Month: January 2025

Ukraine stopped transiting Russian gas. Meanwhile, Russians attacked the center of Kyiv with kamikaze drones.

Read more about what happened on Wednesday, January 1.

Tap is closed. Ukraine stops Russian gas transit to EU and Moldova

The transit of Russian gas through Ukraine to Europe and Moldova has been stopped after the termination of the contract between Naftogaz and Gazprom. RBC-Ukraine analyzes the consequences for the EU, Ukraine, and Moldova.

Russia strikes Kyiv with drones: Fires broke out, casualties reported

On the first day of the new year, Russia attacked Kyiv with drones. Debris fell in several districts and fires broke out, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko and the Kyiv City Military Administration.

Two people died as a result of the enemy attack. Six more were wounded.

Car drives into crowd during New Year’s celebration in USA, multiple casualties reported

In New Orleans, USA, a car drove into a large crowd during New Year’s celebrations. Ten people were killed, and 30 others were injured, CNN reports.

As it turned out later, the driver of the car was shot dead by police.

Ukraine’s intelligence disrupts Lukoil services with cyberattack

Specialists from the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine have attacked Russia’s oil sector, with the primary target being the services of the company Lukoil, according to RBC-Ukraine’s sources.

As a result of the attack, the company’s digital resources were disrupted. Due to the cyberattack, the company’s clients were unable to make payments at gas stations via the mobile application.

In 2024, Russia suffered record losses – 430,790 soldiers. This number is nearly equivalent to 36 motorized infantry divisions, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense reports.

According to the statement, the enemy sustained more total losses last year than in 2022 and 2023. The largest losses in a single month and throughout the entire full-scale war were recorded in December – 48,670 Russian soldiers.

The previous record for Russian army casualties in terms of military personnel was set in November 2024, with 45,720 soldiers lost.

In addition, Ukraine’s Defense Forces destroyed or damaged 3,689 enemy tanks last year, which equals approximately 119 tank battalions. The most tanks were destroyed in May, when 31 enemy tanks were struck in just one day, on May 12. This amount of equipment represents the size of a tank battalion.

In total, Ukrainian forces destroyed or damaged 8,956 enemy armored combat vehicles – the equivalent of more than 37 motorized infantry divisions. The largest number of enemy equipment was destroyed in October 2024 – 923 units. The cost of this destroyed armored equipment for Russia was estimated to be at least half a billion dollars.

Last year, Ukrainian defenders also destroyed 13,050 units of enemy artillery, which would be enough to equip 725 artillery divisions.

Russian losses

The Russian regime has been attempting to conceal the losses of its military forces in the war against Ukraine. Losses among private military companies, mercenaries, and other paramilitary formations are also being kept under wraps.

According to Ukraine’s General Staff, since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukrainian forces have eliminated over 792,000 Russian soldiers.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, Russia has lost more than 98,000 mobilized soldiers between September 21, 2022, and October 31, 2024.

Over the past day, on January 1, soldiers of the National Guard of Ukraine destroyed 10 units of Russian equipment while repelling a Russian assault. A Russian occupant was also taken prisoner, according to the head of the National Guard of Ukraine, Oleksandr Pivnenko.

During the repulsion of the Russian assault along the front line, the following were destroyed:

• 2 tanks;
• 4 units of armored vehicles;
• 4 units of automotive vehicles;
• 2 artillery systems;
• 2 ammunition warehouses;

“We defeated 31 Russian troop concentrations. 1 Russian occupant who survived the assault was taken prisoner,” Pivnenko writes.

The video also shows the special forces of the Omega Wings unit.

Situation at front

According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 140 combat engagements were recorded over the past day. Russian occupants attacked most of all in the Pokrovsk sector.

Russia’s losses amounted to 1,370 personnel. In particular, the Ukrainian Defense Forces destroyed:

• 4 tanks;
• 13 armored combat vehicles;
• 20 artillery systems.

A shooting at a bar in Montenegro has resulted in 12 deaths. The country’s authorities are considering a complete ban on weapons, the news agency Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports.

“We will consider a complete ban on carrying weapons,” said Prime Minister of Montenegro Milojko Spajić.

12 victims in bar shooting

According to the reports, 12 people, including two children, were killed in Cetinje, and four others were injured.

The victims were killed in five locations: four people in the first and second locations, two children in the third, and one person in the fourth and fifth locations.

The suspect in the deadly shooting, Aco Martinović, attempted to take his own life. He died while being transported to the hospital.

Minister of Internal Affairs of Montenegro Danilo Šaranović stated that the motives are unknown, as Martinović had killed his friends and godfathers.

In 2005, Martinović was sentenced to one year of conditional imprisonment for violent behavior, but he was not considered a person of interest, the Minister added.

The Minister of Internal Affairs noted that in 2022, authorities found weapons and explosives in Martinović’s possession, for which he was sentenced to three months in prison.

Shooting in Montenegro

As reported earlier, on Wednesday, January 1, a man opened fire in a bar in the center of Cetinje, Montenegro, and then went outside and started shooting at passersby. As a result, there were killed and injured victims.

Russians continue to engage units of the army of North Korea in combat operations in the Kursk region. On New Year’s Eve, the North Korean soldiers got drunk, according to the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine.

According to the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, North Korea continues to suffer significant losses among its personnel. To replace the losses and strengthen their positions, Russian commanders are deploying new North Korean soldiers to the front line. On December 31 and January 1, North Korean soldiers were moved to positions near the settlements of:

• Fanaseevka;
• Ulanok;
• Cherkasskaya Konopelka.

At the same time, lower-level commanders lie in their reports to the higher command about real losses among North Korean soldiers.

“The morale of the North Korean soldiers has fallen. They are constantly being treated with Russian army propaganda about the great importance of the North Korean army’s participation in the war against Ukraine. On New Year’s Eve, cases of alcohol abuse were recorded among North Korean soldiers, including those involved in combat operations,” the intelligence adds.

Participation of North Korean troops in Russia’s war against Ukraine

According to South Korea, about 11,000 North Korean soldiers were sent to Russia. Some of them were transferred to the Kursk region after training.

On December 16, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that North Korean soldiers had already begun to take part in battles in the Kursk region of Russia.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon does not see much effectiveness in the participation of North Korean troops in the battles and has reported significant losses.

Read our article to find out what the North Korean troops bring to Russia and whether there is any effect on the frontline.