Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 Minutes takes stock, for you, every evening. Between the strong declarations, the advances on the front and the results of the fighting, here is the essential part of this Sunday, January 12, 2025, the 1,054th day of the war.
Fact of the day
Sweden has announced that it will provide up to three warships and an aircraft to monitor critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea and the Russian “ghost fleet”. Several electricity and telecommunications cables have been damaged in the Baltic in recent months.
Furthermore, the leaders of NATO countries bordering the Baltic Sea will meet on Tuesday in Helsinki to discuss security in the region. The discussions will focus on “strengthening NATO’s presence in the Baltic Sea and responding to the threat posed by Russia’s ghost fleet,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb said.
Sentence of the day
« “Sweden is not at war, but not at peace either. True peace is freedom and the absence of serious conflicts between countries” »
This strong statement from Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson aims to evoke the proxy war being waged on his soil. The damage targeting energy and communications infrastructures is part, according to experts and political leaders, in the context of a “hybrid war” led by Moscow against Western countries.
The number of the day
2. South Korean intelligence confirmed that Ukraine had captured two North Korean soldiers. In the evening, Ukrainian President Zelensky said he was “ready” to hand over North Korean soldiers to Moscow as part of a prisoner exchange. Pyongyang is suspected of having sent more than 10,000 troops to help Russian forces.
Ukraine’s intelligence agency (SBU) released a video on Saturday showing the two men in hospital bunks, one with his hands and the other with his jaw bandaged. A doctor at the detention center said the first man also had a broken leg. They were captured in the Kursk region.
Today’s trend
The Russian army claimed this Sunday the capture of two localities in eastern Ukraine, where it has been making slow but constant progress for months. In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry said that units of the “South” grouping had captured the village of Yantarne, in the Donetsk region (east).
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Furthermore, the Russian Ministry of Defense indicated that it had captured the town of Kalinové, in the Kharkiv region (north-east). This location is on the western bank of the Oskil River, which in this area has long marked the front line between the two camps.
