Ukraine-Russia war latest: Fires rage in Kharkiv after drone strike – as Trump’s aid freeze hits Kyiv

By Djon Dor On Jan 28, 2025

Key points

Ukrainian causes hit by Trump’s aid freezeOvernight Russian drone attack on Kharkiv injures fourNorth Koreans ‘blow themselves up rather than risk capture’, say Ukraine soldiersBig picture: What you need to know at the start of a new weekReporting by Mark Wyatt

08:15:01 Long-time Putin ally Lukashenko declared winner of Belarus election

Alexander Lukashenko, a long-time ally of Vladimir Putin, has secured his seventh five-year term as Belarusian president.

The 70-year-old, often described as “Europe’s last dictator”, won 86.8% of the vote in Sunday’s election, according to results published by the country’s electoral commission.

The election has been labelled a sham by many Western countries because independent media are banned in Belarus and all leading opposition figures have been jailed or forced to flee abroad.

“The people of Belarus had no choice. It is a bitter day for all those who long for freedom and democracy,” Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said in reaction to the result.

Others were pleased at Lukashenko’s apparent resounding victory, especially in Moscow.

“Your convincing victory in the elections clearly testifies to your high political authority and to the undoubted support of the population for the state policy Belarus is pursuing,” Putin said, according to the Kremlin.

“You are always a welcome and dear guest on Russian soil. As agreed, I look forward to seeing you soon in Moscow.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping also sent a message of congratulations, Chinese state media reported.

How is this a fair election?

Sky News’ Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett put that question straight to Lukashenko over the weekend, asking how Belarus can hold fair elections when criticism of the president is banned.

“You used to be an empire, and now your subordinates have come in and are ruling you,” the president replied.

Watch the full interaction here…

07:45:01 North Koreans ‘blow themselves up with grenades rather than risk capture’, say Ukraine soldiers

By defence editor Deborah Haynes and producers Azad Safarov and Katy Scholes in northeast Ukraine

North Korean troops appear to have temporarily pulled back from the frontline in Russia after suffering heavy losses, a Ukrainian special forces commander has told Sky News.

The commander, who goes by the codename “Puls”, said Kim Jong Un’s men were likely either learning lessons from mistakes made during their first, bloody clashes with Ukrainian soldiers, tending to their wounded or waiting for reinforcements.

“I think they’ll be back soon,” he said, speaking at a secret base in northeastern Ukraine.

Interviews with several Ukrainian troops reveal remarkable details about how the North Koreans have been fighting since they arrived on the battlefield in the Russian region of Kursk last month. This includes:

An apparent initial lack of awareness about the threats from drones and artillery, with North Korean soldiers attacking on foot;”Brainwashing”, which means they keep pushing forward despite being under Ukrainian fire;A desire to remove evidence of their presence from the warzone;A refusal to be taken alive, with claims that North Koreans have been seen blowing themselves up with grenades rather than risk capture. Puls even claimed a North Korean has been heard shouting “For General Kim Jong Un” before killing himself;Poor coordination between North Korean and Russian forces because of the language barrier;Better kit than many Russians, including rifles and uniform, but a lack of heavy armour.

Read on here:

07:20:21 Ukrainian causes hit by Trump’s aid freeze – as about 60 USAid staff put on leave

Ukraine-based humanitarian projects have had their funding cut after Donald Trump’s freeze on US foreign aid, several sources have said.

Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, on Friday ordered a halt to virtually all US foreign aid except for Israel and Egypt.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed over the weekend that Kyiv was still receiving military aid from the US, but a source at the USAid mission in Ukraine has told AFP that “most” of the humanitarian projects there have received an order to stop.

Organisations that support veterans, local media and healthcare are among those to say their funding has been cut by Washington.

Trump has explained his decision by calling on other countries to increase their financial commitments to foreign aid.

Asked on Air Force One yesterday if there was a timeline for the US reopening aid, the US president said: “We want other people to join us.

“We are spending billions and billions and billions of dollars and other countries that are wealthy are spending zero.

“We want them to help. Why should we be the only ones? They understand. They’ve been told that.”

USAid officials placed on leave

The Trump administration has put about 60 senior USAid employees on administrate leave, sources familiar with the matter have said.

In a memo seen by Reuters, some staff members have been accused of taking action “designed to circumvent” the president’s executive order on foreign aid.

“As a result, we have placed a number of USAid employees on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice while we complete our analysis of these actions.”

07:05:54 In pictures: Fires rage in Kharkiv after drone attack

As we mentioned in our last post, an overnight attack on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv by Russia injured four people.

The area’s regional governor said a 62-year-old woman was taken to hospital and a 66-year-old man was injured when debris from a destroyed drone fell, damaging several houses.

The emergency services were called soon after midnight to a private business that caught fire, Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram.

These images show police experts at the scene of the attack as fires rage.

06:57:35 Good morning

Hello and welcome back to our coverage of the war in Ukraine.

Overnight, a Russian air attack injured four people and set a private business on fire in Kharkiv – we’ll bring you more on that shortly.

We’ll also be looking at Donald Trump’s freeze on US foreign aid, which has reportedly left several Ukraine-based humanitarian projects without funding.

In other news from the past 24 hours, the EU has announced it is extending its wide-ranging sanctions on Russia after Hungary stopped holding up the renewal.

Meanwhile, Alexander Lukashenko has secured a seventh five-year term as Belarusian president after winning 86.3% of the vote in an election victory that Western governments have labelled a sham.

We also have a special report by security and defence editor Deborah Haynes to bring you from Russia’s Kursk region, where North Korean troops appear to have temporarily pulled back from the frontline.

Before we begin, here’s a map showing the situation on the battlefield:

08:48:57 The big picture: What you need to know this week

By Mark Wyatt, live news reporter

It’s the start of a new week and the 1,068th day since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

As the war draws closer to its three-year anniversary, we’re taking a step back to look at the bigger picture.

Before we begin, here’s a map showing the situation on the battlefield:

Talking about talking

While the war between Israel and Hamas has paused due to a ceasefire deal, there is still no such agreement on the table in Ukraine.

Many had hoped the return of Donald Trump to the White House would speed up potential peace negotiations, with the president putting plenty of emphasis on ending the war throughout his election campaign.

Instead, there’s been a lot of talking about talking, from all corners.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Kyiv must be included in peace talks and that he wants representatives from Europe around the table also.

“Yes, I would really want that Europe would take part, because we will be members of the European Union,” he said, adding that Trump could end the war, but that he would only be able to do so if he involved Ukraine in the talks.

Trump says he wants to meet Putin “immediately” and the Russian president has suggested he feels the same way.

Putin told a Russian state TV journalist: “We believe the current president’s statements about his readiness to work together. We are always open to this and ready for negotiations.

“It would be better for us to meet, based on the realities of today, to talk calmly.”

US hasn’t stopped military aid

There were reasonable concerns in Ukraine last week after Marco Rubio, the newly sworn in US secretary of state, announced he would pause foreign aid grants for 90 days.

Ukraine relies on the US for 40% of its military needs, and Trump has previously threatened to pull the support being sent.

Thankfully for Kyiv, Zelenskyy confirmed on Saturday that Washington has not halted its military aid shipments.

“I am focused on military aid; it has not been stopped, thank God,” he said at a news conference alongside Moldovan president Maia Sandu.

Zelenskyy did not clarify whether humanitarian aid had been paused.

Russia drops ‘thousands’ of explosives

In the background of diplomacy and politics, war is continuing to destroy lives in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said yesterday that Russia has used 1,250 aerial bombs, over 750 attack drones and more than 20 missiles to attack Ukraine in the past week.

“Only determination can stop such terrorists,” he said on X.

“We are constantly working with our partners to strengthen our defence capabilities and to reduce Russia’s ability to terrorize Ukraine.

“Long-range capabilities are crucial. Sanctions are essential. Lowering the price of oil is important. The key is to act in unity and protect lives with resolve.”

Trump’s oil plea

Speaking of oil, Trump used part of his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos last Thursday evening to call on the powerful oil cartel OPEC to push down prices as a way to hit Moscow’s wallet.

“Right now the price is high enough that that war will continue,” he said, calling on Saudi Arabia and OPEC to cut prices.

Putin downplayed Trump’s economic threats, saying “excessively” low oil prices were bad for both the US and Russia.

“We don’t see anything new here,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about Trump’s economic ultimatums.

Elsewhere in the region…

People in Belarus have started to vote in the presidential election, which is all but certain to extend the rule of Alexander Lukashenko.

The authoritarian leader is expected to win a seventh term as leader in yesterday’s election, extending his 31 years in power.

His iron-fisted rule since 1994 earned Lukashenko the nickname of “Europe’s last dictator”, relying on subsidies and political support from close ally Russia.

He let Moscow use his territory to invade Ukraine in 2022 and even hosts some of Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons.

“It’s better to have a dictatorship like in Belarus than a democracy like Ukraine,” Lukashenko once said in his characteristic bluntness.

Meanwhile, in nearby Slovakia, Robert Fico, the country’s prime minister, has rejected calls for his resignation after tens of thousands demonstrated against his government’s policy shift closer to Russia.

About 60,000 people protested in the capital, Bratislava, on Friday and approximately 100,000 turned out for rallies in cities across the country.

Here are some of the best pieces about Ukraine from Sky’s correspondents and editors this month:

Deborah Hayes, security and defence editor

Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent

Beth Rigby, political editor –

20:00:01 Good evening

Thanks for following our live coverage of the war in Ukraine today.

Before we go, here are the main developments today:

Donald Trump threatened Vladimir Putin with tariffs, taxes and sanctions should he not come to the negotiating table;Russia’s deputy UN envoy said the Kremlin would need to see what a deal would look like first;The UK deployed two Navy vessels to shadow a Russian spy ship which entered British waters;Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that at least 200,000 European soldiers would be needed to serve as peacekeepers in the event of a ceasefire deal being agreed.

19:40:01 In pictures: Pokrovsk rocked by strikes

These images come to us from the key logistics town of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, which has been under Russian bombardment for months.

19:31:01 Ukranine inflicts ‘dozens of North Korean casualties’ after eight-hour Kursk standoff

Ukraine’s special forces has claimed to have killed 21 North Korean soldiers and injured scores more after an eight-hour standoff in Russia’s Kursk region.

“Special Operations Forces operators killed 21 and wounded 40 North Korean soldiers who were attacking Ukrainian positions,” it said in a statement.

“The attack of the North Koreans, who were fighting on the side of Russia, was held back for more than eight hours by operators of the 8th SSO regiment of the armed forces of Ukraine, together with friendly infantrymen, with small arms and grenade launchers.”

North Korean soldiers have been supporting Russian units in attempting to re-take the Ukrainian-occupied parts of Kursk – territory that could prove pivotal in future peace negotiations.

19:02:01 Nearly 100 detained after massive Ukrainian security operation

Almost 100 people have been arrested after Ukraine’s SBU security service conducted some 150 “special operations” across the country.

After 222 people were accused of suspicious activity, the SBU carried out a series of raids across Ukraine between Saturday and Monday.

At least 85 people were arrested following the massive operation, a statement from the SBU read.

Those included, according to the SBU:

19 “Russian agents” who carried out “intelligence and sabotage activities for the benefit of Russian special services”;39 people involved in “crimes in the military sphere”, including persons involved in embezzlement of funds from the state defence budget;63 individuals “suspected of implementing ‘evasion schemes’ and organising illegal border crossings” for people trying to dodge serving in the army;Seven people who “harmed state security in the information sphere and cyberspace, including anti-Ukrainian propagandists”;24 individuals who harmed the “economic interests of the state”;Seven people involved in the “illegal trafficking of weapons and military equipment”.

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