Zelensky says Russia planning prolonged attack with Iranian-made drones
1 min ago"It’s like a constant gamble:" Ukrainian couple await birth of twins in wartime KyivFrom CNN's Mariya Knight and Tim ListerKateryna and her husband Oleg endure what every citizen of Kyiv must – long blackouts, hours without any internet connection and constant apprehension about the next missile barrage.But as they begin 2023, they are also preparing for the arrival of twin boys. Kateryna, who is 34, is eight months pregnant. CNN agreed to use only first names for her and Oleg as they fear for their privacy.She’s not getting much rest ahead of the big day. The air-raid sirens blare almost every day, the crump of explosions is all too familiar. Their lives are shaped by the scheduled power cuts, as electricity is shared among the regions to mitigate the impact of Russia’s strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.“On New Year’s Eve, I tried to take a nap,” she told CNN from her house in the Kyiv suburbs. “But I woke to the sound of explosions, and they went on through the night. The sirens were on for much of the night, until 4:30 a.m.,” she said.It’s difficult for residents to distinguish between the sound of air defenses in operation and the impact of Russian cruise missiles and drones.“I don’t mind the blackouts,” Kateryna said, “but we worry about the next wave of Russian missiles. Will it be us? It’s like a constant gamble."2 hr 29 min agoZelensky says Russia planning prolonged attack with Iranian-made dronesFrom CNN's Mariya Knight (Office of the President of Ukraine)Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia is planning a prolonged campaign of attacks with Iranian-made Shahed drones to exhaust Ukraine.“We have information that Russia is planning a prolonged attack with Shaheds. Its bet may be on exhaustion,” Zelensky said in his nightly address Monday. “On exhaustion of our people, our air defense, our energy sector.” Zelensky said Ukraine's main task is to ensure Russia's drone plans fail.He said more than 80 have been shot down over Ukraine since the start of 2023. "This number may increase in the near future. Because these weeks the nights can be quite restless. "Now is the time when everyone involved in the protection of the sky should be especially attentive." 2 hr 29 min agoUkrainian military chief says 40% of territories occupied during Russian invasion now liberatedFrom CNN's Mariya KnightSome 40% of territories occupied after Feb. 24 — when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine — were liberated over the past year, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, said Monday.“The Armed Forces liberated 40% of the territories occupied during the full-scale invasion and 28% of all territories occupied by Russia since 2014,” he reported in a round-up post of 2022 on the Telegram app.The current front line is 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) long, the general said.According to Zaluzhny, Ukrainian Armed Forces have undergone military training in the territory of 17 European countries.“Thanks to international partners it was possible to train more than 20,000 soldiers,” he said. “In 2022, more than 600,000 people were evacuated from the areas of hostilities and more than 2 million tonnes of humanitarian goods were brought in.” 2 hr 29 min agoRussia's Belgorod region "came under fire," governor saysFrom CNN's Mariya Knight and Denis LapinThe governor of Belgorod, a Russian region bordering Ukraine, reported shelling on Monday.Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram that "the village of Murom in the Shebekinsky urban district came under fire from the Ukrainian Armed Forces.” He said there were no casualties, but the shelling caused damage to two homes and a car.Gladkov also reported a local cemetery was hit by shelling. According to Gladkov, the village of Vyazovoye in the Belgorod region also came under fire on Monday.“There were no casualties,” he said. “Windows of one private house were blown out, the facade and the fence were affected.” “A power transmission line was also damaged,” Gladkov added. "Emergency services are on site and are dealing with the aftermath.” Some background: Belgorod, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the Ukrainian border, has been struck previously. In December, the governor said one person was killed and eight others injured in strikes. 2 hr 29 min ago$35 billion in ecological damages caused by Russia's war, Ukrainian official saysFrom CNN's Olga Voitovych, Sarah Dean and Mariya KnightThe damage to Ukrainian ecology caused by Russia's invasion is estimated at $35.3 billion, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, said on Monday."Millions of hectares of nature preserves are under threat. Article 55 of the Protocol I [Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts] prohibits waging war VS the natural environment by way of reprisals, but Russia doesn’t care," he tweeted, referencing a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions.Ukraine's Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources said in a Facebook post
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"It’s like a constant gamble:" Ukrainian couple await birth of twins in wartime Kyiv
From CNN's Mariya Knight and Tim Lister
Kateryna and her husband Oleg endure what every citizen of Kyiv must – long blackouts, hours without any internet connection and constant apprehension about the next missile barrage.
But as they begin 2023, they are also preparing for the arrival of twin boys. Kateryna, who is 34, is eight months pregnant. CNN agreed to use only first names for her and Oleg as they fear for their privacy.
She’s not getting much rest ahead of the big day. The air-raid sirens blare almost every day, the crump of explosions is all too familiar. Their lives are shaped by the scheduled power cuts, as electricity is shared among the regions to mitigate the impact of Russia’s strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
“On New Year’s Eve, I tried to take a nap,” she told CNN from her house in the Kyiv suburbs. “But I woke to the sound of explosions, and they went on through the night. The sirens were on for much of the night, until 4:30 a.m.,” she said.
It’s difficult for residents to distinguish between the sound of air defenses in operation and the impact of Russian cruise missiles and drones.
“I don’t mind the blackouts,” Kateryna said, “but we worry about the next wave of Russian missiles. Will it be us? It’s like a constant gamble."
Zelensky says Russia planning prolonged attack with Iranian-made drones
From CNN's Mariya Knight
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia is planning a prolonged campaign of attacks with Iranian-made Shahed drones to exhaust Ukraine.
“We have information that Russia is planning a prolonged attack with Shaheds. Its bet may be on exhaustion,” Zelensky said in his nightly address Monday. “On exhaustion of our people, our air defense, our energy sector.”
Zelensky said Ukraine's main task is to ensure Russia's drone plans fail.
He said more than 80 have been shot down over Ukraine since the start of 2023.
"This number may increase in the near future. Because these weeks the nights can be quite restless.
"Now is the time when everyone involved in the protection of the sky should be especially attentive."
Ukrainian military chief says 40% of territories occupied during Russian invasion now liberated
From CNN's Mariya Knight
Some 40% of territories occupied after Feb. 24 — when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine — were liberated over the past year, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, said Monday.
“The Armed Forces liberated 40% of the territories occupied during the full-scale invasion and 28% of all territories occupied by Russia since 2014,” he reported in a round-up post of 2022 on the Telegram app.
The current front line is 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) long, the general said.
According to Zaluzhny, Ukrainian Armed Forces have undergone military training in the territory of 17 European countries.
“Thanks to international partners it was possible to train more than 20,000 soldiers,” he said. “In 2022, more than 600,000 people were evacuated from the areas of hostilities and more than 2 million tonnes of humanitarian goods were brought in.”
Russia's Belgorod region "came under fire," governor says
From CNN's Mariya Knight and Denis Lapin
The governor of Belgorod, a Russian region bordering Ukraine, reported shelling on Monday.
Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram that "the village of Murom in the Shebekinsky urban district came under fire from the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”
He said there were no casualties, but the shelling caused damage to two homes and a car.
Gladkov also reported a local cemetery was hit by shelling.
According to Gladkov, the village of Vyazovoye in the Belgorod region also came under fire on Monday.
“There were no casualties,” he said. “Windows of one private house were blown out, the facade and the fence were affected.”
“A power transmission line was also damaged,” Gladkov added. "Emergency services are on site and are dealing with the aftermath.”
Some background: Belgorod, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the Ukrainian border, has been struck previously. In December, the governor said one person was killed and eight others injured in strikes.
$35 billion in ecological damages caused by Russia's war, Ukrainian official says
From CNN's Olga Voitovych, Sarah Dean and Mariya Knight
The damage to Ukrainian ecology caused by Russia's invasion is estimated at $35.3 billion, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, said on Monday.
"Millions of hectares of nature preserves are under threat. Article 55 of the Protocol I [Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts] prohibits waging war VS the natural environment by way of reprisals, but Russia doesn’t care," he tweeted, referencing a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions.
Ukraine's Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources said in a Facebook post Monday: "The conduct of hostilities deepens the climate crisis, causing significant emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere."
According to the latest calculations of the Ministry of Environment, the war has directly led to emissions of 33 million tonnes of greenhouse gases. The ministry broke that figure down, listing the estimated emissions from combat, the movement of internally displaced people and fires in the country.
Some background: In May last year, CNN reported how Ukraine’s fertile soil was becoming contaminated with heavy metals and other potentially poisonous substances leaking from missiles, military equipment and spent ammunition.
Spilled fuel is polluting ground waters and ecosystems are being hammered by tanks and other heavy technology. All of this is damage that will be felt for decades after the war ends.
In December, Kyiv-based non-profit the Center for Environmental Initiatives Ecoaction published a report that said, "the population’s access to water in many regions of the country has significantly deteriorated."
"As a result of Russia’s armed military aggression against Ukraine, water treatment and purification infrastructure facilities are destroyed, and environmental components are polluted, in particular sources of drinking water and water bodies," it said.
Ukraine claims hundreds of Russian troops killed in strike; Moscow says 63 died
From CNN's Mick Krever, Olga Voitovych and Darya Tarasova
An apparent Ukrainian strike in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine appears to have killed a large number of Russian troops, according to the Ukrainian military, pro-Russian military bloggers and former officials.
The strike took place just after midnight on Sunday, New Year’s Day, on a vocational school housing Russian conscripts in Makiivka, in the Donetsk region, according to both Ukrainian and pro-Russian accounts.
The attack has led to vocal criticism of Moscow’s military from pro-Russian military bloggers, who claimed that the troops lacked protection and were reportedly being quartered next to a large cache of ammunition, which is said to have exploded when Ukrainian HIMARS rockets hit the school.
The Ukrainian military said later on Monday that the number of Russian servicemen killed in Makiivka is “being clarified” after claiming earlier that around 400 Russian soldiers were killed and a further 300 were wounded. It has not directly acknowledged a role in the strike. CNN cannot independently confirm those numbers or the weapons used in the attack.
Some pro-Russian military bloggers have also estimated that the number of dead and wounded could run in the hundreds.
The Russian defense ministry on Monday acknowledged the attack and claimed that 63 Russian servicemen died, which would make it one of the deadliest single episodes of the war for Moscow’s forces.
Read more here.
