Another mass missile strike, deputy head of ruling party dismissed

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•   Invading Russian forces launched 55 air and sea-based missiles against Ukraine on Jan. 26, of which 47 were downed by Ukrainian air defense forces.

According to Ukraine’s top general Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the enemy launched Kh-101, Kh-555, Kh-47 Kinzhal, Kalibr, and Kh-59 missiles from Tu-95, Su-35, MiG-31K aircraft and ships from the Black Sea. He added that Ukrainian air defense forces had destroyed 20 out of 47 missiles near the capital city of Kyiv.

•   Russia conducted an overnight attack on Ukraine with Iranian Shahed drones.

15 of them were shot down over Kyiv’s airspace. Air Force Command reported that Russia used a total of 24 Shahed drones in the early hours of Jan. 26, all of which were shot down by Ukrainian air defense units. There were no casualties or hits as a result of the attack.

•   Ukrainian MP Mykola Tyshchenko has been dismissed as the deputy head of the ruling Servant of the People parliamentary faction and expelled from the party.

His expulsion is said to have come as a result of a trip to Thailand, which parliament stated was not authorized and evoked outrage amidst Ukrainian citizens online. The Ukrainian government has been cracking down on such ‘unauthorized’ trips, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stating that all civil servants are banned from leaving the country save for authorized exceptions.

•   Germany will provide Ukraine with 10,000 Starlink terminals next month.

Operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company, Starlink enables Ukrainian civilians and troops to maintain communications during Russian attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. Germany earlier pledged EUR 20 million ($22 million) to help Ukraine pay for Starlink terminals and subscriptions.

•   Australia has joined the list of countries that will assist in the creation of a special international tribunal on Russia’s crimes in Ukraine.

That’s according to Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong. “Australia has joined a core group of partners, including France and the UK, to ensure Russia's leadership is held accountable for its illegal invasion of Ukraine,” Wong wrote.

•   Germany's long-awaited decision to supply Ukraine with Leopard-2 main battle tanks, produced by Rheinmetall (together with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann), has pushed the 134-year-old company's shares to record highs.

This puts Rheinmetall, which manufactures tanks, ammunition, and other military equipment, at around 10 billion euros ($11 billion) market capitalization – two and a half times more than in 2022, which could make it a blue chip in the German DAX stock index.

•   Kernel Agricultural Holding has acquired the OilExportTerminal in Pivdennyi port in Mykolaiv.

Kernel CEO Yevhen Osypov called the new asset strategically important for the company, given the lack of oil transshipment at Mykolaiv terminals. In the 2019-2022 fiscal years, Mykolaiv accounted for about half of the total oil transshipment volume in Ukraine.

•   Ukraine's economy has shrunk by more than 35% in 2022 due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The UN recorded a monthly budget deficit of $5 billion in Ukraine over the last 11 months of full-scale war in the country. Experts say that Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, the blockading of its marine ports and damage to metal plants have also undermined the economic situation.

 

•   European Union member states have been told the bloc has the legal authority to temporarily leverage at least EUR 33.8 billion of Russian central bank assets to help pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

The bloc’s Council Legal Service told diplomats that such a plan is legally feasible, as long as the assets aren’t expropriated and certain conditions are met, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The conditions include a termination date, a focus on liquid assets and clarity that the principal and interest would be returned to Russia at some point.

•   The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has improved its inflation forecast for 2023 to 18.7%, down from from 20.8%.

Tight monetary conditions, global inflation declines and weaker consumer demand amid regular power outages will contribute to the strengthening of the national currency, the central bank said. Utility tariffs, which have to be brought to market levels, will be one of the major contributing factors to inflation.

•   The United States has designated Russia’s Wagner Group mercenary company as a “significant transnational criminal organization”.

According to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the new sanctions will further damage Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's ability to support the Russian army. The Wagner Group, headed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, is involved in Kremlin-backed military operations not only in Ukraine but around the world, the U.S. Treasury Department emphasized.

 

•   The United States won’t have enough time to prepare and send M1 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine until the winter is over.

According to U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, this timetable means Abrams won’t arrive in time to participate in Ukraine’s expected spring counteroffensive. “Abrams are very complex tanks as you know,” said Nuland. “Significant preparations are required. As we stated yesterday, it will take some time to get them to the battlefield. This is not something that will happen during the spring offensive.”

 

•   The day’s long read: Russian financial institutions still working in Ukraine when will they finally leave?

The state is actively getting rid of Russian assets. But there is still a small share in the financial market that belongs to banks with Russian capital. NV Business investigated what is happening to them.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine