The intelligence reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has given an order to stage a disaster at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant and pin it on Ukraine. The plant, controlled by Russians since Feb. 24, is cut from power and disconnected from the International Atomic Energy Agency’s monitoring systems.
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
The strike targeted the 810th Russian Brigade, resulting in significant losses, according to Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s counter-disinformation center.
Two Russian helicopters were downed in a recent strike by the Ukrainian-made Magura V5 naval strike drones, Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) reported on its Telegram channel. HUR earlier said on Dec. 31 that only one helicopter had been destroyed.
“These conversations must be held again and again in order to find out what can be done to finally put an end to the killing and the dying,” the leader of Germany’s social-democratic party (SPD) Saskia Esken told German television news channel N-Tv on Jan. 2.
Ukraine’s electricity import increased more than fivefold in 2024 to 4.4 million megawatt-hours (MWh), ExPro consulting company’s electricity monitoring data showed on Jan. 2.
Russia launched 72 drones, including Iranian-designed Shahed ones, against Ukraine overnight on Jan. 2, Ukraine's Air Force reported on its Telegram channel.
A Russian attack overnight killed a civilian in the town of Stepnohirsk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Governor Ivan Fedorov reported on his Telegram channel on Jan. 2.
Russia's UAV losses included 35,670 destroyed FPV drones and 1,140 strike drones, the Navy said. Ukrainian units also eliminated 192 operational and tactical drones and another 164 Shahed-136/131 drones.
Married couple Ihor Zyma and Olesia Sokur both worked as scientists with the Institute for Biology and Medicine at the Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. They were killed in a Russian drone strike on Jan. 1.
Putin told the government and state-owned Sberbank to "ensure further cooperation with the People's Republic of China in technological research and development in the field of artificial intelligence."
"Our deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and we wish a swift recovery to all those injured," Zelensky said. "Ukraine stands with the American people and denounces violence."
The aid package was conditional on Hungary implementing reforms to bring the country into compliance with EU standards by the end of 2024. Budapest failed to meet the requirements, a European Commission spokesperson said.
Russian Gazprom's decision to halt gas supplies to Moldova resulted in a heating outage in the Russian-controlled region of Transnistria, prompting Chisinau to seek alternative sources of electricity.
"Turning energy into a weapon and cynical energy blackmail of partners is what deprived Russia of its most attractive and geographically accessible market," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 1.
"We will do everything to ensure that Europe's security is a reality, not just an aspiration. I hope Poland will lead efforts that result in peace," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.
The Russian army has lost over 38,000 troops and more than 1,000 pieces of equipment since the beginning of Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast, Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Jan. 1.
"This means that it (Ukraine) is now a full-fledged state party to this international treaty and has all the rights and obligations assigned to state parties," ICC spokesperson Fadi el-Abdallah told Ukrinform.
Ukraine has repeatedly warned that it would not extend the gas transit agreement when it expires at the end of 2024 because it did not want to finance Russia's war.
