Ukraine war briefing: Russians say major oil refinery burning after Ukrainian drone strikes
Trump says Opec should cut oil prices to starve Russia of war funding; Ukraine evacuating children from towns in Kharkiv region. What we know on day 1,066
Russian crews were responding to an air attack in the Ryazan region south-east of Moscow over Thursday night. Social media channels posted videos of what appeared to be very large blazes in the city and said a major oil refinery and a power station had been hit by Ukrainian drones. The Ryazan governor, Pavel Markov, said air defence units destroyed drones. The Moscow mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said air defences intercepted attacks by Ukrainian drones at four locations around Russia’s capital and more drones headed for the capital.
Donald Trump has told the Davos World Economic Forum conference that he wants to meet Vladimir Putin soon and “stop this ridiculous war”. Trump, who has threatened to impose punitive measures on Russia if no deal is reached, said: “I really would like to be able to meet with President Putin soon to get that war ended … And that’s not from the standpoint of economy or anything else. It’s from the standpoint of millions of lives are being wasted … It’s a carnage. And we really have to stop that war.”
Heather Stewart writes that in his online address to Davos, the US president accused the Opec global oil producers of prolonging the Ukraine war by failing to cut their prices, which, if they did, would hurt Russian oil revenues and “the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately”.
The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was nothing particularly new in Trump’s threats about ending the war but Moscow was following closely “all nuances” in rhetoric and remained open to dialogue. Peskov said Trump had often applied sanctions on Russia during his first term as president.
Trump’s comments have been welcomed by Ukraine. “We do really welcome such strong messages from President Trump and we believe that he will be the winner. And we believe that we have an additional chance to get new dynamic in diplomatic efforts to end this war,” said Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha.
Russia has rejected the idea of Nato countries sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. Maria Zakharova, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, said it could cause an “uncontrollable escalation”. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, said on Tuesday that at least 200,000 European peacekeepers would be needed to prevent a new Russian attack after any ceasefire deal.
Ukraine announced evacuations of children from several towns in the north-eastern Kharkiv region threatened by Russian forces. The Kharkiv region governor, Oleg Synegubov, said “267 children and their families are to be evacuated from 16 settlements to safe places”. Synegubov said the towns and villages affected were near Kupiansk, a town Russia has tried to capture for months where fighting is raging around its outskirts. “The decision was made due to the intensified hostile shelling. We urge families with minors to save their lives and leave the dangerous areas,” Synegubov said.
Ukraine is in the final stages of drafting recruitment reforms to attract 18- to 25-year-olds who are currently exempt from mobilisation, the battlefield commander recently appointed to the president’s office said. Col Pavlo Palisa said the current drafting system inherited from Soviet times was hindering progress. Though Ukraine has already passed a mobilisation law lowering the age of conscription from 27 to 25, the measures have not had the impact needed to replenish its ranks or replace battlefield losses in its war with Russia.
One initiative is what Palisa described as an “honest contract” that includes financial incentives, clear guarantees for training, and measures to ensure dialogue between soldiers and their commanders. The plan would also target Ukrainians who have the right to deferment or were discharged after the mobilisation law was passed. “As of now, my view is that we need to start an open dialogue with society,” Palisa said. “Because the defence of the state is not only the responsibility of the armed forces. It is the duty of every Ukrainian citizen, and it is their obligation.”
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