Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 689

Here is the situation on Saturday, January 13, 2024.

Fighting

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched some 40 drones and missiles, including hypersonic missiles. Ukraine’s ground forces commander told the Reuters news agency that Kyiv needed more military aircraft, such as United States A-10 attack jets, to support the infantry, as well as planes that could fire long-range cruise missiles. A senior Ukrainian presidential aide has said he was confident that an amended bill seeking to tighten Ukraine’s mobilisation laws would be passed in the coming days or weeks.

Politics and diplomacy

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak signed a new security agreement with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, and announced an increase in military funding for Kyiv. Sunak said the United Kingdom would increase its support in the next financial year to 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2bn), an increase of 200 million pounds ($255m) on the previous two years. Zelenskyy said he was more positive now than he was last month that his country would secure new financial aid from the US. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met senior Chinese official Liu Jianchao and discussed ties between North Korea and Russia as well as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to his office. France’s newly appointed foreign minister Stephane Sejourne will visit Ukraine on Saturday for his first official trip. The foreign ministers of Hungary and Ukraine will meet in western Ukraine at the end of January, according to a statement by the Hungarian government. Afghanistan and Mongolia raised their imports of Russian fuel by about 28 percent in 2023 to almost six million tonnes, partially offsetting a decline in Russian supplies to Europe, according to traders and industry data. The US imposed sanctions on three Russian entities and one individual allegedly involved in the transfer and testing of North Korea’s ballistic missiles for alleged use by Moscow on Ukraine. The Russian foreign ministry called a US plan to confiscate up to $300bn in frozen Russian assets to help rebuild Ukraine “21st century piracy” and said Moscow would retaliate harshly if it happened.