 percent in 2023 to almost six million tons, partially offsetting a decline in Russian supplies to Europe, according to trade and industry data.
- The United States imposed sanctions on three Russian entities and one individual allegedly involved in the transfer and testing of North Korean ballistic missiles for alleged use by Moscow in Ukraine.
- The Russian Foreign Ministry called the U.S. plan to seize up to $300 billion in frozen Russian assets to help rebuild Ukraine “21st century piracy” and said Moscow would retaliate harshly if it happened.
