Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Tuesday, January 14, 2025, discover the latest news about this conflict.
Ukraine fired six U.S.-made ATACMS ballistic missiles, six Storm Shadow cruise missiles and at least 146 drones into Russian territory, Moscow said Tuesday, in an attack that it warned would not go unanswered. The Russian Defense Ministry said it had shot down all the missiles fired by Ukraine into the Bryansk region, as well as 146 drones outside the war zone. The ministry added that two more Storm Shadows were shot down over the Black Sea, and vowed that“The actions of the Kyiv regime, supported by its Western patrons, will not go unanswered.”
According to Andry Kovalenko, director of the Ukrainian Center for Combating Disinformation, the Ukrainian strikes hit several targets in Engels, Saratov, Kazan, Bryansk and Tula. Weapons production plants, oil refineries and warehouses were targeted, he added. Russian officials and media reported that the Ukrainian strikes damaged industrial sites in at least three cities. Roman Busargin, the governor of the Saratov region, said that the cities of Saratov and Engels, across the Volga, had suffered a major drone attack and that two industrial sites had been damaged.
Schools in both cities have been closed and classes held remotely, he added. The drone strike hit an ammunition depot containing guided bombs and missiles at the Engels air base in Russia’s Saratov region, as well as other targets, a source in Ukraine’s security service said on Tuesday. The attack caused a large fire at the Aleksin chemical plant in the Tula region and a fire at the Saratov oil refinery, while the Bryansk chemical plant was also hit, the source said. Reuters could not independently verify the reported damage.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000Ukraine had already attacked the region last week, bombing the fuel depot used to power strategic bombers at Russia’s Engels airbase, sparking a fire that lasted five days. Russian independent media outlet Astra reported a fire at the industrial site in the city of Kazan, east of Moscow, following a drone attack. Flight restrictions have been imposed in Kazan, Saratov, Penza, Ulyanovsk and Nizhnekamsk, Russia’s aviation watchdog said.
On November 21, Ukraine launched ATACMS missiles and the British-made Storm Shadow toward Russia for the first time. Moscow has threatened to retaliate any time Ukraine strikes Russia with these weapons. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian air force said Tuesday it had shot down 58 of the 80 drones launched by Russia over Ukraine overnight.
Ukrainian soldier recounts nearly 1,000 days in Russian prison
The number of captured soldiers between the Ukrainian and Russian armies is increasing. On December 30, a prisoner exchange was announced between the two countries. Ukraine repatriated 189 prisoners of war in an exchange with Russia, out of a total of 300.
“The return of our compatriots is always very good news for each of us. And today is one of those days: our team managed to bring 189 Ukrainians home,” the Ukrainian president said on Telegram, who thanked the United Arab Emirates for its mediation efforts.
Oleksandr is a Ukrainian soldier who spent nearly 1,000 years in Russian custody. Once released, the latter told BFMTV what he experienced when he was in the hands of the enemy. “I saw people die in captivity. Sometimes their chronic illnesses got worse and there was no medicine or care. The Russians had no desire to treat us, and then there were those who could not stand torture. Others were killed upon arrival.”
The Ukrainian soldier was captured on April 12, 2022, and spent no less than 991 days in captivity. During his detention, he claims to have had to endure the horror and barbarity of the Russians. “When you fall asleep, when you wake up, when you eat, you hear the screams of people being tortured next door. In some prisons I've been in, we were beaten every day, beaten with sticks, electric shocks, tear gas. And constant threats, insults, humiliations”, he says.
A recapture of two villages by the Russians
Russia claimed on Tuesday to have recaptured two villages in eastern Ukraine, which had been liberated by Ukrainian forces from an initial Russian occupation in 2022 and 2023, a sign of kyiv's difficulties on the front East.
According to the daily report of the Russian Defense Ministry, the army has captured the villages of Terny and Neskuchne in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, where the fighting is concentrated.