The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) launched a new offensive in Kursk. The Defense Forces took out 430,790 Russian troops during 2024
MAIN EVENTS OF THE WEEK
The next meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (Ramstein Format), chaired by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, is set for January 7 at an air base in Ramstein, Germany.
In January, Ukraine is set to receive the initial batch of three Mirage 2000-5F fighter jets from France out of about a dozen planned for delivery.
Below are key takeaways from President Zelensky’s interview aired by Yedyny Novyny public broadcaster on January 2:
– a just peace for us is the understanding that we are in the EU and the understanding that we have robust security assurances. NATO is the best option for us; a just peace is about a strong Ukraine, the understanding that we are in the EU and NATO, about a potent army;
– our task for 2025 is to get all partners united around Ukraine;
– “Trump told me on the phone when we were talking: “One of the first visits I will expect is you.” He said, “For me, the priority is to end the war, and I will do it.” Therefore, I think we will meet after the inauguration;
– supported a suggestion that France deploy its peacekeeping force in Ukraine to secure a future peace deal with Russia if one arises, but this would need to be a step towards joining the NATO military alliance; we support this initiative, but France alone will not suffice. We would not want it to be one or two countries if it comes to this initiative. It should definitely be on the way to NATO;
once martial law is lifted, a significant amount of funds will be channeled into the Ukrainian economy from diverse sources, primarily focusing on significant reconstruction initiatives;
– Ukraine will not hold elections amid martial law even if Russia puts it forward as one of the pre-conditions for negotiations; we would violate Ukrainian legislation on behalf of Putin, who has violated all our legislation, sovereignty, and territorial integrity;
– the potentiality of running for a second term as President is not “the focus of the day”.
The Defense Forces of Ukraine took out 430,790 Russian troops during 2024, equivalent to the strength of nearly 36 motorized rifle divisions of Russia’s ground forces. Russia has lost 8,956 armored fighting vehicles (AFVs) fully destroyed or incapacitated on Ukrainian battlefields, equating to the equipment complement of over 37 motorized rifle divisions. Furthermore, Ukrainian forces took out 313 multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS), 407 air defense systems, and 3,050 artillery guns, enough to outfit 725 artillery battalions.
January 1: at 07:00, Ukraine terminated Russian natural gas transit through its territory. Kyiv has repeatedly warned that it would not extend the agreement after its expiration on December 31, 2024 out of unwillingness to finance Russia’s war. The EU energy market remains stable following the end of the Russian gas flow through Ukraine, European Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said at a briefing in Brussels on Jan. 6. “We have been working intensely for over a year with our member states and with Ukraine as well to prepare in advance for this scenario,” she said.
COMMENT: Hennadii Ryabtsev, energy market analyst: “The termination of [natural gas] transit will in no way affect ordinary Ukrainians. Neither the amount of gas consumed in Ukraine nor its price depend on this. After all, sufficient measures have been taken in due time to minimize the impact the pressure in the transit pipe has on the distribution of gas within the country.”
January 1: Ukraine officially became the 125th state party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Ukrainian flag was hoisted among the flags of other state parties outside the ICC headquarters building in The Hague. 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,” a spokesperson for the ICC has said. The Ukrainian parliament ratified the Rome Statute in August 2024, 24 years since Kyiv first signed it. Ratification is a necessary step for an international agreement to hold sway over a sovereign country’s actions and citizens in specified areas.
December 30: Ukraine brought back 189 of its defenders as a result of a new PoW exchange on Monday. “We’ve brought back military service members: defenders of Azovstal and Mariupol, the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Zmiinyi (‘Snake’) Island, and servicemen from different frontline areas. They are soldiers, sergeants and officers. National Guard members returned as well, including Azov defenders, border guards, soldiers from territorial defense forces, the Navy and Armed Forces. There were also two civilians who were captured in Mariupol. Each of them has family and friends waiting for them at home. And it is a joy that we managed to bring them back. Today, 189 more families are happy”, President Zelensky said in a comment. In total, 3,956 people have been brought back from Russian captivity, including 1,358 released in 2024.
December 30: President Joe Biden said Monday that the United States will send nearly $2.5 billion more in weapons to Ukraine as his administration works quickly to spend all the money it has available to help Kyiv fight off Russia before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. The package includes $1.25 billion in presidential drawdown authority, which allows the military to pull existing stock from its shelves and get weapons to the battlefield faster. It also has $1.22 billion in longer-term weapons packages to be put on contract through the separate Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, or USAI. The weapons systems being pulled from existing stockpiles through this latest weapons package include counter-unmanned aerial systems munitions, air defense munitions, ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition, air-to-ground munitions, anti-armor systems, tube-launched missiles, fragmentation grenades, among other items and spare parts. Including Monday’s announcement, the U.S. has provided more than $65 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022.
December 30: The United States will provide Ukraine with $15 billion, backed by windfall revenues from immobilized Russian sovereign assets, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on Monday. The agreement was signed between Ukraine’s Finance Ministry and the World Bank, Shmyhal said. “These funds are part of the PEACE in Ukraine project and represent a portion of the $20 billion U.S. contribution under the G7 initiative, which will be allocated to social and humanitarian expenditures,” Shmyhal wrote on Telegram. The initiative was agreed upon in July by G7 leaders — comprising the U.K., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States — along with senior European Union officials. The majority of the frozen Russian assets are held in EU countries.
December 30: In addition to the weapons support, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced Monday that the U.S. is also providing $3.4 billion in economic assistance to Ukraine to help pay for critical government services during its ongoing fight against Russia. The money will pay salaries for civilian government and school employees, healthcare workers and first responders.
THE WAR AS IT IS
December 30: Honcharuk: Ukrainian drones are already flying up to 5 km high and, if necessary, will be made able to circle the globe
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December 30: Shorts: 59th POWs swap between Ukraine and Russia
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December 31: Shorts: Honcharuk: Up to 800 Ukrainian companies are engaged in production of drones
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December 31: Honcharuk: China’s embargo on drone components deliveries: pure business or a tangible threat?
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January 2: Video in Ukrainian/English: Ukraine has become the 125th state party to the ICC’s Rome Statute
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January 1: The aftermath of a Russian drone attack on Kyiv’s Svyatoshynsky District
January 3: An apartment building in Borodyanka damaged in a Russian strike has been restored back to operation
January 3: A Christmas tree made of spent shells in Kyiv
UKRAINIAN BATTLEFIELDS
Attacks on the Russian Federation and Russian occupied Ukraine:
December 31: The Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s HUR, a defense intelligence agency, took two Russian Mi-8 helicopters out of the sky using the Magura V5 explosive naval drone and missiles on Monday, HUR reported. The HUR detailed that the special forces of the “Group 13” unit were responsible for the destruction of the helicopters in an operation in the Black Sea off the Crimea coast. Ukraine’s HUR also said that it not only destroyed two Russian helicopters but killed all of the crew members on board. The Group 13 unit also managed to hit and damage another helicopter, but it was able to land safely. The use of the Magura V5 naval drone made history as it was the first time a sea drone has taken down an aerial target. The drone, which was armed with R-73 SeeDragon missiles, struck the Russian helicopters in a sea encounter in the Black Sea near Cape Tarkhankut in currently Russian occupied Crimea. This operation highlights Ukraine’s growing proficiency in leveraging advanced drone technologies to challenge Russian forces in contested areas, demonstrating both tactical innovation and resilience.
January 2: The AFU General Staff reported on a high-precision strike on Thursday on a Russian infantry brigade command post in Maryino, in the Russian region of Kursk, where Ukrainian forces hold chunks of territory after a major incursion last August. The Russian military said air defence units had downed four Ukrainian missiles in the region, and the regional governor said the strikes had damaged a high-rise apartment building and other buildings in a nearby village. “These strikes disrupt the ability of the Russian Federation to conduct terrorism against innocent Ukrainian civilians,” the General Staff said, adding that all necessary precautions were taken to minimize the risks to civilian lives and property.
January 7: Ukrainian forces launched a missile attack targeting personnel of Russian Black Sea Fleet’s 810th Naval Infantry Brigade who were stationed in Ivanovskoye, approximately 70 kilometres from Sudzha. The Ukrainians are persistently trying to eliminate the Russian 810th Brigade, whose soldiers have recently boasted, among other things, about executing Ukrainian prisoners of war. Videos emerged online showing the impact of the strike on buildings used as barracks, and reports from Russian Telegram channels mention a significant number of casualties. This is corroborated by the Russians who survived by sheltering in the building’s basement.
January 4: The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has successfully targeted Russia’s largest commercial port, Ust-Luga, in the Leningrad region, using long-range drones. The SBU drones reportedly traveled over 900 kilometers, coming dangerously close to St. Petersburg, and struck tanks containing gas condensate at the port. One tank was heavily damaged, with three others suffering shrapnel impacts from the explosion. Experts estimate that repairs could take over a month, contingent on material availability, while the terminal’s operations face significant disruptions. Ust-Luga, a vital logistics hub for Russia’s dark fleet of oil and LNG tankers, is a critical economic artery. By reducing the flow of foreign currency due to such strikes, the SBU weakens Russia’s war effort.
January 4: A hacker team from Ukraine’s defense intelligence service, the HUR, deployed a cyberattack targeting RegionTransService LLC, Russian company integral to managing rail cars’ movements and usage, and supporting military logistics. The operation rendered all of the compant’s servers and workstations inoperable, according to Suspilne public broadcaster. The attack, carried out on Saturday, left 78 servers fully out of service, 211 workstations disabled, and the all backup databases erased. This comprehensive disruption effectively paralyzed the company’s operations.
December 31: Ukrainian drone attack led to a significant fuel spill and fire at an oil depot located in Russia’s western Smolensk region, local governor Vasily Anokhin confirmed on Tuesday. Anokhin detailed the event on Telegram, claiming that Russian air defenses allegedly intercepted and shot down ten Ukrainian drones. However, the wreckage of one drone fell on the oil facility, causing the fire.
December 31: Russian authorities reported having shot down an UAV over the Shalkhi training ground in North Ossetia, with no casualties. A drone alert has been declared in the region, and Vladikavkaz airport suspended operations.
December 30: A team of Ukraine supporters staged a sabotage attack targeting Dmitrov station outside Moscow, causing irreparable damage to two railway engines that were to be sent to currently Russian occupied Ukraine.
Between Dec. 30 and Jan. 1, 2025, Ukraine’s defense intelligence service, the HUR, deployed a series of cyberattacks targeting Russia’s oil sector, paralyzing payment systems and digital platforms during the holiday season and causing widespread chaos and losses. The primary target of the attack was the digital resources of the oil company Lukoil, which provides supplies for Russia’s military. In the aftermath of the attacks, the company’s digital resources were compromised, preventing customers from making payments at gas stations via the mobile app. The digital systems of the smart terminal platform “Evotor” (including its website, user accounts, mobile app, and payment processing system) and the unified product digital marking system “Chestny Znak” were also affected, the HUR said.
HOSTILITIES
AFU Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky:
December 30: said that the invading army continues its “meat grinder” assaults in the Donetsk region, suffering record high losses amounting to an average of 1,700 personnel dead and severely wounded every day;
January 1: made a trip to the Kursk region of Russia to meet Ukrainian soldiers and present them with state awards; said that the Russian military has lost more than 38,000 personnel dead and wounded and over 1,000 pieces of armor and equipment destroyed or incapacitated fighting off the Ukrainian Kursk incursion;
January 5: said that the AFU’s Unmanned Systems Force began deploying fiberoptic controlled drones on the battlefield;
held a routine monthly meeting with the commanders of unmanned systems and electronic countermeasure units.
January 5: The AFU successfully engaged more than 54,000 targets, nearly half of them with self-explosive drones during December, AFU Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky said Sunday.
January 5: The AFU launched a new offensive in the Kursk region, assaulting from several different directions and reported to have won control over at least two villages – Novosotnytskoye and Berdyn in the district of Sudzha. In addition to Sudzha, Ukraine’s military are conducting an offensive on various stretches of the frontline on the territory of the Russian Federation, in particular in the area of the village of Tyotkino and, from the territory of Ukraine, towards the district capital of Glukhovo. Ukrainian forces fought off a distracting counterattack by Putin’s troops towards Malaya Loknya, which is controlled by the Ukraine’s Defense Forces.
January 3-4: Russia lost up to a battalion of North Korean soldiers and Russian assault troops in clashes near the village of Makhnovka, Kursk oblast.
December 29: Ukrainian defense intelligence killed a senior Russian commander in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region during an “ambush” operation with drones, Kyiv’s HUR spy agency said on Sunday. The HUR’s Kraken special operations unit “eliminated” Sergey Melnikov, the chief of staff of Russia’s Storm Ossetia battalion, [an assault force within Moscow’s 429th Motorized Rifle Regiment], the agency said in a press statement. The spy agency said Melnikov’s vehicle was traveling along a highway linking Vasylivka, a settlement on the Russian-controlled east bank of the Dnieper River, and the transport hub of Tokmak, another Moscow-held town in Zaporizhzhia. Ukrainian forces planned an “ambush” with first person-view (FPV) drones, the agency said, referring to cheap but often effective uncrewed aerial vehicles used extensively by both Moscow and Kyiv. The drone operators scared the driver of the vehicle carrying Melnikov: “The terrified Russian driver abruptly changed the trajectory of the vehicle, the vehicle flew into a ditch, and then the military intelligence officers hit the windshield with a kamikaze drone,” killing Melnikov and his driver. The HUR shared footage from an FPV drone, purporting to show the attack. The HUR’s Kraken unit is a renowned volunteer force, formed by veterans of Ukraine’s Azov Battalion who were at the forefront of defensive actions when Russian troops crossed over into Ukraine in February 2022.
In 2024, the Russian army took control of 4,168 square kilometers of land, mainly consisting of farmlands and small villages in eastern Ukraine and the Kursk region of Russia, having lost over 420,000 personnel dead and wounded. According to an assessment by the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the Russian army was losing an average of 102 soldiers per each square kilometer of Ukrainian land captured.
December 30: Ukrainian soldiers from the HUR defense intelligence service, supported by the Tavria Operational-Strategic Grouping of forces destroyed a Russian command post in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The joint operation left six invaders dead and three others seriously wounded.
December 31: the Russian military launched two assaults in a bid to win control over an island area in the Dnieper River mouth. Ukrainian defenders were able to contain the onslaught, having inflicted heavy losses on the assaulting Russian forces.
December 30: Ukraine’s defense forces delivered four precision strikes targeting Russian military personnel and equipment concentrations and ammunition storage facilities, in addition to six other critical targets. Air-launched rockets, missiles and artillery guns were reported to have been used in the attacks.
January 2: Ukraine’s Defense Forces shot down 1,310 cruise and ballistic missiles, in addition to 7,800 Iranian-supplied Shahed self-explosive drones launched by the Russian military against Ukraine during 2024, according to President Zelensky.
January 2: the invading Russian forces are endeavoring to encircle and seize control over the strategic town of Pokrovsk, but are yet far from reaching that target. The town is large enough and well fortified, making Russian troops avoid frontal assaults. At the same time, the adversary bogged down in urban fighting in other strategic locations, particularly Chasiv Yar and Kurakhove.
January 2: The situation in Chasiv Yar remains low-risk, with the adversary attempting to cross over the Siversky Donets-Donbas canal, which divides the city apart. The enemy has curbed the pace and intensity of its assaults on a refractory materials plant, one of its key targets in the area.
January 2: The invading Russian forces continue offensive operations aimed to win control over the strategic highway connecting Kurakhove to Zaporizhzhia city. The situation remains challenging for Ukrainian defenders.
January 3: More than 50,000 inquiries have been submitted by Russians seeking missing soldiers through Ukraine’s “I Want to Find” project, Bohdan Okhrimenko, head of the Coordinating Center Secretariat, said Friday. “These numbers only encompass those who are unafraid to contact us,” Okhrimenko said, adding that the actual number of Russian soldiers missing in action can be much higher. Initially part of the “I Want to Live” hotline — launched in September 2022 by Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) to help Russian soldiers surrender — the branch “I Want to Find” project was launched to handle inquiries from Russian families about missing soldiers. Okhrimenko criticized Russia’s lack of effort in recovering or identifying the missing, saying, “Many remain scattered across Ukrainian fields, their remains carried by stray animals. Russia shows little interest in getting them identified.” Russia has lost 793,250 troops in Ukraine as of January 3, according to statistics from the AFU’s General Staff.
January 3: the strategic town of Pokrovsk remains to be the focal point of Russian offensive effort and the key line of defense for Ukrainian troops.
January 4: Soldiers from the AFU’s 37th Naval Infantry Brigade repelled a Russian assault towards Kurakhove, wiping out up to two infantry squads and three armored vehicles.
January 4: the Russian invaders destroyed several fortifications of Defense Forces in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, particularly in the areas of Chasiv Yar and Toretsk. Ukrainian defenders are taking measures to preclude the adversary from winning more tactical gains in the locations.
January 3: the invading Russian troops launched two assaults on Ukrainian defensive lines near Bilohorivka, the Luhansk region, but failed to succeed.
January 4: Soldiers from the AFU’s 41st Independent Mechanized Brigade thwarted a Russian armored assault on their bridgehead they captured as part of the Kursk incursion.
January 5: fierce fighting continues in Toretsk, with the line of battle dividing the town apart. The enemy, employing the “scorched earth” tactics, is endeavoring to ruin the infrastructure and the Ukrainian defenses in town.
THE WEEK IN NUMBERS AND PICTURES
Russian drone and missile attacks on the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv left 15 civilians dead and 105 others injured over the week reviewed.
WAR AFTERMATH
Human Losses & War Crimes
Ukraine lost 574 civilians dead and 3,082 others injured in the aftermath of Russian drone and missile strikes during the three Fall months of 2024.
Alexi Lysander, a Finnish volunteer soldier died in action defending Ukraine against Russian invaders. Eternal memory to the Hero…
Anton Vovk, the music editor for the popular Ukrainian cooking show “MasterChef” and several other projects, died in action fighting in Sudzha, Russia’s Kursk region. Eternal memory to the Hero…
Russia holds captive 70 defenders of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
The aftermath of Russia’s aerial raids on civilian infrastructures in Ukraine includes 121 infant schools reduced to ruins and 1,222 others severely damaged.
Russia’s military deployed 318 aerial attacks on Kharkiv city during 2024, killing 94 civilians and injuring in excess of 1,100 others.
In the Kyiv region, 4,791 persons are declared missing since the inception of the all-out military invasion by Russia. The Kyiv Regional Police reported on more than 28,600 criminal offences relating to war crimes since the onset of Russia’s war of aggression, including 851 offenses reported for 2024.
Employees of the Explosives Service at the Main Police Department for the Kyiv Region have carried out 3,516 official inspections, having taken away 6,848 unlawfully possessed munitions and parts thereof since the outset of the all-out war in February 2022.
Economy
Harvesting acreage in Ukraine has shrunk by 20 percent since the onset of Russia’s invasion.
UKRAINE’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR 2024
DEFENSE AND SECURITY
Ukraine was able to recover 3,956 citizens from Russian captivity over the duration of all-out war, including 1,358 released in 2024, according to President Zelensky.
The Ministry of Defense codified and approved for operational use over 20 armored combat vehicle products, most of them made locally in Ukraine.
The Ministry of Defense approved over 1,300 weapons and military equipment products for operational use, including 975 products (75 percent) developed and manufactured domestically in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Navy’s missile and explosive naval drone units deployed dozens of successful attacks targeting about five dozen Russian military facilities, located particularly in occupied Crimea, according to Navy Commander, Oleksiy Neizhpapa.
Ukraine’s air defenses shot down more than 1,300 missiles of diversified classes, 11,200 one-way attack drones, 3,200 operational-tactical reconnaissance UAVs, in addition to 40 fixed-wing and six rotary-wing targets over past year.
The AFU’s 46th Airmobile Brigade deployed on Kurakhove axis fended off 1,318 assaults, wiping out 4,206 Russian troops and destroying 118 hostile tanks, 63 artillery gun systems, 2,318 UAVs of diverse purposes, and 243 armored security vehicles.
SOCIETY
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal:
Described Ukraine’s resilience, adaptability and rapid responses to multiple challenges as key accomplishments achieved during the third year of all-out war invasion of Ukraine by Russia;
Ukraine spent over half its national budget on defense and security in 2024;
The Diia, a mobile app, a web portal and a brand of e-governance in Ukraine, has raised nearly 22 million users, providing more than 30 services via its App and over 120 services via its web portal.
Oleksandr Usyk is BoxingScene’s 2024 Fighter of the Year. The BoxingScene team unanimously voted one winner for Fighter of the Year and, somewhat ironically, it was the only category in the year-end BoxingScene awards with an undisputed winner.
ECONOMY
Ukraine exported a record high 746,300 metric tons of refined sugar worth $419 million in 2024;
The Ministry of Community and Territorial Development solicited in excess of $1,115 billion worth of investment in recovery, reconstruction, and development projects in Ukraine during 2024.
International financial organizations, in 2024, disbursed more than $780 million in funding for the recovery, reconstruction and modernization of infrastructure in Ukrainian communities – Alena Shkrum, First Vice Minister for Community and Territorial Development.
UKRAINIAN HOME FRONT
President Volodymyr Zelensky:
signed into law legislation that disbands medical and sanitary expert committees (MSECs);
appointed human rights defender Olha Reshetylova to the role of Military Ombudsman;
enacted legislation to extend the duration of privileges for the import of components used in the production of drones, ammunition, and artillery shells among other defense-related products;
enacted law on support for philanthropists and volunteer organizations;
December 30: dismissed the heads of state administrations for the Kyiv and Poltava regions;
December 30: dismissed Roman Mashovets as deputy head of the Presidential Office;
December 31: appointed Andrii Tupikov as the Head of Counterintelligence at the Security Service of Ukraine;
January 2: listened to reports from Ministers Andrii Sybiha for Foreign Affairs and Vitaly Koval for Agrarian Policy on the outcomes of the negotiations they held in Damascus;
January 2: issued a decree that paves the way for service members with a university degree and civilian leadership experience to be promoted to officer ranks up to Colonel and appointed to leadership roles within the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Thus, from now on, soldiers and non-commissioned officers with at least two years of experience in civilian leadership positions and a university degree or higher can be promoted to the rank of junior lieutenant with simultaneous promotion to an officer’s position. The legislation stipulates that these service members are no longer subject to restrictions based on their staffing category. Additionally, they are exempt from the requirements for mandatory military training or the signing of an additional contract. On top of that, service members with a bachelor’s degree and who have completed an officer training course can be promoted to junior lieutenant and assume corresponding officer positions.
Enacted legislation that empowers military personnel to be discharged from service amid martial law in the event of the death or disappearance of their half-brother or sister.
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A record-breaking $160 million was raised through the United24 platform in aid to Ukraine during December 2024.
Over 5,000 favorable decisions have already been made to allow AFU soldiers to change duty station based on relevant reports submitted through the Army+ app.
December 30: The Ministry of Justice restored the operation of three key notarial registers affected by a massive Russian cyberattack on December 19. Thus, after the large-scale cyberattack, the Unified Register of Powers of Attorney, the Inheritance Register and the Unified Register of Special Forms of Notarial Documents became operational.
The Cabinet of Ministers:
appointed Ruslan Kravchenko as the head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine, and Philip Pronin as the head of the State Financial Monitoring Service;
amended procedures for border crossing by men aged 18 to 25 during the validity of Martial Law.
December 30: After a two-year break, the Flash of the Christmas Star Festival returned to Lviv. Hundreds of people walked down the streets of Lviv singing carols. Many of them were carrying traditional Christmas stars signifying the birth of baby Jesus. This year’s event saw hundreds of Lviv city residents and visitors from across Ukraine participating in the Christmas procession, the first that took place since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Students of the Ivan Karpenko-Kary Kyiv National University of Theater, Cinema, and Television discovered and handed over to the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Center, [Ukraine’s largest movie archive] an archive copy of the 1936 movie “Karl Brunner”.
The Diia web portal has added a feature that empowers company managers and other authorized persons to cancel conscription deferrals for draft eligible employees.
From January 1, 2025:
a new Law “On Preschool Education” will come into force in Ukraine. The workload of educators will be optimized to allow salary hikes and improved working environments. Parents will be able to take advantage of greater flexibility thanks to improved territorial accessibility of kindergartens and the ability to choose forms of education. There will also be a variety of groups in kindergartens – age-specific, mixed-age, inclusive, and special, with different educational programs;
disability status will be established based on an assessment of a person’s daily functioning;
the cost of issuing a passport of a citizen of Ukraine in the form of an ID-card and a passport of a citizen of Ukraine for traveling abroad, as well as temporary and permanent residence permits will increase due to price hikes on printing and materials;
Ukraine’s defense minister announced a comprehensive inspection of the command of the Land Forces following the request from its new commander, Maj. Gen. Mykhailo Drapatiy. The MoD inspectors will evaluate 1) the organizational structure of the command, duties and responsibilities of its officers; 2) the effectiveness of command and control procedures; and 3) probes of possible law breaches;
more than 1,000 expert teams employing over 4,500 doctors took over the responsibilities previously held by MSECs. Pending cases on establishing disability status will be handed over from MSECs to newly established expert teams at hospitals.
Ukrainian defenders who suffered wounds and injuries while in action will be provided with individual Hospital Care Packages beginning in 2025. The content of the package and the procedure for receiving it have yet to be decided on.
January 3: The Ministry of Defense has greenlighted a new anti-corruption program 2025-26, with systemic improvements envisaged in key areas of the ministry’s activities – including the inventory of military property, the creation of an automated system for managing military housing waiting lists, the improvement of defense and security legislation, and ensuring procurement transparency — based on a culture of integrity and responsibility among military officials and civil servants.
The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Lviv extended for another 60 days until January 12, 2025 the term of detention, without the right to bail, of Vyacheslav Zinchenko, the suspect in the assassination of Iryna Farion.
WAR ECONOMY
The balance of funds exceeded UAH 100 billion on the NBU’s single treasury account, and UAH 163 billion on the foreign currency account, breaking a record high.
In Chernivtsi city, municipal tourist fees collected in January-November 2024 exceeded UAH 2.6 million, representing a year-on-year growth of nearly UAH 400,000.
From January 1, 2025, the natural gas transportation tariff for domestic and commercial consumers in Ukraine will grow fourfold – up to UAH 501.97 per 1,000 cubic meters (plus VAT).
The Finance Ministry received $41.7 billion in aid from international partners in 2024, allowing to fully secure social payments in conditions of significant defense spending.
Since the beginning of the 2024/2025 marketing year (MY), Ukraine has exported 21.507 million tons of grain and leguminous crops.
In 2024, Ukrainian exports grew 13.4 percent year-on-year, up to $41 billion.
During 2024, about UAH 2.2 trillion worth of taxes, fees and mandatory payments was transferred to the base national budget.
The Cabinet of Ministers extended until March 31, 2026 the term of lending for farm producers via Affordable Loans 5-7-9 program.
In 2024, the share of the “dark market” for tobacco products in Ukraine fell from 25.7 percent to 12.6 percent of the total market.
In 2024, the government raised an equivalent of almost UAH 640 billion from the auctioning of domestic government bonds on internation trading platforms.
In 2024, the European Union became the largest donor for Ukraine, providing $17.3 billion in aid under the Ukraine Facility financial instrument.
In December 2024, Ukraine’s farm exports fell 11.1 percent from the previous month, down to 5.5 million tons.
ALLIED AND PARTNERS’ AID
Visit by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha to Syria and Lebanon:
December 30: A Ukrainian delegation led by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha arrived in Damascus, Syria, on a surprise visit for talks with the de facto leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa. At a press briefing in Damascus alongside his Syrian counterpart Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated:
– Ukraine is ready and willing to provide more humanitarian aid to Syria. Tomorrow, more than two dozen trucks will arrive in Syria, delivering 500 tons of Ukrainian flour as part of the humanitarian aid program Grain from Ukraine;
– Ukraine is ready to relay to Syria its experience in defense and security, evidence collection, and in investigating and prosecuting war criminals.
As part of his visit to Syria, Mr Sybiha hoisted the Ukrainian flag over the spire on Ukraine’s Consulate building in Damascus and met with members of the Ukrainian community in Syria.
During his visit to Syria, Minister for Agrarian Policy and Food Vitalii Koval met Minister of Agriculture Mohamed Al Ahmad to discuss potential avenues of cooperation in the farming sector.
As part of his Middle East tour, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha, accompanied by Minister for Agrarian Policy and Food Vitalii Koval, visited Lebanon. In Beirut, the Foreign Minister and members of the Ukrainian delegation met Lebanese government officials, political and religious leaders, and held a separate meeting with community members. The talks with Lebanon’s Minister of Telecommunications were focused on cybersecurity issues and Ukraine’s experience in digital transformation. The parties agreed to advance partnership in these domains.
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January 1: Poland took over the Presidency of the Council of the EU from Hungary, with focus on security in its different dimensions, including external and internal security of the EU. It will also include information security, economic security, energy security, as well as food security and health security.
Lithuania and Rheinmetall are beginning construction of a modern production plant for 155mm artillery ammunition. The necessary contracts, including a land lease agreement and a supply contract for the procurement of 155mm ammunition, were signed at a ceremony held on 29 November 2024. With the start of construction in Baisogala, Lithuania is taking a further step towards strengthening its defense sector. A state-of-the-art production facility, including a shell manufacturing and load assembly pack, is being built in the municipality on an area of around 340 hectares. The facility will begin operations from mid-2026 and, once completed, will be able to produce tens of thousands of 155mm calibre artillery shells per year. 180 million euros are invested directly in Lithuania. Around 150 jobs will be created locally. Local companies and the local economy will be integrated into the value chain.
December 30: Finnish authorities investigating damage to subsea power and data cables found drag marks on the seabed likely left by the anchor of seized tanker Eagle S. Working under water, “we have been able to identify the dragging track at the seabed from the beginning to the end,” Sami Paila, detective chief inspector and tactical leader from Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation, said in a statement on Sunday. The track is “dozens of kilometers in length,” he said, adding that it hasn’t been possible to establish where the ship’s anchor detached from its chain. Finland has already identified the Eagle S as the culprit in the breakage of the power link. The tanker was moved to an anchorage near the port of Kilpilahti on Saturday. Poor weather hampered investigations both on board the vessel and at the underwater site on Sunday, the police said. The vessel, sailing under the Cook Islands flag, has been detained as the police probe possible aggravated criminal mischief. Authorities believe one of the ship’s anchors, which they found to be missing, severed a 170-kilometer (105-mile) electricity line that connects Finland to Estonia on Dec. 25. Since then, four underwater data cables have also been experiencing disruptions.
December 30: The OSCE Troika members — Malta, North Macedonia, and Finland — issued a statement in which they reaffirm their steadfast support for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. “We applaud the resilience of the Ukrainian people and pledge continued support, including through the CiO’s Special Representative – Project Co-ordinator and the extra-budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine…. We strongly condemn Russia’s ongoing war of aggression. This war is a grave violation of the UN Charter and a flagrant breach of OSCE principles and commitments under the Helsinki Final Act,” the statement says. With this statement, the Troika called on the Russian Federation to immediately cease all hostilities and withdraw its forces from Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders, including Crimea.
January 3: Republican Mike Johnson won reelection as Speaker of the House on Friday, January 3. Johnson won on a razor-thin margin of 218 votes to 215. Three Republicans initially defected from Johnson, but two eventually changed their votes to Johnson after briefly meeting with him, giving him the win. Republicans now officially control the House and Senate, and new and reelected members have been sworn in. Congress will meet again on Monday to certify President-elect Donald Trump’s election win. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated the 119th convocation of the US Congress on his X page and personally Republican Mike Johnson on his re-election as House Speaker.
January 5: Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia have paid voluntary contribution to the UNESCO Fund for the Elimination of Doping in Sport for Ukraine.
January 4: Russia considered a nuclear strike on Ukraine. China has warned Moscow against using nuclear weapons, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Financial Times. The United States was “very concerned” because Russian President Vladimir Putin was probably considering a nuclear option against Ukraine, Blinken said, adding, “Even if the probability went from 5 to 15 per cent, when it comes to nuclear weapons, nothing is more serious”. The United States has reason to believe that China has reached out to Russia and said: “Don’t go there”. Blinken furthermore said that a similar dynamic could have taken place when the US informed China that Putin was planning to place nuclear weapons in space. He also denied suggestions that President Joe Biden’s administration had been slow to provide weapons to Ukraine, saying it had to take into account a number of factors, such as the ability to operate and maintain the systems.
December 30: Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, died peacefully Sunday, Dec. 29, at his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family. He was 100, the longest-lived president in U.S. history. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky offered his condolences to all Americans and Jimmy Carter’s family. Volodymyr Zelensky noted that Carter was a leader who served as president when Ukraine had not yet gained independence, “however, his heart was always with us when we had to fight for freedom.” “We deeply appreciate his steadfast commitment to Christian faith and democratic values, as well as his unwavering support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s unprovoked aggression,” Zelensky emphasized.
January 7: US President-elect Donald Trump, at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, blamed the outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden for Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine. Trump said Biden’s support of Ukraine’s NATO membership had led to Russia’s war against the country. “No, they [the Ukrainians – ed.] should be able to join NATO. Well, then Russia has somebody right on their doorstep. But I can understand their feelings about that”, he said. Asked about the Ukraine war, Trump said that he hopes to end the fighting within half a year. “I hope long before six months,” Trump said, when asked if he could solve the war within half a year. During his election campaign, Trump said he could end the conflict in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office.
December 31: the US Treasury Department said that Chinese state-sponsored hackers breached the department’s security earlier in December 2024 and accessed employees workstations and documents. The Treasury Department described the breach as a “major incident” in a letter written to the US lawmakers. “With access to the stolen key, the threat actor was able to override the service’s security, remotely access certain Treasury (Departmental Office) user workstations, and access certain unclassified documents maintained by those users,” the treasury letter further added. Moreover, the US agency announced that it will work with the FBI and other agencies to investigate the “major incident” and the impact of the breach. It was also found that the hackers used a third-party software service provider called BeyondTrust to get into the department, and it has been shut down since then. However, officials noted that there was no evidence that the hackers have continued to access the information again.
January 2: Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico has threatened to cut financial support for more than 130,000 Ukrainian refugees as a dispute with Ukraine over Russian gas supplies escalates. On 1 January, Kyiv shut off a pipeline that for decades was used to supply Central Europe with Russian natural gas. Slovakia had been the main entry point, and the country now stands to lose millions of euros in transit fees. The UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) estimated last month that there were 130,530 Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia out of 6,813,900 globally. Fico – who in December made a surprise visit to Moscow for talks with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin – described Kyiv’s move as “sabotage”. The prime minister of the EU state said he would propose halting electricity exports to Ukraine and also “sharply reducing” financial support for Ukrainians who have found shelter in Slovakia. He said there was no risk of Slovakia itself suffering from gas shortages, as it had already made alternative arrangements. But Fico added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to turn off the taps would deprive Slovakia of 500m euros in transit fees from other countries. He said his party was ready to debate “halting supplies of electricity” and the “significant lowering of support for Ukrainian citizens in Slovakia”. “The only alternative for a sovereign Slovakia is renewal of transit or demanding compensation mechanisms that will replace the loss in public finances,” he added. Last month Zelensky accused Fico of helping Putin to “fund the war and weaken Ukraine”. “Fico is dragging Slovakia into Russia’s attempts to cause more suffering for Ukrainians,” the Ukrainian president had said. Poland has offered to support Kyiv in case Slovakia cuts off its electricity exports – supplies that are crucial to Ukraine, whose power plants come under regular attack from Russia. Poland’s government called Ukraine’s shutdown of Russian gas supplies “another victory” against Moscow while the European Commission said the EU had prepared for the change and most states could cope. Slovakia’s state-controlled transmission system operator SEPS said it will continue supplying electricity to Ukraine as part of an emergency assistance contract, despite threats from Fico. SEPS said it would continue its cooperation with the state-owned energy company Ukrenergo under a valid contract extended last spring for another 12 months. The contract stipulates that the Slovak company can supply Ukraine with up to 150 megawatts of electricity for emergency assistance.
COMMENT: Andriy Veselovsky, diplomat, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, advisor to the director of the National Institute for Strategic Studies: “There are many reasons behind Fico’s actions. The first reason is that Slovakia is headed by a prime minister whose ruling coalition is currently struggling to maintain a majority in parliament. The Slovak prime minister needs to constantly influence public opinion in order to stay in power.”
January 3: Demonstrations took place against Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico on Friday over his pro-Moscow stance as well as his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month. Friday’s protest in Bratislava, the Slovak capital, came weeks after PM Fico’s meeting with Putin and a day after he threatened to cut financial aid for more than 130,000 Ukrainian refugees living in the country, in retaliation to Ukraine’s decision to terminate Russian gas deliveries via its territory to Slovakia. Around 4,000 people held EU and Slovak flags and various signs, with some reading “We are Europe” and “Treason!”. Fico met with Putin on 22 December in Moscow to discuss gas supplies, among other issues. He became the third EU leader to visit Putin in the Kremlin since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 after Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
December 31: The websites of several French cities were taken down on Tuesday after being targeted by pro-Russian hackers. The NoName hacker team claimed the attacks, which they described as retaliation for French support for Ukraine.
January 1: Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has extended his condolences and sympathies to the people of Montenegro as well as to the families of the victims, following the shooting incident in Cetinje on January 1. A gunman has killed 12 people, including two children, in a series of shootings in southern Montenegro. Authorities said the man – later identified as Aco Martinovic, 45 – had been drinking heavily all day when he got into an altercation with another guest at a restaurant in the Cetinje area on Tusday. After the argument, Martinovic went home to retrieve a weapon, then returned to the restaurant and began his rampage, killing several customers. Martinovic then drove to five other locations and shot several more people, including members of his immediate and extended family. The restaurant owner and his children, aged 10 and 13, were also killed. Police tracked Martinovic down after an hours-long manhunt. When they ordered him to drop his weapon during a stand-off, he fatally injured himself and died as he was being transported to hospital. Four people were taken to hospital after being seriously wounded in the shooting. Three of them were in a stable but life-threatening condition, authorities said, while one was in critical condition.
Poland has launched a production line to manufacture uncrewed aerial vehicles for Ukraine. The two countries continue collaboratively manufacturing arms and ammunition.
January 2: China on Thursday singled out dozens of companies from the United States, including Raytheon, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, in a series of punitive trade measures that could ratchet up tensions between the two superpowers. With weeks to go before President-elect Donald J. Trump takes the office with a promise to impose new tariffs and sanctions on China, Beijing is once again showing it is ready to strike back. China’s Ministry of Commerce said it added 28 companies to an export control list to “safeguard national security and interests.” It also banned the export of so-called dual-use items, which have both civilian and military applications, to those companies. And it placed 10 companies on what it calls an “unreliable entities list” related to the sale of arms to Taiwan, preventing them from doing any business in China and prohibiting their executives from entering or living in the country.
January 3: The Department of the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Integrity Technology Group, Incorporated (Integrity Tech), a Beijing-based cybersecurity company, for its role in multiple computer intrusion incidents against U.S. victims. These incidents have been publicly attributed to Flax Typhoon, a Chinese malicious state-sponsored cyber group that has been active since at least 2021, often targeting organizations within U.S. critical infrastructure sectors. Chinese malicious cyber actors continue to be one of the most active and most persistent threats to U.S. national security, as highlighted in the most recent Office of the Director of National Intelligence Annual Threat Assessment. These actors continue to target U.S. government systems as part of their efforts, including the recent targeting of Treasury’s own IT infrastructure. “The Treasury Department will not hesitate to hold malicious cyber actors and their enablers accountable for their actions,” said Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith. “The United States will use all available tools to disrupt these threats as we continue working collaboratively to harden public and private sector cyber defenses.”
January 2: The shutdown of Russian gas supplies to Moldova’s breakaway Transnistria region has forced the closure of all industrial companies except food producers. The mainly Russian-speaking territory of about 450,000 people, which split from Moldova in the 1990s as the Soviet Union collapsed, has suffered a painful and immediate hit from Wednesday’s cut-off of Russian gas supplies to central and eastern Europe via Ukraine. “All industrial enterprises are idle, with the exception of those engaged in food production – that is, directly ensuring food security for Transdnistria,” Sergei Obolonik, first deputy prime minister of the region, told a local news channel. “It is too early to judge how the situation will develop … The problem is so extensive that if it is not resolved for a long time, we will already have irreversible changes – that is, enterprises will lose their ability to start up.“ The head of the Moldovan national gas company Moldovagaz, Vadim Ceban, said his company had told the gas distribution company in the separatist enclave, Tiraspoltransgaz, that it was willing to help buy gas from European countries to ease shortages. But any gas supplied to the region would have to be paid for at market prices, he told TV8 television. Transnistria has for several years paid nothing for supplies from the Russian gas giant Gazprom under a tacit understanding with Moscow. Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has described the end of Russian gas transit as “one of Moscow’s biggest defeats” and urged the US to supply more gas to Europe.
WAR&LIFE
January 2/ What makes culture crucial for and integral to Ukraine’s national security
QUOTE: “The Russian Empire has always expropriated our history and sought to destroy our culture, and with it our identity. In the third year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the understanding has clearly crystallized that culture is key to our national security.
January 3/ The first days without gas transit: no “horror stories” came true
QUOTE: “Our gas transportation system is now used exclusively to provide fuel to domestic consumers. At the same time, forecasts about the likely adverse consequences of such a move for our country have not come true as this hasn’t entailed interruptions in gas supply nor “sky-high” tariffs. Indeed, due to the lack of transit, we will lose approximately $800 million per year, but the aggressor will not receive $4.5-5 billion, even $6 billion, according to some expert assessments. And most importantly: it will ultimately lose a serious leverage to influence on the EU, which was significantly weakened back in 2022.”
January 4/ Military Ombudsman is an integral component to military justice reform
QUOTE: “The military ombudsman’s office should have at least 3 territorial branches, employing in total about 150 people with access to state secrets. Furthermore, the Office of Military Ombudsman should have its structural units launched across the defense and public security sector to effectively safeguard the rights of military personnel”.
Compiled by Maryna Dmytriv, Kyiv
Source: Ukraine Latest: Weekly Digest for December 30, 2024 – January 5, 2025
