Zelenskyy “should not have allowed this war to begin, fighting a much bigger entity, much bigger, much more powerful. I could have made a deal so easily,” Trump said, acknowledging the bravery of the Ukrainians.
Russian forces conducted a series of drone strikes against Ukraine on the night of January 23 to 24.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 58 Shahed and decoy drones from Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar Krai and Oryol, Kursk, and Bryansk oblasts.[97] The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces downed 25 drones over Sumy, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, and Lviv oblasts and that 27 decoy drones were ”lost,” likely due to Ukrainian electronic warfare (EW) interference. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian drones damaged apartment buildings and homes and killed civilians in Kyiv and Chernihiv oblasts. Ukrainian officials reported that a Russian drone struck an unspecified target in Osnovyanskyi Raion, Kharkiv City; that a Russian drone strike killed two civilians in Kyiv Oblast; and that falling drone debris damaged buildings in Fastivskyi Raion and Brovary, Kyiv Oblast and Pidbirtsi, Lviv Oblast.[98]
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Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces downed 25 drones over Sumy, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, and Lviv oblasts
Captured Russian armored vehicle Tigr-M with installed electronic warfare systems in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine
- Russian President Vladimir Putin is once again attempting to obfuscate his unwillingness to participate in good-faith negotiations to end the war by blaming Ukraine for defending itself against Russia's invasion and illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory.
- Zelensky signed the decree in September 2022 banning negotiations with Putin in direct response to Putin's illegal annexation of four regions in eastern and southern Ukraine and after months of negotiations in which Russia continued to demand Ukraine's full capitulation.
- However, Zelensky has consistently signaled his willingness to negotiate with Russia and make certain compromises in pursuit of peace following the 2022 decree banning formal negotiations with Putin.
- Putin meanwhile continues to signal to both his domestic and global audiences that he is not interested in peace short of his full demands and remains committed to Ukraine's complete capitulation.
- Putin is attempting to leverage the 2022 decree as a strawman to hide the reality of his disinterest in negotiations and to sow discord between Ukraine and its Western allies.
- Putin also attempted to position himself as Trump’s equal during his interview, reinforcing his long-held belief that Russia is the great-power heir to the Soviet Union.
- Putin demonstrated that he is worried about the effect that lower oil prices would have on his domestic stability and ability to wage his war in Ukraine.
- The Kremlin is attempting to revive its information operation aimed at deterring the US and other Western states from providing further military assistance to Ukraine.
- The Kremlin is framing the new 2025 Union State Security Concept as completely superseding the original 1999 Security Concept, indicating that this new agreement may be more expansive than the original and will further forward the Kremlin's effort to annex Belarus.
- Ukrainian forces conducted a large series of drone strikes against Russian defense industrial enterprises and oil refineries on the night of January 23 to 24 as part of an ongoing strike series aimed at degrading Russian military capacity.
- Russian forces recently advanced in Kursk Oblast and near Chasiv Yar, Toretsk, Pokrovsk, Kurakhove, and Velyka Novosilka.
- Ukrainian forces recently recaptured lost positions near Toretsk.
Russian forces recently advanced northwest and south of Sudzha amid continued offensive operations along the Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast. Geolocated footage published on January 23 shows that Russian forces reached the northern outskirts of Sverdlikovo (northwest of Sudzha) and advanced within southern Makhnovka (south of Sudzha).[46]
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