Daily News And Information From Ukraine

Daily News And Information From Ukraine


Dispatches from Ukraine. Day 367.

As Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues and the war rages on, reliable sources of information are critical. Forbes gathers information and provides updates on the

Mariupol. Preliminary reports from the city council say that an ammunition depot in Russian-occupied Mariupol exploded in flames yesterday, allegedly due to a Ukrainian attack. Russian military forces suffered 50 dead and critically wounded as well as the loss of two infantry fighting vehicles, one tank and one self-propelled gun.

Ukraine’s General Staff recently released a report detailing the troubling situation faced by Ukrainian nationals in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, who are reportedly under growing pressure and subject to relentless searches of their homes. The Russian army also allegedly has established a torture chamber in the village of Vasylivka, where pro-Ukrainian civilians are held in custody.

The Ukrainian parliament has passed a draft law that proposes legislative amendments regarding improvements considered crucial to protecting national borders. If adopted, the bill would authorize an extension of Ukraine’s borders with Russia and Belarus up to two kilometers backed by mine fields. In addition to border protection measures, the new law addresses the assignment of regular Ukrainian military forces in border protection missions and the role of border guards in the general system of wartime defense forces.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced at a press conference in Kyiv today that he welcomes certain aspects of China’s proposed peace plan and intends to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at an unspecified time. Zelenskyy said there were points in the Chinese proposals that he agreed with “and there are those that we don’t.” Zelenskyy also warned China against supplying arms to Russia, repeated that he would not hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and voiced his hope for more Israeli support for Ukraine.

Guatemala has announced that it will be the first Latin American state to join Ukraine’s Core Group on the Special tribunal for prosecuting Russian war crimes committed since the war began. Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba, who made the announcement, described Guatemala as “our true friend.” Kuleba recently conferred with his Guatemalan counterpart, Mario Adolfo Bucaro Flores, in New York, where they discussed joint efforts to hold Russia accountable for its aggression. On January 19, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on member states to back the creation of a special international tribunal to judge Russian war crimes committed in Ukraine, specifically the crime of aggression. The resolution urged EU member states to take “immediate” steps towards establishing the tribunal in cooperation with Ukraine. On January 26, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) unanimously demanded the creation of a special international criminal tribunal to prosecute Russian and Belarusian political and military leaders involved in Russia’s crime of aggression against Ukraine.

The European Union (EU) today officially announced the adoption of its 10th package of sanctions against the Russian Federation. The EU took the step, according to Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, to combat Russian aggression. The package of sanctions includes prohibitions on Russian nationals from serving in EU posts governing critical infrastructure bodies and entities and a ban on supplying Russian nationals with gas storage capacity. The organization plans to increase pressure on Russia with measures such as import-export controls and restrictions on critical technology and industrial goods; it also will suspend broadcasting licenses for two media outlets, RT Arabic and Sputnik Arabic (Russian state-owned media outlets), to counter Russia’s disinformation campaigns.

After a screening at the Vatican yesterday of the documentary film “Freedom in Fire: Ukraine’s Struggle for Freedom,” Pope Francis met with Ukrainian women, including Natalya Kravtsova of “Women of Steel,” an organization whose members seek the release of their relatives and all prisoners held by the Russians. During the meeting, the Pope received two gifts, a bracelet made from Azovstal steel and some Soledar salt. His visitors also provided Pope Francis a list of Ukrainian civilians and Mariupol city defenders currently held captive by Russian forces and asked him to use his influence to help secure their swift release. At the end, the pontiff kissed the Ukrainian flag. According to the UNITED24 initiative, the two gifts, the bracelet and Soledar town salt, serve as powerful symbolic reminders of the war that Russia has unleashed on Ukraine.





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