PoWs from Russia's list were indeed planned to be exchanged, EU countries agreed on €50 billion for Ukraine: highlights

Prisoners from the Russian list were indeed to be exchanged

The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War confirmed that on January 24, 65 Ukrainian defenders whose names were published by Russian propagandists after the crash of an IL-76 aircraft in the Belgorod region of Russia were to be exchanged.

At the same time, the interviewed relatives of the Ukrainian servicemen on this list, having watched the video from the Russian propaganda materials from the crash site, found no signs that their relatives were on the plane.

The head of the Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, reiterated that there is currently no reliable information on who might have actually been on board the Russian IL-76.

Ministry of Defense wins court case over undelivered mines

The Ministry of Defense has won a lawsuit for more than 1.5 billion hryvnias in the case of the Lviv Arsenal company and undelivered mines. Earlier, hromadske investigators reported about this contract.

As part of the case, accounts and other movable and immovable property belonging to the company were seized.

The company's director, Yurii Zbitnev, commented on his failed contract for the first time. In a conversation with hromadske journalists, he said that he “saved a billion rather than spent it”.

At the same time, after the meeting with the Hromadske investigators, Zbitnev got into a 2022 Toyota Camry. This car is registered to the businessman's driver and was purchased in March 2023, right after Arsenal broke the contract with the Ministry of Defense.

EU countries agree on €50 billion for Ukraine

Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that all 27 EU members have agreed to support a €50 billion multi-year aid package for Ukraine.

Shmyhal hopes that on February 1, the European Council will approve the allocation of financial support to Ukraine. It is needed to fully finance all priority payments of the state budget.

Reproductive material of fallen soldiers will not be utilized

Lawyer Olena Babych said that she had advised the widow of a fallen soldier who found that she could not use the reproductive cells of her husband, who had previously cryopreserved his sperm.

According to the lawyer, law No. 8011 on ensuring the rights of war veterans to biological post-traumatic fatherhood or motherhood, which was adopted by MPs in November 2023, is to blame.

It allegedly prohibits the use of a soldier's sperm after his death, and therefore, starting in March, clinics will be obliged to dispose of their biomaterial.

The Ministry of Health denied this information and explained that it was primarily about state funding for assisted reproductive technologies. In other words, the law allows military families to preserve reproductive cells free of charge and use them to procreate their defenders.

How payments to IDPs will change

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved an automatic extension of payments for all internally displaced persons until March 1, and then new rules for assistance will come into effect.

Thus, after March 1, payments will be automatically extended for another 6 months for categories of IDPs who are unable to work.

In addition, payments will continue to be made to families whose income does not exceed UAH 9,444 per person.

Another 17 “servants” want to resign

Currently, 401 MPs remain in the Verkhovna Rada. The head of the Servant of the People faction, David Arakhamia, said that 17 MPs from his political force had written letters of resignation. According to him, a "major crisis" is approaching in the parliament.

Employees of the Territorial Recruitment Center came to the city council

Employees of the Territorial Recruitment Center came to a meeting of the city council of Chervonohrad, Lviv region, with summonses for a dozen deputies, who were called to come to clarify their information.

At the same time, the military enlistment office employee noted that most of the deputies of Chervonohrad had already been to the local Territorial Recruitment Center. Only 10 deputies did not update their data.

Nuclear fuel at Zaporizhzhia NPP is about to expire

Energoatom has warned of a new threat to nuclear and radiation safety at the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP. The company says that nuclear fuel in all six reactors will soon reach the end of their manufacturer-authorized lifetime.

Further operation of such fuel violates the terms of the technical specifications established with due regard to safety standards.

Other important news of the day:

• Ukraine has returned the bodies of 77 fallen defenders.
• The death toll from the shelling of Kharkiv has risen to 11: a woman died in hospital.
• Russian troops hit a town in the Donetsk region with rockets: six people, including children, were wounded.
• Berlin reveals what military aid it plans to provide to Ukraine in 2024.
• Ukraine and Denmark will hold a defense industry forum. The focus is on drone production.
• The Kyiv police will conduct an internal investigation into the official whose unjustified assets were found by the NACP.