Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 01-08-2025

Banks concentrated on the new four-year paper, which may become reserve bonds. Bond Market Insight for Jan. 8

Yesterday’s debut primary auction of 2025, provided the state budget with only a UAH6bn out of the UAH20bn offering.

All three UAH military bonds received low demand, just 1-10% from the cap. However, interest rates in bids were close to the recent cut-off levels, causing just a 1-4bp decline in interest rates.

At the same time, the four-year paper offering was almost 10x oversubscribed, UAH48bn vs. UAH5bn cap, with attempts to get a premium for the longer maturity.

Compared with the recent primary placement of a 3.5-year note, the cut-off rate slid by 25bp, but compared with the last offering of bonds due in May 2028 in early December 2024, the cut-off rate rose by 100bp and the weighted-average rate by 140bp, to 16% and 15.99%, respectively.

Yesterday’s auction shows that last Autumn’s demand for military bills appears to be exhausted, and banks concentrated on the new four-year paper, which may become reserve bonds.

We expect the government will continue to offer the same military bonds and new four-year notes next week.

The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.

Yarrow, of Peter, Paul and Mary fame, has died at the age 86, but his cover of an anti-war song, which serves as a poignant reminder of the futility of war, has come full circle back to Ukraine.

Peter Yarrow, part of the US folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary that gained prominence in the 1960s counterculture movement, died at the age of 86 from bladder cancer on Tuesday in his Manhattan residence.

Born to Ukrainian-born parents in 1938, Yarrow had been a vocal supporter of Ukraine and recorded a video in solidarity with the country in March 2023 for United24, a charitable initiative launched by President Volodymyr Zelensky after Russia’s 2022 invasion.

The regional governor reported that the Russians were targeting Zaporizhzhia’s industrial infrastructure.

A Russian aerial strike on the industrial city of Zaporizhzhia late Wednesday afternoon killed thirteen people and wounded 30 more, regional governor Ivan Federov said on social media.

“The enemy attacked industrial infrastructure in Zaporizhzhia,” Federov said on Telegram alongside a video of the aftermath of the attack.

As the American weapons manufacturers bow out, Germany’s top arms producer is stepping in, sending DAX share prices skyrocketing.

Germany’s biggest arms manufacturer took another step towards an even weightier presence in Ukrainian arms production with the handover – precisely on time – of the very first Rheinmetall Lynx infantry fighting vehicle to be operated by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), Tuesday news reports led by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said.

Both Ukrainian and German media on Tuesday reported the Lynx was the first of a total ten combat vehicles that the AFU would test on the battlefield. Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger, in October interviews with Ukrainian media, said construction of a Lynx manufacturing line in Ukraine had begun and that, all being well, the first vehicle would roll off the conveyer “by the end of the year.”

Fresh Kursk Offensive Explained

SSO eliminated two Russian tanks during the failed assault.

Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SSO) repelled a Russian assault in the Kursk region, targeting and destroying five armored vehicles, including two tanks, according to an SSO report shared on Telegram.

“The SSO destroyed five enemy armored vehicles in the Kursk region,” reads the caption accompanying a video released by the unit on Wednesday, Jan. 8.

The influential Ukrainian poet of the early 1960s, Vasyl Symonenko, would have turned 90 today. Here are some thoughts on him and what he and his colleagues represented.

There are poets who captivate with their magical grasp of thoughts, impressions, feelings and the ability to convey them in an appropriate choice of words and structure. And there are those among them who immediately penetrate one’s own inner self and one’s own receptivity. And you can immediately identify with their insights and messages.

For me, the son of Ukrainian refugees who was born in the UK in the 1950s and educated there in the 1960-70s, this was the case with Vasyl Symonenko, who was born 90 years ago on this day. 

The Ukrainian Defense Forces have begun testing the Black Widow 2 – a small, agile first-person view drone designed for reconnaissance and precision strikes on rivers and inland waterways.

According to a Jan. 7 report on the Ukrainian Militarnyi military issues website, two brigades from Ukraine’s armed forces have begun military trials of the Black Widow 2, a new first-person view (FPV) unmanned surface vehicle (USV-drone).

Developed by the Brave1 technology cluster it was designed to carry out reconnaissance, surveillance and offensive “kamikaze” operations on rivers and inland waterways.

The latest statement by the Azerbaijani president prompted concerns of a rekindled conflict in the Caucasus region.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Tuesday called neighboring Armenia a “fascist state” and said it has to be destroyed.

“Since this country has been ruled for almost 30 years by carriers of fascist ideology, they have shaped this country in their own image. Therefore, fascism must be destroyed. It will be destroyed either by the Armenian leadership or by us. We have no other choice,” Aliyev said during an interview with a local TV channel.

The Eagle S ship, sailing under the Cook Islands flag, had already been seized by Finnish authorities on Dec. 28 as part of its criminal investigation into suspected sabotage.

An alleged Russian “shadow fleet” tanker suspected of damaging Baltic Sea cables in December was barred from sailing after Finnish inspectors found the vessel was unseaworthy, authorities said Wednesday.

The Eagle S ship, sailing under the Cook Islands flag, had already been seized by Finnish authorities on December 28 as part of its criminal investigation into suspected sabotage.

Ukrainian drones struck a key oil depot in Russia’s Saratov region causing explosions and a massive fire disrupting fuel supplies to the Engels-2 strategic bomber airbase.

In the early hours of Wednesday, Jan. 8, drones launched by  Ukraine’s Armed Forces (AFU) struck an oil depot in the Russian city of Engels, in the Saratov region, according to the General Staff of AFU. The target was the Kristall Complex, which supplies fuel to the Engels-2 military airfield, home to the strategic aviation fleet of the Russian aerospace forces.

The Ukrainian General Staff said it was still clarifying the results the strike. Numerous explosions and a large-scale fire in the area were reported on social media. According to the Telegram channel ASTRA, residents in Engels reported hearing up to 15 explosions. Local authorities only confirmed there had been a hit on an “industrial facility.”

Ukraine’s environmental issues ministry estimated the approximate losses caused by the June 6, 2023, dam explosion allegedly carried out by Russia’s 205th Motor Rifle Brigade.

Losses resulting from the June 2023 destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant has reached around $14 billion, Ukraine’s Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, Svitlana Hrynchuk said during an interview on the state-owned Rada tv channel.

“Nearly $14 billion in losses have been calculated due to the destruction of the Kakhovka dam and the loss of these water resources,” the minister was quoted as saying by Interfax-Ukraine. 

Various unconfirmed reports have appeared claiming Russia is deploying its first 12 operational S-500 Prometheus missiles to reinforce its defense of Crimea’s Kerch Bridge.

Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s Chief of the General Staff, announced the establishment of the first S-500 Prometheus equipped air defense regiment on Dec. 18, with Ukrainian intelligence reporting the presence of the system’s launchers near the Kerch Bridge on the occupied Crimean Peninsula last summer.

Gerasimov said that the regiment was nearing full operational readiness, adding that, “This system is unlike anything we have ever deployed before.”

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

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has said again that he is eager to see negotiations with Russia on ending the war in Ukraine begin soon after he returns to the White House - but is now indicating he’ll need as many as six months rather than 24 hours to settle the conflict. He also gave no specifics on when talks would take place. Trump said he wants to see negotiations soon because “Russia is losing a lot of young people and so is Ukraine.” Trump, who spoke with reporters at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, didn’t say whether or how soon he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin but said such a meeting would not be appropriate until after he is inaugurated on January 20. “I can’t tell you that, but I know Putin would like to meet,” Trump said. At the end of December, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were no preconditions for a meeting between the U.S. and Russian presidents. The president-elect said during his election campaign he could end the conflict in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office. At the news conference Trump said he hoped to end the fighting within six months.“I hope long before six months,” Trump said, when asked if he could solve the war within half a year. - RFE/RL

Outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said “there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States,” on the same day U.S. president-elect Donald Trump declared that he’s open to using “economic force” to acquire Canada. Trump, speaking at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, refused to rule out the use of military force to seize control of the Panama Canal and Greenland. He was also asked if he was considering using military force to acquire Canada. “No, economic force,” he responded. “Because Canada and the United States, that would really be something.” He added: “You get rid of that artificially drawn line, and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security. … We basically protect Canada.” Trump has repeatedly suggested Canada could merge with the U.S. The first widely-reported example came during a Canadian delegation’s visit to Mar-a-Lago in early December, which Trudeau attended. Canadian officials chalked up Trump’s comments as a tease, but it appears the president-elect has since started to take the idea seriously. “We’re losing $200 billion a year and more to protect Canada, and I said that to, as I called him, ‘Governor Trudeau.’ I said, ‘Listen, what would happen if we didn’t subsidize you?’ He said, ‘Canada would dissolve,’” Trump claimed - CTV

The strike near the village of Belaya was described as “high precision,” but officials didn’t say if Western weapons were involved.

Ukrainian forces hit a Russian military command post of the 810th Separate Marine Brigade of the Russian armed forces in the Kursk region, Kyiv announced Tuesday, Jan. 7, stepping up its operations on Russian territory.

The strike near the village of Belaya was described as “high precision,” but officials didn’t say if Western weapons were involved.

The transatlantic alliance’s 32 countries in 2023 set a minimum level for defense spending of 2% of gross domestic product, and Russia’s war in Ukraine has jolted NATO to strengthen its eastern flank.

Donald Trump on Tuesday pushed NATO members to boost their defense spending to five percent of GDP, underlining his long-standing claims that they are underpaying for US protection.

“They can all afford it, but they should be at five percent not two percent,” the incoming US president told reporters.

In their ongoing attempt to destroy Ukraine’s economy, the Kremlin may be prioritizing locations that have mineral resources Kyiv could use as an incentive for more Western aid.

Russian forces are inching towards the town of Shevchenko, which has one of the largest lithium deposits on Ukrainian territory.

Several news reports state that the uranium mine is already taken, but this concerns a different town with the same name.

The SSO has recovered weapons, advanced equipment, and the personal documents of North Korean soldiers, suggesting one of the eliminated soldiers was an officer.

Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SSO) have reported on Telegram the elimination of 13 North Korean soldiers during operations in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.

According to the SSO’s statement on Tuesday, Jan. 7, operators from the 8th Special Ops Regiment killed five North Korean soldiers in a gunfight and eliminated eight more using drones. Photos of the deceased DPRK soldiers, along with details of the operation, were shared here. Viewer discretion is advised, as the content is sensitive.

Western military issues media claims that the TRC auto parts manufacturers had helped improve servo systems for Russian guide bombs and Shaheds shown to be Chinese fakes.

Reports published over the weekend accused the Taiwan Rung Cherng Suspenparts Company (TRC) of modifying and producing servomechanisms for Russia’s UMPK glide bomb system, that converts unguided aerial bombs into guided munitions and Russian manufactured versions of the Shahed kamikaze drones.

Russia has been using more than 60 UMPK (Unifitsirovannyi Modul Planirovaniya i Korrektsii) guided bombs against Ukraine daily over recent months, resulting in significant damage on the battlefield and against civilian residential and infrastructure.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russian forces recently advanced in northwestern Toretsk following several weeks of higher tempo Russian offensive operations and gains in the area.
• Russian forces likely intend to exploit their advances in northwestern Toretsk to push further west of Toretsk and Shcherbynivka and along the T-05-16 Toretsk-Kostyantnivka highway towards the southernmost point of Ukraine’s fortress belt in Kostyantynivka.
• Russian forces may attempt to leverage tactical gains within and near Toretsk and east of Pokrovsk to eliminate the Ukrainian salient southwest of Toretsk.
• Russian forces are likely attempting to break out of Toretsk’s urban environment and advance into more open and rural areas that are similar to the areas where Russian forces have made significant gains in other sectors of the front in recent months.
• Russian forces are unlikely to pose a significant threat to Kostyantynivka unless the Russian military command reinforced the existing force grouping in the area with troops from other frontline areas.
• The Ukrainian General Staff stated that Ukrainian forces struck a command post of the Russian 810th Naval Infantry Brigade (Black Sea Fleet [BSF], Southern Military District [SMD]) in Belaya, Kursk Oblast on January 7.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced in Kursk Oblast, and Russian forces recently advanced near Kupyansk, Toretsk, and Pokrovsk and in Kursk Oblast.
• The Kremlin continues to promote the “Time of Heroes” program, which aims to place veterans of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in positions in local, regional, and federal governments.