Here's what happened on the 1,059th day of Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine.
Here's what's happening on Saturday, January 19:
Fighting
- Three people have been killed overnight in Kyiv, according to a Ukrainian military official. Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital as plane crashes were heard and air defenses responded to Russian ballistic missile fire.
- Ukraine continued its drone attacks against Russian oil facilities, hitting depots in the Tula and Kaluga regions south of Moscow overnight. Pictures showing the scene of the fire were shared online while the Kaluga regional governor said several drones had been shot down.
- The governors of the Bryansk and Smolensk regions of Russia reported that air defense forces shot down 14 Ukrainian drones with no reports of casualties.
- At least 89,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine, according to a joint investigation by BBC Russia and Mediazona, an increase of 3,965 since mid-December. It is believed that the actual death toll is much higher as the number of Russian military deaths includes only those that can be immediately confirmed.
- Clashes have been reported in the Ukrainian coal-mining region of Udachne west of Pokrovsk, an important resource for the Ukrainian steel industry in Kryvyi Rih that depends on the mines.
Military cases
- The pro-Russian Telegraph channel posted several videos online showing two Russian soldiers being beheaded by Ukrainian soldiers on pikes. The footage also shows Ukrainian prisoners of war from the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade being tortured and their bodies mutilated.
Russian oil and gas
- The Reuters news agency reported that Russia's petroleum sales will drop by 10 percent in 2024 after the crash of Ukrainian oil tankers.
- The United States has imposed sanctions against six Russian oil tankers under construction at the Zvezda shipyard, Reuters reports, the first time such sanctions have been imposed in the war to target Russian “shadow ships”.
Regional discussions
- Russia and Iran have agreed to strengthen military and intelligence ties in a “comprehensive strategic partnership”. Under the deal, Iran stopped providing military aid to Russia but agreed to work together against common threats.
- France's anti-aircraft patrol has been warning of a “Russian threat” over the Baltic Sea, France's defense minister said on television, after Russian air defenses intercepted French planes during a patrol.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has welcomed Slovakia's opposition leader in Kyiv amid diplomatic spats with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has threatened to cut aid to Ukraine.
- United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp ahead of the 80th anniversary of the Holocaust, where he held a meeting with Polish President Donald Tusk. Starmer stopped by on his way back from Ukraine where he signed a security agreement with President Zelenskyy.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken believes that the incoming Trump administration will undermine Biden's policies on Ukraine. The Associated Press reports that Blinken said this in a recent interview and said he hoped there would be “continuation” of Washington's support for Kyiv.