It is day 319 of the war in Ukraine. Follow the latest news about the war and all its aftermath in this live blog.
This is the live blog of Sunday January 8, read the latest updates in the live blog of Monday January 9 | Fighting in Ukraine continues despite the truce
Russia and Belarus hold joint air exercises
16:27 | Russia and Belarus will hold joint air exercises this month. The airborne divisions that are part of the joint army units of both countries will exercise from January 16 to February 1, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said.
Russian Air Force planes arrived in Belarus on Sunday. All airfields and training areas of the Belarusian Air Force and Air Defense will be involved in the exercises.
The Belarusian ministry’s TV channel reported on Sunday that neighboring countries had stepped up their joint military training, building on Moscow’s experience fighting in Ukraine with an emphasis on urban warfare. Joint military units in Belarus have been reinforced with specialized weapons, soldiers and equipment, the department said.
Ukrainian officials and Western observers have speculated for months that Moscow could once again use its ally’s territory as a springboard for another attack from the north on Ukraine. Minsk allowed Russia to send troops from Belarus into Ukraine as the invasion began on 24 February.
Russia is a key ally for Belarusian President Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994. He said in November that direct deployment of the Belarusian army in Ukraine was out of the question. “If we get directly involved in this conflict with the military, with the soldiers, we contribute nothing, we only make it worse.”
Russia and Ukraine each exchange fifty prisoners
4pm | Russia and Ukraine have again exchanged prisoners of war. Both warring sides have released fifty captured soldiers, Moscow and Kiev confirm.
In the case of Ukraine, 33 officers and 17 soldiers captured in Mariupol, Kiev, Kherson and the Donetsk region were able to return home, top adviser Andriy Yermak reported on Telegram. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the exchange and said fifty soldiers had been released after the negotiations. They are taken to Moscow for medical and psychological treatment.
In recent months, prisoners have been regularly exchanged. Contacts between Kiev and Moscow in other areas have been suspended.
Moscow reports a retaliatory attack with hundreds of dead
14:16 | The Russian military says it has killed around 600 Ukrainian soldiers in targeted rocket attacks against dormitories at a Ukrainian army base in Kramatorsk. According to Russian intelligence, more than 1,300 soldiers were present in the dormitories, Russian media reported
It was reported by the military in retaliation for a very deadly rocket attack by the Ukrainian military on a Russian base on New Year’s Eve. Also, the Ukrainians fired HIMARS missiles at a school building in Maijivka, east of the city of Donetsk, where Russian soldiers were billeted. According to Kiev, 400 people were killed, according to Moscow 89.
Russia and Belarus will step up military training
1:43 pm | Russia and Belarus will step up joint military training, Reuters reports. The experience Russian troops have gained in Ukraine – with an emphasis on urbanized warfare – is being used as a benchmark for this, according to Belarusian state television.
The Belarusian defense ministry said on Thursday that Moscow and Minsk had stepped up joint military activities in Belarus with more weapons, military personnel and specialized materials, making it easier to practice together.
The British want an official war tribunal for Russia
09:19 | British politicians have presented a proposal to convict Russia through a court of law for its aggression against Ukraine. The proposal is supported by all political parties and is intended to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin and his generals accountable for their actions.
Opposition leader Keir Starmer, former NATO Secretary General George Robertson, former Foreign Secretary David Owen and former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, among others, support the establishment of such a tribunal, in so that there can be “the same eye” on the planning of this war as was done after the Second World War».
Power plants in Donetsk damaged by Ukrainians
08:14 | According to Reuters, two thermal power plants were damaged by Ukrainian shelling in the Russian-occupied part of Donetsk. This is what the Russian representatives would have said.
Several people were also injured, Telegram reported. Ukraine almost never claims responsibility for attacks inside the country or in the occupied territories.
Ukraine places dozens of Russian artists on sanctions list
01:08 | Ukraine has placed dozens of Russian artists and other public figures on a sanctions list. These include famous personalities from the worlds of opera, film and music.
A decree containing 119 names was released by Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky’s office on Saturday. One of the most famous names on the list is that of the Viennese opera singer Anna Netrebko. She has previously been criticized for having close ties to the Kremlin and not criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin enough.
The list also includes three citizens of Ukraine. Also among them are Russian pop star Filipp Kirkorov and actor and director Nikita Mikhalkov, who has won awards at major film festivals, such as Cannes and Venice. Ukraine will freeze the assets of everyone on the list.
According to Ukrainian media, President Zelensky also revoked the citizenship of thirteen clerics of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church at the end of December. Who these priests are is not known. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has traditionally had close ties with Russia. However, after the Russian invasion, the Church completely detached from Moscow. The Kiev leadership said the Church’s ties with Russia pose a threat to Ukraine’s security.
Zelensky: ceasefire declared by Putin failed
07-01-2022 – 22:15 | The unilaterally declared ceasefire by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has failed, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky said in his daily video message on Saturday evening. “The world has seen once again how false Moscow’s statements are at all levels,” Zelensky said, shortly before the official end of the ceasefire.
“They said something about an alleged ceasefire, but the reality is that Russian shells hit Bachmoth and other Ukrainian positions again,” the Ukrainian head of state said. Once again it was confirmed: only the expulsion of the Russian occupiers from the Ukrainian territory and the elimination of any possibility for Russia to put pressure on Ukraine and all of Europe will mean the restoration of the ceasefire, security and of peace.’
The Russian president had announced on Thursday that, due to the Orthodox Christmas, a ceasefire would be in effect along the entire front from 10:00 Dutch time on Friday until 22:00 on Saturday. But it soon became apparent that shots were being fired from the Ukrainian and Russian sides. Moscow initially denied this, but later admitted it had responded to the Ukrainian shelling with counterattacks.
Source: BNR
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