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Morning Headlines
Reuters: Ukraine struck Russian regions with a major drone and missile attack overnight, damaging at least two factories and forcing schools to close in a major southern Russian city, according to Russian officials and media.
FT: One of the US’s biggest energy groups has come under new pressure to halt its operations in Russia following the imposition of sweeping new sanctions on the country’s oil sector by the Biden administration (archive).
AFP, MSN: NATO Baltic leaders set to boost security after cable sabotage. They are expected to announce a NATO patrol mission monitoring activity "below, above, and on the sea surface" after several telecom and power cables were severed in the Baltic Sea in recent months.
ISW: Russian forces recently cut the T-0504 Pokrovsk-Kostyantynivka highway east of Pokrovsk and the T-0406 Pokrovsk-Mezhova highway southwest of Pokrovsk as part of their efforts to envelop Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad.
More News
Reuters: Crew on board an oil tanker accused of sabotaging undersea power and communications cables in the Baltic Sea were poised to cut other cables and pipelines when Finnish authorities boarded the vessel last month, the head of the Finnish investigation said.
The Kyiv Independent: The U.K. will finance the production of air defense systems and long-range weapons in Ukraine, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on Jan. 13 following a meeting with U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey in London.
Reuters: Ten European Union countries have called for the 27-nation bloc to ban imports of pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas from Russia, a document seen by Reuters showed, as Europe debates fresh sanctions on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
Reuters: Ukraine has stopped production at its coking coal mine in Pokrovsk, which feeds the country's steel industry, because of the proximity of advancing Russian forces.
AFP: EU leaders will gather in Belgium on February 3 for an exceptional defence "retreat" involving Britain's prime minister and NATO's secretary general, two weeks after Donald Trump returns to the White House, the bloc announced Monday.
Reuters: Six European Union countries called on the European Commission to lower the $60 per barrel price cap put on Russian oil by G7 countries, arguing it would reduce Moscow's revenues to continue the war in Ukraine while not causing a market shock.
RBC-Ukraine: In Estonia, the Isamaa opposition party has initiated a bill that would direct the parliament to instruct the government to close the Estonian-Russian border, according to ERR.
Meduza: Iran has been sending secret diplomatic missions to Russia to seek assistance and expertise in developing its nuclear program, The Times reported on Monday, citing Western intelligence sources.
Politico: The Kremlin earned some €3 billion in 2023 in tax from European Union companies that were, and sometimes still are, active in Russia, according to a report published Monday from B4Ukraine and Squeezing Putin, two NGOs, and the Kyiv School of Economics Institute.
Reuters: Gazprom is considering cutting about 40% of its headquarters staff - more than 1,500 job cuts - as the Russian gas giant grapples with the loss of most of its sales to Europe.
FT: EU shipyards are repairing Russian ice-class tankers and offering them dry dock facilities, enabling Moscow to continue moving gas through the Arctic despite western sanctions on its energy sector (archive).
Ukrainska Pravda: German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has handed over the first RCH 155 wheeled howitzer to Ukrainian defenders as part of the reinforcement of Ukrainian artillery, with Germany promising to provide 54 pieces in total.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine's government has approved a measure allowing foreign companies to participate in modernizing military equipment for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Defense Ministry announced on Jan. 13.
Reuters: Telecoms group VEON is moving forward with its plan to float its unit Kyivstar in the U.S., in a move that would make it the first Ukrainian firm to be listed in the United States.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine's Special Operations Forces repelled an assault by North Korean troops in Russia's Kursk Oblast, the unit's press service said on Jan. 13, claiming to have killed 17 North Korean soldiers.
Reuters: German police have launched an investigation into suspected cases of Russian espionage after drones were spotted over several military installations in Bavaria, according to a statement on Monday.
AFP: Russia on Monday accused Ukraine of launching a drone attack on infrastructure of the TurkStream gas pipeline, which carries Russian gas to Europe via Turkey.
Reuters: The European Union announced on Monday a new humanitarian aid package of 140 million euros for Ukraine and a further 8 million euros worth of aid for Moldova.
Ukraine's largest private energy company DTEK will buy storage systems with total capacity of 200 MWh from a unit of renewable energy storage provider Fluence Energy to provide back-up for six power stations.
Reuters: Trump and Putin are expected to have a call in the coming days or weeks, and it is unrealistic to aim to expel Russian soldiers from every inch of Ukrainian territory, a top Trump adviser said.
worth mentioning
Putin’s passport trap: The Cubans caught in Moscow’s endless war
RFE/RL: Dogged by debts, disputes, and divorce, a Russian oligarch also draws FBI scrutiny
American startup for the FSB general’s son
Russia faces higher costs on sea-borne oil exports due to new US sanctions
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