Here are the key developments on the 1,058th day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Here is the situation on Friday, January 17:
Fighting
- A Ukrainian official said a major munitions factory in Russia’s Tambov region had been attacked. Russia made no comment regarding the reported attack.
- Ukraine’s Khartiia Brigade said it deployed, for the first time ever, a heavy machinegun-equipped unmanned vehicle in battle. The brigade claimed it was the first documented ground assault of its kind using an unmanned combat vehicle in the war against Russia. The vehicle was received with a storm of Russian artillery fire, the brigade said.
- Ukraine said it had sentenced one of its former officials to 15 years in prison on charges of high treason for aiding Russian forces. The official is believed to have provided food and information about Ukraine’s Sumy region to Russia’s military.
Regional Security
- Chief of Finland’s military intelligence, Pekka Turunen, said planned Russian military reforms are set to increase Moscow’s troop capacity by 30 percent. He described this as a threat to NATO that should be met with vigilance.
Russian Oil and Gas
- Transnistria and Moldova launched accusations against each other for torpedoing a meeting proposed for Friday to resolve the ongoing energy crisis in the separatist enclave. The Moldovan Bureau for Reintegration said Transnistria rejected Chisinau’s meeting proposal while Transnistria’s Foreign Ministry blamed Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Oleg Serebrian.
Diplomacy
- The United Kingdom and Ukraine signed a “historic” 100-year agreement offering Ukraine security guarantees in the event of a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire. The deal, which recognises Ukraine as a “future NATO ally”, covers several areas including defence, energy and trade.
- UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his country would play its “full part” in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security and pledged to deliver a “mobile air defence system” tailored to Ukraine’s needs. He also promised to bolster maritime cooperation with Ukraine through new security frameworks in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov.
- Russian and Ukrainian officials have held talks about the search for missing residents of the Russian Kursk border region after Ukraine advanced into the Russian territory last August. According to Ukraine, about 2,000 civilians remain in the territory it controls, while Russia says some 1,000 people are missing.
Humanitarian Support
- The United Nations has initiated a $3.32bn appeal for 2025 to support the 8.2 million people affected by the Ukraine war, including refugees. Humanitarian organisations in Ukraine also plan to support six million people with essential services this year.
- UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said the international community must stand firmly behind humanitarian support plans with “the same determination as the Ukrainian people”.
- The UN Refugee Agency’s High Commissioner Filippo Grandi underscored the need for continued support for the Ukrainian people, saying, “This is not the time to forget the millions of Ukrainians who have been displaced.”
- Ukrainians who have lost relatives due to Russia’s war on their country have lodged over 13,000 submissions – claiming more than $821m in reparations for damage, loss and injury – at the Register of Damages for Ukraine, which was opened in The Hague in April. Created by the Council of Europe and the European Union, the register will ultimately work out a financial total with a view towards extracting reparations from Moscow over its war on Ukraine.