In our weekly digest, you will learn about the latest news in Ukraine, key events and international support for Ukraine provided by partners to strengthen Ukraine’s economy and defense capabilities. We will tell you about the events that are changing the world and affecting our future.
Donald Trump takes the oath of office as President of the United States
Donald Trump has been sworn in as the 47th President of the United States of America (USA) inside the central Rotunda in the Capitol. J.D. Vance also took the oath of office as Vice President of the United States. This was reported by Suspilne correspondents.
Due to the cold weather in Washington, Trump ordered the oath to be taken indoors in the Capitol Rotunda. The last time Ronald Reagan took the oath there was in 1985, when the temperature dropped to 14 degrees below zero during the day.
On the eve of his inauguration, Trump said he would end the war in Ukraine and plan to create a powerful missile defense system to protect the United States.
Trump emphasized that one of his top foreign policy priorities would be to resolve the war in Ukraine.
I will end the war in Ukraine. I will stop the chaos in the Middle East and prevent World War III, and you have no idea how close we are to that. We will destroy violent crime in our cities and provide our police with the support, protection, resources and respect they so deserve, – Trump said.
Trump did not specify how he plans to achieve a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine. Earlier, he had repeatedly made statements about an early end to the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine returns bodies of 757 fallen defenders
As a result of repatriation activities, the bodies of 757 fallen Ukrainian defenders have been returned to Ukraine.
This was reported by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War on Friday, January 24.
They were returned to Ukraine “on a shield”:
- 451 defenders from the Donetsk sector;
- 71 from the Bakhmut sector;
- 51 from the Vuhledar direction;
- 13 from the Luhansk sector;
- 137 from the Zaporizhzhia sector;
- 34 dead were returned from morgues in the Russian Federation.
Orbán wants to force Ukraine to resume Russian gas transit in exchange for sanctions against Russia
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán believes that Ukraine should resume transit of Russian gas if it wants to extend European sanctions against Russia.
Orbán’s statement was quoted by TELEX.
Viktor Orbán said that Hungarians should not have to pay the bills for sanctions. According to him, the termination of Russian gas transit has led to an increase in energy prices in Hungary. He is also trying to persuade European officials in Brussels to force Ukraine to resume gas transit.
All it takes is a phone call: dear Ukrainian comrades, open the valves, – Orbán said.
DPRK lost about a thousand soldiers in Kursk region of Russia
As of mid-January 2025, about a thousand North Korean soldiers who took part in the war against Ukraine were killed in the Kursk region of Russia. The BBC reports this with reference to Western officials.
Referring to the data of Western officials, the publication notes that as of mid-January, the total number of wounded, killed, missing and captured soldiers of the DPRK army amounted to about four thousand, of whom about a thousand were killed.
According to the BBC’s security correspondent Frank Gardner, this is a very high figure, given that about 11,000 troops were sent to help Russia in the Kursk region.
It is not yet known where the wounded North Koreans are being treated, when and to what extent they will be replaced.
Allies to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine in the near future – Scholz
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Ukraine’s partner countries will discuss security guarantees after the war in the near future. But, according to him, peace is still far away. He said this in an interview with the German newspaper Rheinische Post.
First, it would be good if the war in Ukraine ended. But even then, we would still have to give Ukraine a secure future. Then we will be talking about security guarantees and how Ukraine can maintain a strong army that we can equip together, – Scholz said.
He also added that nothing should be decided without Ukraine. The chancellor clarified that Germany has a budget deficit of 25 billion euros, and therefore cannot increase aid to Ukraine and start spending 2% of GDP on defense, as NATO requires of its members.
IAEA chief to visit Ukraine and Russia in the coming weeks
The head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, said that he intends to visit Ukraine and Russia in the next few weeks. Rafael Grossi told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 22, Suspilne reports.
Grossi also said that the IAEA is “concerned about the increased military activity near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant”.
Grossi will visit Russia in February, the Russian news agency Interfax reported on Tuesday, citing the head of the Russian state nuclear energy company, the news agency said.
Ukraine and Albania sign an agreement on long-term cooperation
Ukraine will never recognize the occupied territories as part of the aggressor country Russia, despite possible pressure from its partners. This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting with representatives of the International Media Council in Davos, reports Suspilne.
Legally, we do not recognize (the temporarily occupied territories – ed.) – no matter what anyone wants. Even if all the allies of the world unite, we do not legally recognize the occupied territories. It is impossible. Until we return there, they will always be occupied by Russia, and it cannot be otherwise, – he said.
The President confirmed that the priority is to end the hot stage of the war, but for this, Ukraine needs security guarantees.
Zelenskyy also said that dialogue with Russia should be conducted only from a position of strength.
Putin cannot be subjectified in this story. He has violated everything. He is guilty and must realize it. But he cannot be stopped if you talk to him on an equal footing – it is a loss for Ukraine, – he said.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry won’t recognize Lukashenko as president after Belarus “elections”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine believes that there are no grounds to call the vote in Belarus on January 26 presidential elections. This was announced by Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi.
There is nothing unexpected for us in this event. And its results are, in principle, known in advance, – he said.
He added that Alexander Lukashenko will continue to be an ally and accomplice of Putin in his war against Ukraine. The Foreign Ministry sees no prerequisites for resuming contacts with Lukashenko, so “the issue of recognizing his legitimacy after the official results are announced is not relevant for us”.
We believe that the Belarusian people deserve the right to elect their government in truly democratic, free, competitive elections and to build their own future without Russia’s dictates, without its imperial encroachments and without Moscow’s desire to impose the role of controlled puppets on its neighbors, as is happening now, – Heorhii Tykhyi summarized.
It should be reminded that in the last presidential election in 2020, many citizens voted for opposition leader Svitlana Tikhanovska. But in the end, Svitlana Tikhanovska lost the election, which the international community called rigged. But her campaign became extremely popular, energizing the weak Belarusian opposition and bringing tens of thousands of people to the streets to protest the election results.
Russians shoot six Ukrainian prisoners of war
The Russian army shot six Ukrainian soldiers who were taken prisoner. The video was published by Russian telegram channels, and Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets reacted to it.
In the video, the Russians recorded six Ukrainian soldiers being shot in the back. The video breaks off when the seventh soldier is lying on the ground, his fate is unknown.
During the shooting, Russian soldiers order the Ukrainian soldiers to “lie down and shut up”, and the “cameraman” of the crime says “One is mine”, and later he is seen firing a series of bullets into the back of one of the prisoners of war.
The Ombudsman said he was sending information about the crime to the UN and the ICRC.
The Prosecutor General’s Office has launched an investigation into the killing of Ukrainian soldiers by Russians under the article on war crimes. The prosecutor’s office clarified that the soldiers were taken prisoner during an assault on their positions in Donetsk region.
Kateryna Yashchuk
