As the war enters its 703rd day, here are the main events.
Here is the situation on Saturday, January 27, 2024.
Struggle
- Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Ilyushin-76 plane that crashed near the Ukrainian border was shot down by Ukrainian air defenses, either on purpose or by mistake.
- The death toll from Russian missile strikes on Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, earlier this week has risen to 11, officials said.
- Putin said Russia's future ruling class should be made up of army veterans and not “weirdos” who “show their butts.” The comments appeared to criticize a raunchy party of “almost naked” celebrities held in Moscow last month that sparked a fierce public reaction.
- A Moscow court on Friday extended the pretrial detention of Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich by two months following his arrest last year on espionage charges.
Economy
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the creation of a new economic body to help businesses in times of war after several businessmen expressed outrage over the arrest of a prominent banker.
- In his late-night video address, Zelenskyy said the All-Ukrainian Economic Platform would help businesses overcome the challenges posed by the Russian invasion.
Diplomacy
- US President Joe Biden criticized congressional Republicans for halting military aid to Ukraine amid a lack of consensus on a separate deal to shore up the US-Mexico border.
- The chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Turkey needed to cooperate better to hold Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine following the US government's approval of a $23 billion deal to sell F-16 fighter jets to Ankara.
- The chief negotiator for Moldova's Russia-backed breakaway region of Transdniestria announced his team would no longer attend talks on the country's future in areas under government control because he feared arrest.
