Russia has now lost more than 834,000 troops in its invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian military officials. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported today that Russia has seen a total of 834,670 casualties, including both killed and injured troops. Of these, 1,670 casualties were reported in the past 24 hours.
The Russian losses also include 9,876 tanks, 20,573 armored fighting vehicles, 35,269 vehicles and fuel tanks, 22,366 artillery systems, 1,263 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,050 air defense systems, 369 airplanes, 331 helicopters, 23,399 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.
Russian drone attack on multi-story buildin in Sumy
A Russian drone struck a multi-story apartment building in Sumy early on Thursday, killing four people and injuring nine, including a child, regional authorities said. “This is a terrible tragedy, a terrible Russian crime. It is very important that the world does not stop putting pressure on Russia for this terror,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said via Telegram.
Russia launched 81 drones at Ukraine overnight, damaging businesses and homes across the country, according to the Ukrainian military. The Ukrainian Air Force shot down 37 drones, while 39 others did not reach their targets. The fate of the remaining five drones was not specified.
Sumy Governor Volodymyr Artyukh, shown in a video on Telegram standing in front of a crane and piles of rubble, said emergency services were pulling residents out of parts of the building. The attack destroyed five apartments and damaged more than 20 cars. Work continued at the site into Thursday morning, with emergency services sharing pictures of rescuers sifting through the rubble. The region borders Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukraine launched an incursion in August 2024, and has been regularly attacked by Russian drones.
North Korea troops partially withdraw from frontline in Kursk after weeks of heavy losses
North Korean soldiers appear to have temporarily withdrawn from one of the sections of the front in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, a Special Operations Forces (SOF) spokesperson told the Kyiv Independent on January 27. Pyongyang’s troops had reportedly suffered significant losses.
The statement came after Sky News reported on it, citing a commander of a detachment of the 73rd Naval Special Operations Center with the callsign “Puls,” that North Korean troops had temporarily withdrawn from the contact line in the embattled Russian region.
Colonel Oleksandr Kindratenko, a spokesperson for the Special Operations Forces, clarified to the Kyiv Independent that the North Korean troops appear to have temporarily withdrawn only from one of the sections of Kursk Oblast, where the 73rd SOF Center is deployed. North Korean troops were deployed to Kursk Oblast last fall to support Russian forces in countering a Ukrainian incursion launched in early August 2024. Ukrainian forces have continued fighting in the region, hoping to leverage their positions for potential negotiations.
North Korean forces are taking respite from hostilities, presumably to treat the wounded, wait for reinforcements, and address mistakes made during the fighting in this sector, reported Sky News.
New sanctions package against Russia: ‘We are working for it to be ready in February,’ says Kallas
“We are working on the next sanctions package and we really want to get it ready by February,” EU High Representative Kaja Kallas told journalists on January 28 in Brussels, following an informal breakfast meeting with Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine.
“We are really looking into all types of things that might be helping Russia to wage this war, so as to put them on the sanctions list,” Kaja Kallas said. “Even elements like the consoles for video games, because apparently these are the ones that operate the drones. So, we are really being creative. [Even] chemicals that are needed for the Russian military industry. There are a lot of items. LNG is on this list.”
She added that the final list would depend on the agreement reached by the EU Member States. A day earlier, EU Foreign Ministers extended sanctions against Russia due to its unprovoked, unjustified, and illegal military aggression against Ukraine for another six months, until July 31, 2025.
Compiled by Ana Dumbadze
