Kyiv Post Morning Memo – Everything You Need to Know on Friday, Jan. 27

Good morning from Kyiv. It was thankfully a quiet night in the capital after a day of kamikaze drones and missiles launched yet again by Russia.

 The death toll from the Kremlin’s latest attack against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure stands at 11 but thanks to the work of the country’s air defences, 47 out of 55 missiles were shot down.

 What’s happening today?

 There’s a row brewing over next year’s Olympic Games in Paris, with Ukraine threatening to boycott the event If athletes from Russia and Belarus are allowed to compete.

 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is exploring the possibility of allowing the said competitors to compete as neutrals to avoid the spectacle of Russian and Belarusian national flags and anthems to feature at the Olympics.

 Ukraine's sports minister, Vadym Goutzeit, has said this would still be "unacceptable". You can read more about this story here.

 What was in President Zelensky’s latest message?

 President Zelensky praised the work of Ukraine’s air defences once again for saving “hundreds of lives saved and dozens of infrastructure facilities”.

 "Today, we withstood another massive missile strike by terrorists," he added.

 "A strike that fully confirms everything we have been talking about with our partners both yesterday and since the beginning of our diplomatic marathon.

Other Topics of Interest

Ukraine Must Join the Joint Expeditionary Force, and the UK Should Lead the Way

The UK has been a leader in helping Ukraine. But as inertia sets in and with Western support wavering, efforts must be redoubled. The JEF is a natural bridge to NATO.

 "This evil, this Russian aggression can and should be stopped only with adequate weapons. The terrorist state will not understand anything else."

 What’s the latest military situation?

 The British Ministry of Defense (MoD) update on Jan. 27 examines Russian claims that its troops have made "significant advances" in Zaporizhzhia Region near Orikhiv, and 100km to the east, in Donetsk Region, near Vuhledar.

 The MoD suspects this is nonsense, saying: "Russian units have probably conducted local, probing attacks near Orikhiv and Vuhledar, but it is highly unlikely that Russia has actually achieved any substantive advances.

 "There is a realistic possibility that Russian military sources are deliberately spreading misinformation in an effort to imply that the Russian operation is sustaining momentum."

 The Institute for the Study of War’s Jan. 26 daily assessment covers a multitude of topics, most notably:

·      A recent altercation between Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin and former Russian officer Igor Girkin, who played a key role in the 2014 annexation of Crimea, is exposing a new domain for competition among Russian nationalist groups for political influence in Russia.

·      Russian President Vladimir Putin continued his campaign against critical and opposition voices by cracking down on several major opposition media outlets while continuing to platform highly critical Russian milbloggers.

·      Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces relaunched counteroffensive operations near Kreminna.

 And that’s it for today’s Morning Memo.

 Kyiv Post will bring you the latest news throughout the day and we’ll be back with another edition tomorrow.