Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 01-29-2025

In a Fox News interview, Zelensky urged Trump to stand with Ukraine while criticizing Biden’s slow support, warning that delays in aid give Russia an advantage and prolong the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised US President Donald Trump for his “just and fair” rhetoric toward Russia but warned that strong words alone will not stop Vladimir Putin. 

In an interview with Sean Hannity of Fox News aired on Tuesday, Zelensky also offered a rare rebuke of former US President Joe Biden, calling for more decisive action from Washington to counter Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian drones hit a warehouse and three buildings of Russia’s 23rd missile arsenal in Tver. Locals reported over 20 explosions and discussed evacuations on social media.

Drones operated by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and Special Operations Forces (SSO) targeted the Andreapol oil pumping station and a missile arsenal in Russia’s Tver region, Ukrainian intelligence sources told Kyiv Post.

“This night, the SBU and the SSO carried out a joint special operation to destroy the Andreapol oil pumping station, a critical part of the Baltic Pipeline System-2,” a source said.

Kyiv authorities said shrapnel fragments were seen scattered in the vicinity after a Russian drone was downed in Kyiv on Wednesday morning.

Russia has reportedly equipped its drones with fragmentation warheads during its Wednesday attack on Kyiv.

Fragmentation warheads are often equipped with a cast metal shell with grooves or indentations that shatter upon detonation, sending high-velocity shrapnel into different directions that cause damage to multiple soft targets (people, light vehicles, equipment, or aircraft) over an area.

Klitschko said that the Kyiv City Military Administration is “a temporary body” meant to handle defense and security, “not the usurpation of power.”

Klitschko, Zelensky

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has accused the city’s new military administration head, Tymur Tkachenko, of trying to “unbalance power” and interfere with local government.

In an appeal to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Klitschko warned that Tkachenko was exceeding his authority and urged the president to prevent the “destruction of local government.”

Exclusive Kyiv Post report from a neighborhood and its metro station that survived four massive missile strikes, and was back to wartime normal within hours or a couple days max.

The Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation reports that North Korean troops in Kursk have temporarily withdrawn to review their mistakes with their and Russian commanders.

The North Korean (DPRK) troops fighting in Russia’s Kursk region have failed to counter Ukrainian drones and artillery, suffering significant losses, according to Andrey Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.

Kovalenko reported on Telegram that DPRK soldiers are now conducting “work on mistakes” with Russian commanders and their own officers.

Novaya Guta is one of almost a dozen border crossings left deserted since Russia invaded Ukraine via Belarus in February 2022, slashing relations between Minsk and Kyiv.

Near a border checkpoint between Belarus and Ukraine, anti-tank spikes and concrete pyramids block what was once a bustling road between two peaceful neighbours.

Novaya Guta is one of almost a dozen border crossings left deserted since Russia invaded Ukraine via Belarus in February 2022, slashing relations between Minsk and Kyiv.

The technology start-up “Supernova Defense & Space” based in Austin is developing a patented VLM-assisted 3D processes that will allow it to produce military grade energetic materials.

Supernova Defense & Space is developing unique 3D printing processes that will allow it to produce military-grade energetic materials as the US Department of Defense (DoD) seeks to widen the industry base capable of providing the explosives it needs.

The Texas-based company Supernova Industries established the subsidiary start-up company in Supernova Defense & Space (SD&S) based in Austin, Texas in 2024.

Latest from the British Defence Intelligence.

• On 8 January 2025, Ukrainian uncrewed aerial systems reportedly struck Kristall oil depot, Russia, 8km from the Engels-2 Airbase. The strike caused large scale fires within the petroleum, oil and lubricant (POL) storage area of the depot, reportedly taking several days to extinguish.
• A further strike was also reportedly conducted on the night of 14 January 2025, once again targeting Kristall oil depot, reigniting the fire and causing further infrastructure damage to the site. Analysis of imagery from 21 January 2025 highlights 4 assessed destroyed POL tanks and 10 assessed damaged POL tanks.
• The repeated strikes indicate an increased Ukrainian ability to target Russian infrastructure.

The world in focus, as seen by Canadian leading global affairs analyst Michael Bociurkiw in a quick review of the biggest news in international media today.

Eyewitnesses and hospital sources have told the BBC that at least a dozen people have been killed in a crush at a huge religious festival in northern India. There is still no official confirmation of how many people have been injured or killed. The BBC’s Samira Hussain describes scenes of “absolute chaos” at the river bank, with clothes, shoes, blankets and backpacks strewn on the ground as crowds tried to escape. Officials had predicted up to 100 million people were expected to attend the bathing day at the Kumbh Mela - one of the world’s biggest religious festivals. But, despite the famous bathing ritual being suspended by organisers, the BBC’s Vikas Pandey says “tens of thousands are still trying to take the holy dip”

As of 12:00 India time (06:30 GMT), nearly 42 million pilgrims had performed bathing rituals at Prayagraj, officials said. They added that nearly 200 million people have bathed in the river since the festival began on 13 January. Millions more are expected to visit before it ends on 26 February - BBC

NATO’s James Appathurai told the European Parliament’s hybrid warfare committee on Tuesday that uncovering the plot to kill Rheinmetall’s CEO in July was the tip of the iceberg.

NATO’s Deputy Assistant Secretary-General for Innovation, Hybrid, and Cyber, James Appathurai, briefed the EU Committee on Security and Defense hybrid warfare meeting on Jan. 28 of NATO’s assessment of Russian hybrid warfare attacks against the West.

He told the meeting that the July 2024 plot by Russia to kill Armin Papperger, the CEO of Rheinmetall was thought to be one of several aimed at European defense industry leaders. According to Politico, this was the first “on the record” confirmation of the thwarting of the assassination conspiracy by US and German intelligence agencies that had been widely reported by the media at the time.

The discussions come just before the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The European Union (EU) has proposed to disconnect around 15 Russian banks from the SWIFT international banking system as part of the EU’s 16th sanctions package, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.

The proposed package also allegedly includes a gradual ban on Russian aluminum imports and restrictions on more than 70 ships in Russia’s “shadow fleet.” These ships are accused of transporting Russian oil at prices above the $60-per-barrel cap set by Western countries.

The operatives were recruited by a known female agent from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said.

Ukraine has arrested two agents tasked by Moscow to spy on the country’s F-16 fighter jets, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on Tuesday.  

According to the SBU’s press release, the two suspects were tasked by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) with collecting coordinates and identifying facilities hosting Ukraine’s F-16 fighters in five different regions.

Ukraine imports from Poland have doubled pre-2022 levels; Poland is now the second-largest supplier of goods to Ukraine behind China, but surpassing Germany.

The import of goods from Poland to Ukraine has doubled compared to pre-2022 levels, with this increase attributed to, among other factors, Russian aggression as well as other global tensions and Ukraine’s pro-European course. Additionally, Poland is Ukraine’s second-largest supplier after China.

According to the Polish Economic Institute, Polish exports to Ukraine grew by 80% between 2021 and 2023, outpacing other avenues for Polish exports. The primary reasons include Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s closer alignment with the European Union, and the formation of trading blocs and alliances in the global economy. This ongoing fragmentation, state protectionism, and polarization of the world are expected to ultimately mark the end of the era of globalization and free trade.

Nord Stream 2 was damaged by explosions in September 2022, leading to four gas leaks—two in Sweden’s economic zone and two in Denmark’s waters.

Denmark’s Energy Agency has granted a permit to the Russian-owned company Nord Stream 2 AG to conduct preservation work on the damaged Nord Stream 2 Baltic pipeline by sealing its open ends to prevent further damage.

The Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines transport natural gas from Russia to Germany and cross the exclusive economic zones of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany.  

Nizhny Novgorod oil refinery, one of Russia’s largest, was previously attacked by drones in early 2024, causing equipment damage that took two months to repair.

According to Kyiv Post sources in Ukraine’s special services, Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR) launched a drone attack on Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region before dawn on Jan. 29, striking the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez oil refinery in Kstovo—one of the country’s largest oil facilities.

As a result, the tank farm was heavily damaged, with all four drones successfully hitting their targets. Videos circulating on Russian social media show a large-scale fire at the depot.

The administration was off-base on how oil prices might obtain peace, World War II, and Russian tank counts. Trump again claimed, falsely, that the US is “paying big” for Ukraine and Europe isn’t.

The new US government led by Republican President Donald J. Trump in its first week in power offered up multiple claims about Ukraine and recent European history and how the Russo-Ukrainian War might be ended.

All of them were highly debatable and many were verifiably wrong, Kyiv Post fact checks of recent administration official’s statements found.

The minister was previously criticized for his musical taste which epitomizes nostalgia for the USSR but reiterated his loyalty to Lithuania despite the accusations.

Lithuania’s Deputy Finance Minister Valentinas Gavrilovas, who was recently discovered to have a profile on Russian social media Vkontakte (VK) which included a Soviet-era musical playlist, might be investigated by the country’s secret service for his conduct.

Lithuania was the first state to break away from the USSR in 1990 having been annexed in 1940.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• The first official Russian delegation arrived in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime on January 28 to discuss Russia’s continued use of its military bases in Syria.
• The Russian military continues to evacuate military assets from the Port of Tartus amid the ongoing Russian-Syrian negotiations.
• The Russian military likely formed a separate unmanned systems regiment at the military district level in order to augment Russia’s unmanned systems capabilities. The creation of this regiment supports the Russian Ministry of Defense’s (MoD) recent coordinated effort to establish the Unmanned Systems Forces within the Russian military and centralize control over informal drone detachments.
• A senior NATO official acknowledged that Russia is escalating a sabotage and destabilization campaign against European NATO member states in Europe to deter further military assistance to Ukraine.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced in Toretsk and near Pokrovsk, and Russian forces recently advanced near Toretsk, Pokrovsk, Kurakhove, Velyka Novosilka, and in western Zaporizhia Oblast.
• The Russian government continues to use its “Time of Heroes” program to appoint veterans of the war in Ukraine to federal government positions as part of wider Kremlin efforts to militarize Russian society.

The US sent around 90 Patriot air defense interceptors from Israel to Ukraine via Poland, marking the most significant weapons transfer between Israel and Kyiv since Russia’s full-scale war began.

The US military has transferred approximately 90 Patriot air defense interceptors from Israel to Ukraine via Poland, according to three sources familiar with the operation.

US Air Force C-17 transport planes reportedly arrived at an air base in southern Israel and then flew to Rzeszów, Poland “in recent days,” a key hub for Western military aid to Ukraine, as first reported by Axios. 

Ukrainian special forces reportedly destroyed 16 Russian fortifications and disabled five electronic warfare systems over the past week, according to video footage released by HUR.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) released new combat footage reportedly showing its special forces carrying out a series of successful strikes against Russian positions. 

Ukrainian operatives destroyed 16 Russian engineering fortifications and damaged 68 more, according to the video shared on Facebook.