► Russian ghost fleet suspected of sabotaging cables in the Baltic
The Swedish navy indicated on Tuesday January 7 that it had recovered the anchor of the Eagle S, an oil tanker suspected of belonging to the Russian ghost fleet and of being at the origin of the damage to five submarine cables in the Baltic Sea.
“HMS Belos found, raised the anchor and handed it over to the Finnish authorities”said Jimmie Adamsson, spokesperson for the Swedish navy, specifying that the operation had been “quite short”.
► Popularity declining for President Zelensky
Ukrainians still mostly support President Volodymyr Zelensky in his action, after almost three years of Russian invasion, a figure that will however decline sharply in 2024, according to the results of a poll published by a specialized institute in kyiv.
The kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted a telephone survey of 2,000 people living in territory under Ukrainian control between December 2 and 17, approximately a month after Donald Trump’s victory in the American presidential election which has reignited speculation about possible peace talks with Moscow.
According to the results, by the end of 2024, 52% of Ukrainians surveyed said “have confidence” in Volodymyr Zelensky, a figure down sharply compared to the end of 2023 (77%), reflecting a flagging of support for the Ukrainian president, after almost three years of high-intensity war.
► The Ukrainian army still claims to be fighting in Kurakhové
The Ukrainian army has assured that it will continue to fight in Kurakhové, an industrial town in eastern Ukraine whose capture was claimed the day before by Russia, while clashes are also taking place in other cities in Donbass.
Russian forces said on Monday that they had raised their flag over this town which had around 18,000 inhabitants before the war and which constituted an important defensive position for Ukrainian forces in the south of this industrial region in the east of the country.
This loss has not been confirmed by Ukraine. On Tuesday morning, the Khortytsia troop group, which is fighting in the area, assured that “in the Kurakhové sector, the defense forces oppose the enemy’s attempts to use its superiority in men and develop an offensive”.
