Russia rejects Christmas truce as US ramps up peace push

President Volodymyr Zelensky and exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya held their first bilateral meeting on Jan. 25.

The accident occurred in the community of Sokilnyky in Lviv Oblast around 6:15 p.m. local time, the State Bureau of Investigation announced. Preliminary information appears to indicate that Salamakha entered oncoming traffic before colliding with a commercial minibus.

"For us, security guarantees are first and foremost guarantees from the United States. The document is 100% ready, and we are waiting for our partners to confirm the date and place for its signing," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 25.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 1,676 residential buildings - about 15% of the city’s housing stock - remained without heat after Russia’s latest strikes on critical infrastructure.

Zelensky, speaking in Vilnius, said Lukashenko's dog has "more rights than the people of Belarus" and warned Europe to press back against Minsk's growing dependence on Moscow.

In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independent's Anna Belokur reports on how subzero temperatures are shaping the war on Ukraine's front lines, as Russia continues assaults around Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad, and Lyman in Donetsk Oblast amid severe winter conditions.

Zelensky met Lithuania’s president in Vilnius on Jan. 25 to discuss support for Ukraine’s energy system and air defense as Russian strikes continue, with Lithuania pledging nearly 100 generators for Ukrainian communities.

Russia launched 102 drones and two Iskander ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight, the Air Force said.

The number includes 1,020 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

When the government asserts authority in ways that a growing share of the public experiences as arbitrary or vindictive, it begins to lose legitimacy.

The Russian city of Belgorod was hit on Jan. 24 by what regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov described as “the most massive” strike on the city, allegedly involving HIMARS.

"The main thing the discussions focused on was potential parameters for ending the war," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Jan. 24 accused Ukraine of meddling in Hungary’s parliamentary elections, saying Kyiv had “gone on the offensive” and was now “issuing threats and openly interfering in the Hungarian elections.”

One person was killed, and another four were reported injured in Kyiv as Russia launched a mass attack on the capital overnight on Jan. 24, officials reported.