As the war enters its 703rd day, these are the main developments.
Here is the situation on Saturday, January 27, 2024.
Fighting
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Ilyushin-76 plane that crashed near the border with Ukraine was shot down by Ukrainian air defences, whether on purpose or by mistake.
The death toll from Russian missile strikes on Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv earlier this week rose to 11, officials said.
Putin said Russia’s future ruling class should be made up of army veterans, and not “weirdos” who “show their backsides”. The remarks appeared to slam a raunchy “almost naked” celebrity party held in Moscow last month that drew fierce public backlash.
A court in Moscow on Friday extended the pre-trial detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by two months, following his arrest last year on espionage charges.
A general view shows a building damaged by a Russian missile hit in central Kharkiv, Ukraine, January 17, 2024 [File: Yan Dobronosov/Reuters]
Economy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the creation of a new economic body to assist businesses in wartime after several entrepreneurs voiced outrage at the arrest of a prominent banker.
In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said the All-Ukraine Economic Platform would help businesses overcome the challenges posed by Russia’s invasion.
Diplomacy
US President Joe Biden criticised congressional Republicans for stalling military aid to Ukraine amid a lack of consensus on a separate deal to reinforce the US-Mexico border.
The chair of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Turkey needed to cooperate better on holding Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine following the US government’s approval of a $23bn deal to sell F-16 warplanes to Ankara.
The chief negotiator for Moldova’s Russian-backed separatist Transdniestria region announced that his team would no longer attend talks on the country’s future in areas under government control because he feared arrest.
