Prisoner of war exchange, aid package from Germany and court case against Russia in The Hague: highlights for January 31

Return of the military

Today, January 31, a prisoner exchange took place, as part of which 207 Ukrainians — soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, and the National Police — returned to Ukraine.

In a comment to hromadske, the representative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine Andrii Yusov noted that the exchange did not include Ukrainian prisoners of war, whom Russia declared dead in the IL-76 plane crash in Belgorod region.

New aid to Germany

The German government announced the transfer of another package of military assistance to Ukraine. In particular, it contains:

• 24 armored personnel carriers;
• 4 Bandvagn 206 (BV206) tracked all-terrain vehicles;
• missiles for IRIS-T air defense systems;
• 1040 shells of 155 mm caliber;
• 3 WISENT 1 tanks for mine clearance.

Court in The Hague

The International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ) announced a decision on Ukraine's claim against Russia for violation of international conventions prohibiting the financing of terrorism and overcoming racial discrimination. The court rejected most of the charges.

In particular, the ICJ recognized that:

• Russia violated some clauses of the convention prohibiting the financing of terrorism;
• Russia violated the convention on racial discrimination by depriving children in occupied Crimea of the opportunity to study in the Ukrainian language, as well as by restrictions against the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people.

Ukraine will receive GLSDB bombs

US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland confirmed that Ukraine will soon receive high-precision ground-based GLSDB bombs with a range of 150 km.

The official also assured that the United States will help modernize the Ukrainian military-industrial complex.

Kniazev released from pre-trial detention center

For the former head of the Supreme Court Vsevolod Kniazev, suspected of large-scale corruption, bail was given for 18 million hryvnia.

In the evening the judge was released from the pre-trial detention center and given procedural duties. In particular, he cannot leave Kyiv without the permission of the detective, prosecutor, and court. Law enforcement officers are also deciding whether to appeal to the High Council of Justice with a petition to remove Kniazev from the administration of justice.

Unseized property of the Hrynkevychs

During an inspection of the plot of the family of Lviv businessman Ihor Hrynkevych, an estate of 600 square meters without documents, a swimming pool on the land for gardening, an unauthorized road cut down in the forest and 28 acres of squatted land were discovered. The Hrynkevychs managed to hide the estate from the State Bureau of Investigation and ARMA. At the same time, the register contains real estate objects in that place that do not exist.

In addition, Svetlana Hrynkevych, the wife of a businessman, pledged four luxury apartments in Kyiv and Lviv as collateral under loan agreements for 5 million hryvnia. Two of them, belonging to Hrynkevych’s wife, were never arrested, despite the State Bureau of Investigation’s statement in early January.

European Commission proposal on “export visa-free regime” for Ukraine

The European Commission has proposed extending the abolition of export duties for Ukrainian goods for another year. At the same time, it is proposed to introduce control measures for the export of certain goods. In particular, such measures will concern poultry meat, eggs, and sugar. If imports of these products exceed the volumes of 2022-2023, duties on them will be introduced again.

Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal noted that the implemented tools for controlling the circulation of goods will help avoid conflicts in agricultural markets.

Other important news

• The High Council of Justice stopped the disciplinary case against Judge Tandyr.
• Zelenskyy fired the head of the Department for the Protection of National Statehood of the SBU.
• In St. Petersburg, a drone attacked an oil refinery. Power steering is behind this.
• Borrell named a new deadline during which Ukraine should be provided with the million promised ammunition from the EU.
• The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the downing of 20 missiles over the Black Sea and occupied Crimea.