Here is where things stand on Friday, January 9:
Fighting:
- Overnight into Friday, Russia launched a large attack on Ukraine with missiles and drones, killing at least three and injuring 16 people in the capital Kyiv, according to The Associated Press news agency.
- Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko reported multiple districts in Kyiv were struck, including Desnyanskyi, where a drone crashed into a building and the first two floors of a residential building were damaged.
- In Kyiv’s Dnipro district, a drone also damaged a multi-story building, and there were reports of a collapsed entrance in one structure.
- Parts of Kyiv also experienced disruption to running water and electricity services, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
- Klitschko identified one of the dead as an emergency medical person who arrived at an apartment building that was hit by two drones in succession. Four more members of the emergency crew were injured in the same incident.
- An air alert was in effect in the capital for five hours.
- A ballistic missile hit infrastructure in the western city of Lviv, according to the city’s mayor, Andriy Sadoviy.
- An investigation has been opened into the type of missile employed in the Lviv attack, after the Western Command of Ukraine’s Air Force recorded its speed at 13,000 kilometres per hour (more than 8,000 miles per hour).
- The bombardment happened after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned late on Thursday that “another massive Russian attack may happen” as Russian forces try to “exploit the harsh winter weather” for strategic advantage.
- In Russia’s Belgorod region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said that a Ukrainian attack on local utilities left half a million people without power or heat and cut off water for nearly 200,000 people.
Politics and diplomacy:
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- President Zelenskyy posted a message late on Thursday, encouraging the US to take action against Russia. “Right now, Russia is betting more on winter than on diplomacy – on ballistic missiles against our energy system rather than on working with the United States and agreements with President Trump,” Zelenskyy wrote. “This must change – through pressure on Russia and continued support for Ukraine.”
- In a separate message, Zelenskyy announced progress with the US on a security deal. “The bilateral document on security guarantees for Ukraine is now essentially ready for finalization at the highest level with the President of the United States,” Zelenskyy wrote on the social media platform X. “It is important that Ukraine is successfully uniting the efforts of the European and American teams.”
- Zelenskyy acknowledged that the US would continue to negotiate with Russia on peace talks, writing, “We understand that the American side will engage with Russia, and we expect feedback on whether the aggressor is genuinely willing to end the war.”
- A spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said on Thursday that any European troops in Ukraine would be “considered legitimate military targets”. She called Ukraine and its allies an “axis of war”.
- In a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times, US President Donald Trump positioned his country’s military might as the primary bulwark standing in the way of Russia’s expansionist goals. He also described himself as a good ally to Europe. “I’ve been very loyal to Europe. I’ve done a good job. If it weren’t for me, Russia would have all of Ukraine right now,” he told the Times. “If you look at NATO, Russia I can tell you is not at all concerned with any other country but us.”
- Trump addressed the impending expiration of the New START treaty in February, which would mark the end of one of the last remaining nuclear non-proliferation agreements. “If it expires, it expires,” Trump told the Times. “We’ll just do a better agreement.” He added that any future agreement should include China and other nuclear powers.
- Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs marked the anniversary of the attack on Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, which was shot down by an Iranian missile on January 8, 2020. It said the Ukrainian government would continue to seek accountability for the 176 lives lost. “We are convinced that impunity for grave violations of international law, including international air law, undermines confidence in the international security system and creates preconditions for the repetition of similar crimes,” the Foreign Ministry wrote.
- A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte met on Thursday and reaffirmed their commitment to security guarantees for Ukraine. The two leaders also expressed optimism about the meeting between US and Russian envoys in Paris this week. “Both leaders welcomed the strong commitments by all participants in Paris,” the spokesperson said. “It was vital that the security guarantees for Ukraine ensured Russia was never able to invade again, the leaders reiterated.”
- The Downing Street spokesperson also said Starmer and Rutte called for more efforts to defend against Russian encroachments in the High North region, a term used to refer to the Arctic and surrounding areas.
Sanctions:
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- In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump addressed the seizure of the Russian oil tanker, the Marinera, earlier this week. “They had some Russian ships guarding it, and they decided not to mess around with us,” Trump said. “We took that one, and it’s unloading the oil. We’re taking billions and billions of dollars worth of oil.”
- In the United Kingdom, John Swinney, the first minister of Scotland, offered measured support for the US seizure of the Russian tanker. “If this is a measure to enforce agreed sanctions that were being circumvented by the use of this tanker, then I support that action,” Swinney said, according to local media. “Because where sanctions are put in place to tackle the unacceptable illegal behaviour of a state like Russia in Ukraine, I think those sanctions should be enforced.”