Trump's inauguration, detention of those responsible for breakthrough in Kharkiv Oblast: January 20 highlights

Trump's inauguration

The inauguration ceremony of the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump, took place in Washington on January 20. This is his second term as head of state.

Trump and his wife Melania first met with former President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the White House for tea. The politicians then headed to the Capitol, where guests had already gathered.

In particular, former US presidents were present, including Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, who lost the 2016 presidential election to Trump, as well as heads of other states.

During his inauguration, Trump gave a speech in which he mentioned the need to fight migrants and plans to colonize Mars, but never once mentioned the war in Ukraine.

Detention of military commanders

Law enforcement officers detained former commanders of the Kharkiv operational-tactical grouping Yuriy Halushkin, 125th separate territorial defense brigade Artur Horbenko, and 415th separate rifle battalion of the 23rd separate mechanized brigade Illya Lapin on charges of defense failure during the offensive of Russian troops in May 2024.

The suspects will be taken to Kyiv and charged with negligence in military service under martial law, which resulted in serious consequences (Part 4, Article 425 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The former commander of the 415th battalion of the 23rd brigade will also be suspected of organizing an unauthorized departure from the battlefield (Article 429 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). They all face up to 10 years in prison.

SBI officers also detained the former commander of the 155th Anna Kyivska Motorized Rifle Brigade, Dmytro Ryumshyn. Soldiers from this brigade voluntarily left their place of duty and also deserted during exercises in France.

Ryumshyn is accused of inaction by the military authorities, committed under martial law or in a combat situation. For this, he faces 10 years in prison.

Beating of a teenage girl in Bila Tserkva

A video has gone viral on social media showing a group of teenagers beating a 12-year-old girl in Bila Tserkva, Kyiv Oblast. Police are investigating.

Police said they were contacted by the mother of a 12-year-old girl, reporting the beating. Law enforcement officers have already determined that the injuries were inflicted by three minors: a girl the same age as the victim, as well as 15- and 16-year-old boys.

The police have launched a pre-trial investigation under Part 1 of Article 125 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - intentional minor bodily harm.

Poisoning of a woman in Kyiv Oblast

A 67-year-old man will go on trial in Kyiv after poisoning his common-law wife for months, causing her death. After that, he appropriated all of her savings and her car.

During the pre-trial investigation, it was established that the 60-year-old Kyiv woman was constantly ill for the last year of her life. Before her death, the woman was practically bedridden.

An examination showed that the cause of the woman's death was liver disease caused by poisoning with a chemical that was added to her food. The man added a chemical containing A highly toxic heavy metal used in the manufacture of rat poisonthallium compounds to her food.

The Ministry of Justice registers have resumed work

The work of the unified and state registers of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine was resumed after a large-scale Russian cyberattack.

The following are already working:

• State Register of Real Estate Property Rights;
• State Register of Encumbrances on Movable Property;
• ⁠Automated enforcement system;
• ⁠Electronic register of apostilles;
• Unified register of convicted persons and persons taken into custody;
• ⁠Automated system "Bankruptcy and Insolvency";
• Unified state register of persons to whom the provisions of the Law of Ukraine "On Lustration" have been applied.

Other news

• The war in Ukraine will not end tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, said French President Emmanuel Macron.
• Lithuania has transferred a new batch of military aid to Ukraine, which included Lithuanian-made drones.
• American blogger and podcaster Lex Fridman, who previously interviewed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, criticized the Ukrainian head of state for his “crude words” towards Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
• A railway locomotive used to provide logistics for the Russian army was destroyed in St. Petersburg.
• Ukrainian Oscar-winning director Mstyslav Chernov has shown the first footage of his new documentary 2000 Meters to Andriivka. It will premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in the United States.