Ukraine war latest: Kyiv must leave Donbas as 'path to peace', Putin envoy says

By Michael Drummond, foreign news reporter

The threat to shipping posed by GPS jamming and other interference is growing and there is a "real risk to life", experts have warned.

Hundreds of vessels are being affected every day, with disruption posing urgent risks to maritime safety.

The issue of interference to global navigation systems has rocketed in recent years, with disruption to aircraft perhaps more well-known than shipping.

Russia is accused of widespread jamming and spoofing operations in eastern Europe (Moscow has denied the accusations), but the problem has been observed all over the world.

Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a two-year loan of €90bn (£78bn) for Kyiv's defence and to keep basic services running.

Ukraine's Interfax news agency reported that Volodymyr Zelenskyy's rival and former president, Petro Poroshenko, expressed hope the loan could be made available shortly, after meeting EU commissioner for defence and space Andrius Kubilius.

Poroshenko said on social media:

"[I] Thanked for the decision to allocate a €90bn loan to Ukraine to meet its immediate military needs through a cascade approach (through investments in the Ukrainian defence industry, purchases from European manufacturers, and, if necessary, from American arms manufacturers). I also expressed hope that the EU regulations on the use of the loan will be approved by the Council of Permanent Representatives of the EU this week."

For context: EU leaders agreed last month to provide the interest-free loan to Ukraine in 2026 and 2027 after failing to commit to using frozen Russian assets as a means of funding Kyiv.

More to bring you now on the heavy Russian strikes on the city of Odesa last night (see 9:06am post). 

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the "brutal" drone attacks have left dozens of people injured, including children. 

A rescue operation is under way to determine "the fate of everyone who may be trapped under the rubble" after more than 50 drones damaged five residential buildings in the city, he said on social media.

Zelenskyy added that several other regions across Ukraine, including the western Lviv region, had also been targeted overnight.

 "Stable support for our people and our warriors, and faster implementation of agreements, are needed," he said.

Russia's top military general has claimed Moscow's forces have taken control of 500 square kilometres (310 square miles) of territory in Ukraine so far in January.

Valery Gerasimov said Russian forces had also captured 17 settlements this month as he inspected troops fighting on the frontline.

This morning, Russia's defence ministry said its troops had captured the settlement of Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi in Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region and the village of Novomykolaivka in the Zaporizhzhia region.

For context: Gerasimov made a similar claim on 15 January when he said more ⁠than 300 square kilometres (116 square ​miles) ​of Ukrainian ‍territory had been captured in the first half of January, a figure Ukraine's military said was greatly exaggerated.

The White House has insisted that Donald Trump is not giving up on efforts to strike a peace deal for Ukraine.

Asked about Ukraine at a briefing in Washington yesterday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was still deeply involved in the peace negotiations.

The US president held talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, after which Trump said all sides were "making concessions" to get a peace deal done.

But Trump has been focusing much attention on US foreign policy aims in recent weeks, including military operations in Venezuela and diplomatic tensions over Greenland.

Leavitt added she was she was not currently overseeing any scheduled calls ‌with ⁠Russian or ‌Ukrainian leaders.

We've been getting pictures of more overnight Russian strikes in Ukraine, this time in the southern port city of Odesa.

Eight people were injured, including two children, after several residential blocks, apartments and a religious building were hit in the attack, Ukraine's emergency service said.

Early reports suggested three people may be trapped under the rubble, with emergency rescue operations underway, it added.

Power company DTEK said on social media "extensive" damage had also been caused to its energy facility in the city.

By Deborah Haynes, security and defence editor

The sound of deep, slow breaths echoes up a frozen staircase, followed by footsteps.

Tatiana, 70, has learnt to control her breathing to reduce the strain on her heart as she slowly zigzags her way to the ninth floor of a large apartment block in Kyiv, where she lives.

Power cuts mean the lifts are mainly out of action, and she has spent the past fortnight without heating, instead turning on a gas oven in her kitchen to generate a bit of warmth.

"It is dangerous, but what can you do? Freeze to death?" she said.

Most of Ukraine's second-biggest city is without power after heavy Russian drone and ‌missile strikes.

Local officials said an energy site ​had been targeted in the city, while apartment buildings, a school ⁠and a nursery were also hit, leaving two people injured.

Temperatures there dipped to -14C overnight.

Kharkiv's regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said in a ​video posted on Telegram: 

"Our ​energy system came under attack and there was quite serious damage. All ‍crews are at work to eliminate all the negative consequences quickly. About 80% of the city of Kharkiv ‌and Kharkiv region are without electricity." 

The constant threat of further ‌air raids was complicating repair efforts, Syniehubov added. 

More than 800,000 people were left without power in Kyiv last week, as Moscow launched the latest in a series of attacks on Ukraine's capital this month.

Vladimir Putin's special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, has suggested that Ukraine's withdrawal from its eastern Donbas region is the key to reaching a peace agreement.

"Donbas withdrawal is the path to peace for Ukraine," he said on social media, alongside an image of a dove.

Key context here is, of course, that Russia started this war with its full-scale invasion in February 2022 and has been striking cities across Ukraine virtually every night since then.

His remarks were in response to another user's post, which linked to an article from the Financial Times suggesting the US has indicated to Ukraine that security guarantees are "contingent on Kyiv agreeing to withdraw from the Donbas".

It comes after Ukraine, Russia and the US held face-to-face trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi over the weekend, which Dmitriev attended.

For context: Russia has controlled the majority of the Donbas - which consists of Ukraine's eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions - since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine back in February 2022.

Moscow's forces currently occupy around 90% of the region.

Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin's special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, has said that Ukraine's withdrawal from the Donbas region is the "path to peace".

It's worth reminding here that Russia started this war with its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, despite repeatedly denying any plans to do so, even up to the days leading to its incursion.

Dmitriev's words come after the White House insisted that Donald Trump is not giving up on efforts to strike a peace deal, and after the US held trilateral talks with Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi over the weekend.

Meanwhile, more than three quarters of Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, are without power after a massive Russian drone and missile attack overnight.

Stay with us for live updates throughout the day.