Exclusives
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Russian bombs keep destroying Ukraine's Soviet heating. Scotland shows what to build instead. Heating choices being made now lock in energy dependence until 2055 |
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Russia breaks Kyiv's energy ring as capital faces worst energy crisis of the war. Broken ring means available power can't reach neighborhoods with destroyed substations |
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14 GW available vs 17 GW demand: Ukraine's industrial shutdown winter. European steel supply chains face disruption as mining giant reports worst quarter since invasion. |
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Check out this super rare Russian T-64 turtle tank. The Russians need turtle tanks. They don't need them badly enough to make them out of Ukrainian T-64s. |
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EU to lend Ukraine €90B — and most of it is for weapons. The loan, structured as "limited recourse" financing, would only require repayment if Russia eventually pays war reparations, with Brussels reserving the right to use immobilized Russian assets to cover the debt. |
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"Antichrist in a cassock": Russia's spy agency declares war on Ecumenical Patriarch. SVR's invective against Bartholomew comes days after Putin calls his war a "holy mission" |
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Is Ukraine's e-commerce the war economy's quiet winner?. Pet supplies and cosmetics boom as Ukrainians shop from home. |
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Territorial troops first seized, now assaulting—Ukraine's infantry crisis goes critical. A Ukrainian official was wrong or lied. Yes, the Ukrainian assault forces have apparently compelled poorly trained territorials to conduct dangerous assault operations. |
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Moscow's boom, the provinces' bust: Russia's war economy turns predatory (MAP). Civilian sectors starve as military spending and debt service take 46% of federal spending. |
Military
Russians storm Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad — Ukrainians repel 57 assaults in one day. Ukrainian troops held their positions in the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad area, destroying dozens of drones and killing scores of Russian troops, according to the Eastern Military Command.
ISW: Russia sacks general after failed assaults in Donetsk and Sumy. Russian Lieutenant General Sukhrab Akhmedov was dismissed following a string of failed assaults and high casualties in Ukraine.
Intelligence and technology
. Commander Brovdi noted the 10+ kg warheads leave "no chance" for the lightly armored but expensive Russian equipment.
"Not MANPADS — communications": Expert says Russia's real drone threat is turning Shaheds into 200 km FPV weapons. Train strike wasn't random. Drone hit locomotive first.
Japan quietly ships military-grade off-roaders to Ukraine — here's what they can do. Tokyo sends additional Toyota HMV off-roaders and medical supplies, continuing its defense support without crossing its pacifist policy lines.
Amid Ukraine Cabinet reshuffle, Fedorov, man behind Ukraine's digital warfare capabilities, takes over defense from Shmyhal. The Verkhovna Rada confirms both appointments after a second vote secured Shmyhal's new ministerial role.
RBS-15 against Russia's S-400 system: Swedish defense giant that may soon supply Ukraine with 100 Gripen jets, shows new missile. The RBS-15 Mk4 Gungnir was designed in 1980s and adapted for modern battlefield.
Ukraine to boost drone warfare with fiber-optic tech and expanded Drone Line, Umerov says. At a top-level military meeting, officials agreed to scale up drone production and funding, focusing on longer-range and more precise attacks, according to the security secretary.
International
. Europe may take risk. The US probably won't.
Moscow has its "peacekeepers" there: Romania, NATO member, ready to discuss unification with Moldova amid Russia's war. Romania ready to negotiate merger with Moldova as Sandu says country struggles to "survive" alone.
Humanitarian and social impact
Russia continues daily strikes on Kyiv's power infrastructure as –15°C frosts persist. Ukrainian officials reported that 113 drones and missiles were launched overnight on 14 January, with at least 13 impact sites across the country.
Putin selfies for homework: NYT reveals life inside Russia's occupation schools. Assignments include watching Putin's speeches and uploading a selfie with his face on screen
Russia says it wants peace. Then it launches attacks on Ukraine which "fall exactly under definition of Article II of Genocide Convention," says minister. The Genocide Convention is a 1948 UN treaty that defines genocide as such that is committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.
Political and legal developments
Russia nearly shut down Poland's power grid in December cyberattack, minister confirms. Poland's digital affairs chief said the country narrowly avoided a blackout after an unprecedented Russian cyberattack on its energy infrastructure.
Read our earlier daily review here.
