Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 Minutes takes stock for you every evening. Between the strong declarations, the progress on the front and the results of the fighting, here is the main news from this Friday, January 3, the 1,045th day of the war.
News of the day
Transdniestria, a pro-Russian separatist territory in Moldova, announced the establishment of power cuts on Friday evening for the population due to the cessation of Russian gas deliveries. This small territory which has escaped the control of the capital Chisinau since the fall of the USSR had already shut down many industrial companies on Thursday due to the lack of electricity. This time, the residents are concerned.
The leader of this territory, Vadim Krasnosselski, estimated on Telegram that “the load (on the network) will continue to increase”. According to him, more than 3,000 homes have already been deprived of light and heating due to incidents caused by the overload of the electricity network.
The Russian giant Gazprom has until now supplied Transdniestria with gas via the local supplier Tiraspoltransgaz, without this company paying for these deliveries. As Transdniester was not recognized by the international community, the secessionist entity sent payment requests to Chisinau, increasing Moldova's debt to Gazprom.
The conflict over the amount of the debt to be settled with Gazprom – estimated at more than 700 million dollars by Moscow but estimated at only around 9 million by Chisinau – pushed the Russian giant to cut off the tap from January 1.
The rest of Moldova has so far been spared from the cuts, notably thanks to help from neighboring Romania and after taking drastic measures to reduce consumption in the country.
Russia also stopped its gas deliveries to the European Union via Ukraine, after the expiration of a transit contract signed between the two parties at the end of 2019 and which kyiv refused to renew. This ruling is of great concern to several Eastern European countries, including Slovakia.
Today's statement
« “Trump can be decisive […] in this war. He can help us stop (Vladimir) Putin. He is very strong and unpredictable. » »
“I would really like this unpredictability of President Trump to apply to Russia,” hoped Volodymyr Zelensky. The arrival of Donald Trump at the White House raises hopes in kyiv for strong decisions, but also fears of a drop in American financial and military support, which the Republican has criticized on numerous occasions.
The Ukrainian president has long refused to negotiate an end to the war with Vladimir Putin but recently softened his position, notably agreeing to temporarily give up trying to retake the territories conquered by Moscow, in exchange for security guarantees from NATO and an increase in arms deliveries to kyiv.
The number of the day
5. A particularly deadly day on the front… Russian attacks killed at least three people in Ukraine on Friday, while Ukrainian shooting left two dead in Russian border regions, local authorities in both countries announced.
-A series of missile strikes hit the northern Ukrainian city of Chernigiv on Friday evening. “One person killed, 4 injured,” Dmytro Brijinskyi, head of the military administration of the city of Chernigiv, said on Telegram, specifying that the toll was provisional.
Our file on the war in Ukraine
Early in the morning, another Russian attack, this time from drones, reached the kyiv region, near the Ukrainian capital, leaving one dead.
On Russian soil on Friday, in the Kursk region, a man was killed by a Ukrainian attack. In the Bryansk region, another Russian area bordering Ukraine, a Ukrainian mortar bombardment on the village of Kirillovka left one dead, announced its governor, Alexandre Bogomaz.
Today's trend
Global food prices fell by 2.1% in 2024 compared to the previous year, mainly due to lower global prices of cereals and sugar, according to the FAO.
After the surge in the prices of cereals, and particularly wheat, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, prices continued to fall to return to their pre-war prices on international markets.
In December 2024, wheat export prices remained broadly stable: “Downward pressure from weak international demand and increased seasonal supplies from harvests in Argentina and Australia were offset by upward pressures from poor winter crop conditions in Russia,” explains the monthly FAO report.
Rice prices fell slightly (-1.2%) in December, due to a “slowdown in demand” for fragrant rice, but increased slightly year-on-year (+0.8%), notably supported by imports from several Asian countries during the first nine months of 2024.
The drop in sugar prices is mainly due to “record exports from Brazil during the year” and “positive prospects for world supply for the 2024/25 campaign”.
These declines were partly offset by the increase in prices of vegetable oils (+9.4%), dairy products (4.7%, notably driven by butter prices) and meats (2.7%).
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