Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 01-07-2025

President-elect Trump expressed understanding of Russia’s stance on Ukraine’s NATO membership and ruled out a meeting with Putin before his inauguration, criticizing Biden’s support of Ukraine.

President-elect Donald Trump said he understood Russia’s adversarial stance on Ukraine’s NATO membership, lamenting that he will not meet Russian President Vladimir Putin before his inauguration later this month.

During a news conference at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump criticized outgoing President Joe Biden for allegedly altering US policy regarding NATO’s openness to Ukraine.

Kyiv’s armed forces said on Tuesday that they were still in control of a section of Kurakhove, a key eastern town which Russia had reported capturing a day earlier.

Kyiv’s army said on Tuesday it was clinging on to part of Kurakhove, a strategic town in Ukraine’s east that Russia said it had seized the previous day.

Moscow hailed the capture of the “important logistics hub,” saying it would enable Russian forces to seize the rest of the eastern Donetsk region “at an accelerated pace.”

The arrested men worked as the captain and a crew member on board the ship that reportedly dragged its anchor to damage an undersea cable in the Gulf of Finland, between Finland and Estonia.

Finnish authorities detained two Georgian nationals aboard a ship on Monday that is believed to have damaged the EstLink 2 undersea power cable between Finland and Estonia on Dec. 25.

Radio Liberty said the two worked as captain and crew aboard the ship, citing comments from Georgia’s Maritime Transport Agency.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko denies claims made by Zelensky during a podcast interview about a phone call between them shortly after Russia invaded.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko did not apologize to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about Minsk’s complicity in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Lukashenko’s press secretary claimed on Monday.

Natalya Eismont, Lukashenko’s press secretary, told RBC Russia that the alleged call took place but only because of the “emotional reaction of the youngest son of the Belarusian President Nikolai, who had Zelensky’s personal contact on his phone” when the full-scale invasion started in February 2022.

A Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that one of its F-16 pilots had shot down the missiles during the massive Dec. 13 Russian missile attack.

For what is claimed to be the first time in the history of the use of the F-16 Viper fighter aircraft, a Ukrainian pilot destroyed six Russian cruise missiles in one combat mission using a combination of air-to-air missiles and the aircraft’s 20mm cannon.

On Dec. 13 Russia launched a massive assault on Ukraine using almost 200 Russian attack drones and more than 90 Kinzhal aero ballistic, ground-launched ballistic, and air, sea and land-based cruise missiles.

Reports claimed Ukrainian robot motorboats carried out the war’s second-ever sea-launched air raid.

Ukrainian official sources said naval drones hit two high-value Russian air defense systems in the southern Kherson region on Monday, but had no immediate comment on speculation that the strikes used the rare tactic of launching kamikaze aircraft from a sea platform, not land.

News reports said the strikes took place near the  Kherson region village of Khorly, some 80-85 kilometers (50-53 miles) from the closest probable Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) drone launch sites on land. Ukrainian First Person View (FPV) drones are usually rated with a one-way maximum range of 20-30 kilometers (12-19 miles), and a usual operating range of about two-thirds that.

Kyiv plans to build 30,000 long-range drones and 3,000 of its own cruise missiles and drone-missiles.

Kyiv says it expects to attract over $1 billion for Ukraine’s defense this year through the “Danish Model,” where, rather than trying to send the Ukrainian military weapons, allies purchase materiel for the Ukrainian military from Ukraine’s own defense industry.

The Danish model is meant to help ensure that funds go toward building the weapons that are optimally useful, that they’re both produced and distributed more quickly, and that the domestic defense industry can expand and efficiencies that come with that expansion can compound.   

The Security Service of Ukraine has detained Russian FSB agents who were conducting spying operations against volunteers and officials of international organizations in Ukraine.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has detained agents of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), who were spying on volunteers and officials of international organizations in Ukraine.

According to the SBU press service, the Russian intelligence service remotely recruited a Kyiv-based lawyer to gather intelligence on the addresses, car numbers, and travel routes of individuals they had intended to target. The advocate recruited several accomplices from three other regions to take part in the criminal activities.

The head of a Baku-affiliated think tank called Moscow’s response to the plane crash a display of “imperial arrogance,” with the Azerbaijani president lashing out at Moscow’s inadequate responses.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev voiced dissatisfaction on Monday over Moscow’s response to the Dec. 25 plane crash that killed 38 people.

During a meeting with two surviving flight attendants and relatives of the crew members who died in the crash, Aliyev said Moscow has been trying to “hush up this incident,” causing “surprise, regret and rightful indignation” in Azerbaijan.

Ukrainian partisans discovered a Russian military headquarters in a Crimean sanatorium, with vehicles, troops, and security present, violating international law.

The Ukrainian Atesh movement has identified a new Russian military headquarters location on the premises of a sanatorium in the Saky district of occupied Crimea, according to the partisans.

“A large number of military cargo vehicles, personnel in uniform, and enhanced security were recorded on the sanatorium’s grounds,” the partisans stated in a post on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

Ukraine’s Naval Forces took out two modern SA-22 “Greyhound” combined SAM and AAA systems and one Soviet-legacy SA-8 “Gecko” SAM system in the Russian-occupied left-bank part of the Kherson region

The Ukrainian Navy has successfully destroyed three Russian anti-aircraft missile systems in southern Ukraine within the past 24 hours, including a Pantsir-S1 and an Osa, as reported by the Ukrainian Naval Forces on Telegram.

“The Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), together with other Defense Forces units, continue to destroy the enemy on land, at sea, and in the air,” the report read.

After avoiding siding with the Belarusian democratic opposition, Zelensky suddenly seems to have changed his stance and may be attempting to undermine Lukashenko in Moscow’s eyes.

In a shocking statement on Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that Belarusian autocrat Alexander Lukashenko had apologized for Belarus’s complicity in the war at the onset of the full-scale invasion.

Lukashenko even suggested Zelensky could retaliate by bombing Belarus’s Mozyr oil refinery, Zelensky said.

While his visit to Kyiv was initially scheduled for early January, the trip has now been postponed, and a new date has not yet been confirmed.

Keith Kellogg, appointed as Special Representative for Ukraine and Russia by President-elect Donald Trump has delayed a planned fact-finding trip to Kyiv and other European capitals until after Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, according to four informed sources speaking to Reuters.

Kellogg is set to play a key role in addressing the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia. While his visit to Kyiv and meetings with Ukrainian officials were initially scheduled for early January, the trip has now been postponed, and a new date has not yet been confirmed, the sources said.

Poland urges respect for Ukraine’s territorial Integrity as it prepares to strengthen bilateral relations with France, another strong supporter of Ukraine.

Speaking at the annual conference of French ambassadors in Paris, Radosław Sikorski said Russia had ratified a border agreement between the two states and that this deal should be respected.

“The most natural and durable solution would be a return to the internationally recognized Ukrainian borders,” he was quoted by Reuters as saying.

A survey released on Tuesday showed that Ukrainians’ trust in their leader had fallen to 52 percent as of December last year, compared to 90 percent in March 2022.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has seen his approval ratings further eroded at a critical time for the Ukrainian army and as uncertainty grows over future international military aid, new polling showed on Tuesday.

The former comedian won respect abroad and drew comparisons with Winston Churchill when he stayed in Kyiv in February 2022 to steer his country against the Russian invasion.

The world in focus, as seen by a Canadian leading global affairs analyst, writer and speaker, in his review of international media.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he plans to step down once the Liberal Party has chosen a successor, bringing his time leading the country to a tumultuous end. Trudeau, who became Liberal leader in 2013 and prime minister in the fall of 2015, announced his long-awaited decision outside his official residence, Rideau Cottage, on Monday morning following weeks of speculation and weakened support from his caucus. “This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it’s become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election,” a sometimes teary-eyed Trudeau told reporters.

Trudeau also announced that he met with Gov. Gen. Mary Simon on Monday morning and that she has agreed to prorogue, or suspend, Parliament until March 24. Trudeau’s decision will set off a competitive leadership race to replace him and find a contender to take on the Liberals’ key rival, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, in the next federal election. - CBC News

Sikorski’s warning came ahead of Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration, with the US President-elect having frequently asserted his desire to push for an end to the war in Ukraine.

Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said the EU “may soon face intense pressure to reach an agreement with Moscow” and called for European unity during his speech at the Conference of Ambassadors in Paris on Monday.

Sikorski’s statement, also published on social media, could be interpreted as a warning ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, where it is believed that Trump would push for an end to the war in Ukraine, which some fear will include terms unfavorable to Kyiv.

Having suffered huge casualties in Kursk, particularly from Ukrainian kamikaze drones, Pyongyang’s finest appeared to have begun to hide in civilian houses at the expense of their occupants.

The InformNapalm intelligence collective published a video on Sunday that showed North Korean (DPRK) soldiers forcing the elderly Russian occupants of a house in the village of Mahnovka, in Russia’s Kursk region, to stand outside in the freezing cold while they took cover fearing Ukrainian drone strikes.

Poland will take over the EU presidency for the second time since joining the European Union, with Tusk also serving as prime minister the last time Poland was at the helm of the EU in 2011.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Europe is “lucky” to have Poland at the helm of the EU Presidency, pledging “courage and reason” during its term, but the spectre of relations with the opposition president could haunt its term.

A glitzy official opening ceremony took place in Warsaw on Friday, Jan. 3, attended by politicians, diplomats, Tusk, and European Council President Antonio Costa. But conspicuously absent was President Andrzej Duda, who opted to go skiing instead, laying bare some of the country’s ongoing political woes.

Oleksandr Usyk didn’t just defend his heavyweight belt for himself, he did it for his entire war-weary country. Every detail of his feat was connected to the nation and faith that sustains him.

As he prepared for his rematch with Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk gained extra motivation from a frontline Ukrainian soldier also named Oleksandr with the call sign “Shket.” The fighter from Ukraine’s armed forces poured his soul onto paper, praising the undisputed heavyweight champion for carrying the torch of Ukrainian boxing.

The letter informed Usyk that Ukrainian soldiers watch all of his fights when possible and cheer for his victory. The serviceman recounted some brutal personal experiences in Kyiv, Bakhmut and Kherson, describing how Usyk’s victories served as fiery inspirations in the darkness of war. Being fully aware of what hard work is and the value of each victory, Oleksandr the soldier equated the blood and sweat of the battlefield with the spirit of the boxing ring.

The tiny separatist republic bordering Ukraine has been unable to provide heating and hot water to residents since January 1, when Moscow cut off gas supplies to Moldova over a financial dispute.

Moldovan authorities on Monday announced the summoning of a Russian diplomat following accusations over the worsening situation in its breakaway Transnistria region, which fears a complete electricity blackout after Russia cut gas supplies.

The tiny separatist republic bordering Ukraine has been unable to provide heating and hot water to residents since January 1, when Moscow cut off gas supplies to Moldova over a financial dispute.

The commander of “Group 13,” who goes by the call sign “Thirteenth,” shared the details in an interview with TSN.

Last Tuesday, on Dec. 31, Ukrainian Military Intelligence (HUR) pulled off a historic first: the special forces unit “Group 13” took out two Russian Mi-8 helicopters using a Magura V5 naval drone. It’s the first time air targets have ever been destroyed by a drone designed for the sea.

The commander of “Group 13,” who goes by the call sign “Thirteenth,” shared the details in an interview with TSN. According to him, this wasn’t a typical mission, the team was out on a deliberate hunt.

Russia decided to stop the gas supply to Transnistria despite providing it over the last 30 years and not complaining about debt from the unrecognized state.

Russia has cut off gas supplies to Moldova, including to the Russian-controlled Transnistria region, causing an energy and humanitarian crisis that is going to unfold over the course of January.

Ukraine halted Russian gas transit to Europe by not renewing a contract with Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom on Jan. 1, 2025. But Gazprom warned Moldova about a halt to its suppy on Oct. 28 last year, BBC wrote. 

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Ukrainian forces recently made tactical advances amid continued intensified offensive operations in the Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast on January 6.
• Russian forces attempted to leverage Ukrainian attacks northeast of Sudzha to attack elsewhere in the Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast on January 6.
• Ukrainian forces may be continuing to conduct long-range strikes against Russian rear areas in Kursk Oblast as part of efforts to use integrated strike capabilities to support ground operations.
• Russian forces reportedly executed more Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) on January 3.
• Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lyubinets announced that Ukraine and Russia have reached a preliminary agreement to conduct regular POW exchanges in 2025.
• The leaders of the Chechen “Akhmat” Spetsnaz forces and the far-right paramilitary unit “Rusich” Russian Sabotage Assault Reconnaissance Group met on January 6 and promoted a message about Russia’s ethnic diversity and harmony.
• Russian forces advanced in the Lyman, Toretsk, and Pokrovsk directions, and the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) claimed that Russian forces seized Kurakhove.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in an interview published on January 5 that 3,800 North Korean personnel have been killed and wounded in Kursk Oblast.