Past 24 hours in the war zone
- JFO report 2 attacks by Russian-backed militants, namely near Prychepylivka, Stanytsia Luhanska, Luhansk Oblast.
- As of 19:30 Jan 12, OSCE SMM recorded 187 violations, incl 94 explosions in Donetsk Obl; 148 violations, incl 95 explosions in Luhansk Obl.
- OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Zbigniew Rau will pay first visit to Ukraine, notably to eastern Ukraine “to see the situation on the ground with my own eyes.”
Ukraine news flash
- Over 60 nations and int’l organizations invited to participate in this year’s Sea Breeze exercises in Ukraine. Ukrainian border guards to train with security forces of Ukraine, NATO Allies and partners in sea, air & land.
- US & EU must take action & impose sanctions on Russia, strengthen NATO allies & increase aid to Ukraine, then continue dialogue with the Kremlin, says Kurt Volker, former US Ambassador to NATO and former US Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations.
- No major breakthrough in OSCE-Russia Talks. West should get ready for escalation from Russian side, says Michael Carpenter, US OSCE envoy.
Nord Stream 2 sanctions bill vote fails in US Senate
On 13 January 2022, Senate failed to approve a bill to slap sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline sponsored by Republican Senator Ted Cruz, a day after Democrats unveiled their own legislation. The tally was 55 in favor )the majority) and 44 against the bill that needed 60 of 100 votes to pass. In fact, the Senate refused to apply immediate Nord Stream 2 sanctions while the rival Democrat law introduces sanctions only in case of a Russian invasion.
“Today, the Senate rebuked Joe Biden’s surrender to Vladimir Putin on Nord Stream 2. Despite furious White House lobbying, a large bipartisan majority of senators (55-44) once again voted for immediate sanctions on Putin’s pipeline. President Biden should listen to the Senate and to the people and government of Ukraine, and reverse his catastrophic decision to grant Russia waivers from congressionally mandated sanctions. Only immediately imposing sanctions can change Putin’s calculation, stop a Ukrainian invasion, and lift the existential threat posed by Nord Stream 2,” Senator Cruz commented.
The Biden administration strongly opposed the bill, saying sanctions “would undermine unity amongst our European allies.”
Poroshenko defends his presidency in Politico interview
Ukraine’s former President Petro Poroshenko, who Ukrainian prosecutors seek to arrest on treason charges, gave an interview to Politico while paying a visit to Brussels where he said he was conducting “quiet diplomacy.”
“I’m the leader of the opposition,” he said. “I’m the leader of public support. I’m the fifth president. I am the person who, fighting Putin, and with my team saved Ukraine in the most difficult years of our history. I’m the person who created the army. And I am the person who [brought] Ukraine much closer to the European Union. I am the person who put in the Ukrainian constitution, European and Euro-Atlantic integration as the direction of our foreign policy.” He also unleashed a fierce barrage of criticism against Zelenskyy, saying he had mismanaged the country and made virtually everything worse.
Poroshenko also made the case that the current charges against him were an effort by Zelenskyy to block his participation in future elections, but also revenge by the oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, a patron and supporter of Zelenskyy.
We tried to make out whether the accusations against Poroshenko are grounded in reality here.
Tweet of the day
German foreign policy expert Marcel Dirsus made a helpful translation of diplomaticspeak into English
US officials, Ukrainian intelligence warn of planned Russian false-flag operation to justify invasion
US officials and Ukrainian intelligence have warned that Russia is laying the groundwork for an invasion into Ukraine by preparing false-flag operations against its own troops.
Ukraine under cyberattack with a Russian trace
Overnight into 14 January, a massive cyberattack started on multiple government websites and services in Ukraine. The attack presents itself as a kind of historic Polish revenge on Ukraine. However, the attackers dropped some hints linking it to Russia and Russian speakers. Officials state that no personal data were leaked during the attack. Meanwhile, Ukrainian experts criticize the government’s cyber security policies.
Ukrainian official sites under massive cyberattack with a Russian trace
NATO said “no.” Outcomes of Russia talks with the West
The diplomatic week of Russia’s talks with the West that took place over 10-13 January concluded with a Russian diplomatic failure that now has experts worried whether a military escalation might be the revenge.
Russia is planning to transfer new Pantsir-S1 systems to the Donbas to hunt for Bayraktars
Russia to secretly transfer new Pantsir-S1 systems to the Donbas to hunt for Bayraktar drones as part of plans for escalation, the digital sleuths of Inform Napalm say.
Ukrainian chef creates healthy new school menu, and parents have opinions
What foreigners think the #1 issue for Ukrainians is after reading their news reports: WAR. BOMB SHELTERS.
What Ukrainians are really debating: FOOD. A new menu for school cafeterias developed by chef Yevhen Klopotenko is now being introduced. The conflict is real, emotions are high, and nobody is spared 
Klopotenko developed a menu that would include less sugar, less salt, fewer fats, more fresh vegetables, meat, and fish, and no sausages or food preserves. The menu includes world (albeit simplified and localized) recipes many Ukrainians are unused to such as taboule, rizotto, frittata, as well as forgotten Ukrainian traditional recipes such as shpundra, banosh, vertuta, etc. He says his aim is to transform unhealthy eating habits which are estimated to be one of the factors behind Ukraine’s lowest life expectancy in Europe. Kids that were used to sweet food and sausages are boycotting the menu and complaining to parents. Parents who were used to the old post-Soviet fare are angry and demand to roll back Klopotenko’s menu, as well as the reform of school nutrition. Yet others support Klopotenko, saying that the reform is long overdue. More about the food wars here.
Ukrainian chef creates new healthy school menu, and parents have opinions
