Fatal accident in Poltava Oblast, increase in drone purchases: highlights of the day

Defense Ministry increases purchases of drones for Armed Forces

In 2023, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine will increase purchases of UAVs for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Approximately $544 million is to be spent on this segment. Recently, 16 government contracts have been signed with domestic manufacturers of unmanned aerial vehicles.

Fatal accident in Poltava Oblast

An accident involving a Mercedes-Benz minibus and a MAN truck occurred in Poltava Oblast near the town of Lubny at around 4 p.m. Three people have been reported dead. Eight more people, including two children, were injured. The patrol police warned of blocked traffic in the direction of Kyiv.

Retired general wins Czech presidential election

Retired army general Petr Pavel has won the Czech presidential election. In the second round, he competed with former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. Petr Pavel ran on a platform of order and stability. According to Reuters, he is positioned as a strongly pro-Western candidate who supports assistance to Ukraine.

Is Ukraine (not) waiting for a batch of 24 fighter jets?

The spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force Command, Yuriy Ihnat, denied the information that Ukraine intends to receive a batch of 24 fighter jets, reported a Spanish newspaper, citing Ihnat's words. He explained that he was speaking in Ukrainian, and the Spanish journalist was translated into English. Thus, they were "lost in translation".

According to him, the point was that Ukraine has decided on the type of Western equipment and the number of brigades of modern aircraft that will be able to protect the country. Ihnat noted that "we will not be given a brigade or several aircraft at once," but will be supplied in units. Initially, we may be talking about two squadrons, and one squadron is 12 aircraft.

IOC suggests that Russians and Belarusians could compete

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has spoken out against the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. According to him, they "could compete under a neutral flag".

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned this by posting photos of Ukrainian athletes training in war-torn buildings on his Telegram channel. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the President's Office, wrote that the IOC "offers the world to promote violence, mass murder, and destruction."

Other news

• In the morning, Russian troops launched a missile attack on the town of Kostyantynivka, Donetsk Oblast. Three people were killed and 14 wounded.
• A Ukrainian citizen is among the victims of the attack near a synagogue in Jerusalem on the evening of January 27, the embassy reports.
• The Ministry of Culture has authorized the dismantling of the monument to Soviet General Nikolai Vatutin. The final decision is up to the Kyiv City State Administration.
• There will be no penalties for using Russian at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and no one will specifically monitor the language of communication between people, the president of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy said.
• The police said that in Kharkiv Oblast alone, more than 400 bodies of dead people have not yet been identified.
• In Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia, a large fire broke out at night at the Sindika construction market.
• The ISW stated that a new offensive of the occupation forces in Ukraine, which is expected in the coming months, may take place in Luhansk Oblast or in the area of Vuhledar in Donetsk Oblast.