War in Ukraine: new American military aid, Russian attack in Zaporizhzhia, inauguration of Donald Trump… an update on the situation

Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Thursday, January 9, 2025, discover the latest news about this conflict.

Washington announces new military aid of $500 million to Ukraine

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced Thursday new American military aid to Ukraine for an amount of approximately $500 million (485 million euros), a few days before Donald Trump's inauguration.

“Ukraine's fight concerns us all”, said Lloyd Austin, who is leading his latest meeting of the “contact group” of kyiv's partners at Ramstein, a U.S. air base near Frankfurt.

“The coalition that supports Ukraine must not waver. It must not falter. And it must not fail. The United States of America has always been a reliable partner, we will always be a reliable partner in the future (…) Our values ​​do not change, our commitment to our allies and partners does not more.”

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Russian attack kills 13, injures 113 in Zaporizhzhia

A Russian guided bomb attack killed at least 13 people and injured 113 others in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, authorities said. Residential buildings were damaged, as well as an industrial facility and other infrastructure, the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine said on Telegram.

The debris hit a tram and a bus with passengers inside, it added. Russian troops used two guided bombs to strike a residential area, regional governor Ivan Fedorov told reporters. Ten of the 60 people hospitalized following the attack are still in serious condition, he said.

“There is nothing more cruel than dropping aerial bombs on a city knowing that ordinary civilians will suffer,”, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X.

Regional authorities reported further explosions after the first strike. Ivan Fedorov said Russian troops shelled the town of Stepnohirsk, south of Zaporizhzhia, killing two people. Russia regularly carries out airstrikes on the Zaporizhzhia region, which is partially occupied by its forces.

The Ukrainian public television channel Suspilne also reported two people killed and ten others injured in attacks targeting several locations in the Kherson region, also partially occupied by Russian forces.

Trump: a “new chapter” for Europe, which must “cooperate even more”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that the arrival of Donald Trump at the White House on January 20 opened a “new chapter” for Europeans, who must “cooperate even more more”, claiming to see it as a “period of opportunity”.

“It is clear that a new chapter is opening for Europe and the world – in just 11 days – a time when we will have to cooperate even more, rely even more on each other and achieve even greater results together” Zelensky said at a meeting of his country's allies in Germany.