Thursday, January 4

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Over 200 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) were returned from Russian captivity on Jan. 3, 2024. (President Volodymyr Zelensky/Telegram)

230 Ukrainians freed from Russian captivity in large-scale prisoner exchange. Ukraine returned home 230 POWs and civilians, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of the Prisoners of War reported on Jan. 3. It marks Ukraine’s largest prisoner exchange since the start of the full-scale war.

NATO agrees on deal to buy 1,000 Patriot missiles for coalition members. NATO’s Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) announced a deal on Jan. 3 for the purchase of 1,000 Patriot air defense missiles for coalition members, including Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, and Spain.

Kuleba: NATO-Ukraine Council to hold emergency meeting in response to Russia’s mass strikes on Ukraine. NATO approved Kyiv’s request to hold an emergency meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council in response to Russia’s recent large-scale strikes against Ukraine, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Jan. 3.

Russia’s tech imports from China soar 10x. Deliveries of China-manufactured advanced machinery such as microchips are up tenfold since the beginning of 2022, showcasing a booming bilateral trade relationship that has largely circumvented Western sanctions, the FT reported on Jan. 3.

IAEA experts can’t access 3 reactor halls at Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. For the past two weeks, the experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been denied access to the reactor halls of units 1, 2, and 6 of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the IAEA said on Jan. 3.

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NYT: Ukrainians tired of ‘state propaganda.’ Once described as a “weapon” by President Volodymyr Zelensky, many Ukrainians after nearly two years of war say they are getting tired of the government-backed Telemarathon broadcasted 24/7, the New York Times reported on Jan. 3. Oksana Romaniuk, chief of the Kyiv-based Institute of Mass Information, called it state propaganda, saying “Everyone is fed up with this picture that says, We’re winning, everyone likes us and gives us money.“

Russian strike on Kharkiv damages civilian infrastructure. Russian forces struck Kharkiv with two S-300 missiles late on Jan. 3, damaging civilian infrastructure in the city center, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported. According to preliminary data, there were no casualties, Syniehubov said on Telegram. First responders are working on the spot, he added. Several explosions were heard in Kharkiv at around 10:30 p.m. local time and earlier in the evening, as reported by Suspilne news outlet.

French Foreign Ministry on Belgorod strike: Russia ‘bears full responsibility’ for human casualties. France’s Foreign Ministry commented on a Dec. 30 strike on the Russian city of Belgorod, saying at a press briefing on Jan. 3 that Russia, as the aggressor in the war, bears responsibility for civilian casualties on its own soil.

Moscow blamed Ukraine for the strike, claiming 24 people were killed and over 100 others were injured. Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

Former Interior Ministry chief of Yekaterinburg killed **in Ukraine.**Igor Trifonov, a convicted criminal and the former head of the Yekaterinburg branch of Russia’s Interior Ministry, was killed fighting in Ukraine, Russian state-controlled media Kommersant wrote on Jan. 3, citing Trifonov’s lawyer.

PM Shmyhal: Ukraine to reduce need for external financing in 2024. Ukraine will need over $37 billion in external financing in 2024, which is around $5 billion less than the country received from foreign partners last year, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Jan. 3.

Read our exclusives

‘I’m in shock’: Russia’s mass attack on Kyiv shatters lives and dreams

“I’m in shock,” a local 48-year-old resident told the Kyiv Independent as he waited for first responders to allow him to go back to his apartment to recover his documents.

Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images

Ukraine war latest: 230 Ukrainians freed from Russian captivity in large-scale prisoner exchange

Ukraine returned home 230 POWs and civilians, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of the Prisoners of War reported on Jan. 3.

Photo: President Volodymyr Zelensky/Telegram

Human cost of war

General Staff: Russia has lost 360,820 troops in Ukraine. Russia has lost 360,820 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Jan. 2.

Death toll in Dec 29 Russian attack on Kyiv rises to 32, 30 injured. The figure previously increased to 30 on Jan. 3 after another wounded person died in the hospital.

Russian attacks against Zaporizhzhia Oblast injure woman. Russian air strikes against a residential building in Zaporizhzhia Oblast’s Orikhiv on Jan. 2 injured a 75-year-old woman, Governor Yurii Malashko reported.

Governor: Russian attacks in Donetsk Oblast kill 2, injure 1. Russian strikes on Chasiv Yar and Krasnohorivka in Donetsk Oblast killed two people and wounded another person on Jan. 2, the regional governor Vadym Filashkin reported.

International response

Turkey blocks passage of British minehunter ships destined for Ukraine. Two British minehunter ships destined for Ukraine will not be able to travel through Turkish waters, President Erdogan’s Directorate of Communications announced on Jan. 2, citing an international pact.

Poland scrambles F-16s to defend airspace during Russian attacks on Ukraine. Poland, a NATO member, made the decision to mobilize fighter jets on the morning of Jan. 2, as Russian forces launched another large-scale aerial attack on Ukraine.

Baltic leaders call for more air defense systems for Ukraine after Russia’s latest attack. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics called for more air defense systems for Ukraine following Russia’s Jan. 2 large-scale missile attack against the country.

European officials condemn Russia’s massive aerial attacks. Officials from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the EU issued statements on Jan. 2 condemning Russia’s large-scale missile and drone attacks.

Guardian: UK oil refinery extends credit with oil company linked to sanctioned Russian oligarch. One of the United Kingdom’s largest oil companies has extended a loan facility to the arm of an oil company founded and part-owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch, the Guardian reported on Jan. 2.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Olga Rudenko, Martin Fornusek, Nate Ostiller, Francis Farrell, Dinara Khalilova, Lance Luo, Brad LaFoy, and Olena Goncharova.

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