War in Ukraine: Mass desertion, a close friend of Putin speaks out, strikes on military targets… an update on the situation

Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Friday, January 17, 2025, discover the latest news about this conflict.

Flight Abroad

The Ukrainian police announced on Friday that they were conducting “more than 200 searches” targeting networks allowing men who are resistant to military mobilization to flee abroad. “The police […] have begun to conduct searches in 19 regions of Ukraine at the homes of people involved”, she said in a statement.

Ukraine, which has been fighting the Russian invasion for three years, is struggling to replenish the ranks of its army, which is suffering heavy losses and desertions in the face of more numerous and better-equipped Russian troops who have been gaining ground for months, particularly in the east of the country. Last week, the police had already announced that they were carrying out more than 600 searches, the first stage of a “special operation” intended to dismantle the networks helping those who refuse to join the army to cross the border illegally.

Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 are prohibited from leaving their country, with some exceptions. Those who want to escape possible mobilization therefore cross the border illegally. Unofficial estimates put the number of Ukrainians who were able to leave illegally in the thousands, if not tens of thousands, thanks to smugglers, false papers or bribes paid to border guards.

The scandal-plagued military mobilisation system is widely criticised in Ukraine and is widely seen as ineffective, corrupt and unfair, prompting President Volodymyr Zelensky to fire all regional mobilisation officials in 2023.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

Putin insider discusses Ukraine's future

He has been part of Vladimir Putin's close entourage for some time. Nikolai Patrushev spoke a few days before the upcoming presidency of Donald Trump and set the tone.

“I believe that negotiations on Ukraine should take place between Russia and the United States without the intervention of other Western countries. We have nothing to discuss with London or Brussels”, he said in an interview published on January 14 by Komsomolskaya Pravda, one of the pro-Kremlin newspapers.

The faithful or rather “advisor” of V. Putin announces that“it is not excluded that in the coming year, Ukraine will simply cease to exist”, statements relayed by our colleagues of World.

“It is crucial that the international community fully recognizes the incorporation of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics [Russian name for Luhansk], as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. These territories are now an integral part of our country,”, he added.

Missiles on military targets

The Ukrainian military said Friday it had hit at least one air defense radar in the Russian border region of Belgorod with missiles, the third such success claimed by kyiv this week.

On Thursday, Ukrainian forces carried out “precision strikes” against a Russian division responsible for missile defense, including a radio-technical unit, according to the Ukrainian General Staff. “The combat work aimed at weakening the air defenses of the Russian Federation continues”, it added in a statement. Moscow did not immediately comment on the statements.

Ukraine, which has been fighting the Russian invasion for three years, has not specified what type of missiles were used in this attack, but the country recently received the green light from Washington to strike Russia with long-range Western missiles. In difficulty on the front, Ukrainian forces have increased aerial attacks with drones and missiles against military and energy sites in Russia in recent months to hamper the logistics of Russian forces fighting in Ukrainian territory and pounding Ukrainian cities.

This week, Ukraine claimed responsibility for the night attack “the most massive” of the war against military and industrial installations in several regions of Russia, using, according to Moscow, Western missiles. On the night of Wednesday to Thursday, the Ukrainian army carried out a drone strike against an oil depot in the Voronezh region, in western Russia, causing “a major fire” which, according to Russian authorities, is still ongoing on Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised a systematic response to any Western missile strike on his territory, and has threatened to target the center of kyiv and even Western countries with the experimental hypersonic Oreshnik missile, which has a range of several thousand kilometers.