Toma Istomina is the deputy chief editor of the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked for the Kyiv Post from 2017-2021, first as a staff writer, later taking editor roles. For co-founding the Kyiv Independent, Toma was selected as one of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe in 2022. She holds a master’s in international broadcasting from Taras Shevchenko University.Read more
"It is essential to provide Ukraine with the means to endure and to negotiate from a position of strength in the future," French President Emmanuel Macron said on Jan. 20.
Gas deliveries from Russia to Europe persist despite the EU's efforts, and Brussels is determined to halt this, Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, the EU’s spokesperson for energy and housing, said on Jan. 20.
China has emerged as Russia's largest supplier of goods, but Chinese imports have failed to fully replace Western equipment and raw materials lost due to sanctions, The Moscow Times reported on Jan. 20, citing data from the Gaidar Institute.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov planned to merge the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) and the State Logistics Operator (DOT) into one agency but changed his mind after a NATO statement said that the two agencies should be kept separate and two separate supervisory boards should be established.
"This is a false story being spread by the Russian media — probably with the aim of discrediting Denmark," Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said.
This comes as reported peace proposals, including freezing the front lines, have been publicly rejected by Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously stated that his country would begin peace negotiations if Kyiv agreed to withdraw from the four Ukrainian regions Moscow partly controls.
Russian forces launched 141 drones at Ukraine overnight from the Russian cities of Bryansk, Kursk, Orel, Millerovo, and Primosk-Akhtarsk, according to Ukraine's Air Force.
A fire erupted in the city of Kazan in Russia's Tatarstan republic overnight on Jan. 20 amid a Ukrainian drone attack on the city, Russian Telegram channels reported.
Russian forces suffered their heaviest losses last year since the start of the full-scale war, with total military losses reaching 434,000 soldiers, including approximately 150,000 killed in combat during 2024, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a Jan. 19 interview with the Ukrainian news outlet TSN.
"For several months now, the artillery ammunition expenditure rates in the Russian army have practically halved. If previously the figure reached up to 40,000 rounds per day, it is now significantly lower," Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi said on Jan. 19.
"Every front is important, and you served on the most challenging ones. You are our heroes, and we are deeply grateful to each of you," the president said.