Victory Chronicles-DAY 1436

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces appeared to be redirecting their strikes away from Ukraine’s energy system toward logistics and supply infrastructure, based on an overnight assessment by Ukrainian authorities. He said no energy facilities were hit during the night of Jan. 29–30, although energy infrastructure in several regions had been struck earlier the same day.

Speaking after a briefing with regional officials and emergency services, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was recording a growing number of attacks aimed at disrupting transportation, storage and supply chains. He added that Russian drones continued to hit residential areas in cities, putting civilians at risk.

Zelenskyy also said Russia used a ballistic missile against the Kharkiv region, damaging warehouse facilities used for civilian production. He noted that the site belonged to a U.S. company, underscoring the broader economic impact of the strikes beyond military targets.

Russian oil tankers log record voyages from ports, study says. Tankers carrying crude oil completed 2,346 voyages from Russian ports in 2025, the highest annual total recorded, according to research by the Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies. The largest share of sailings, 1,111 voyages, departed from ports on the Baltic Sea, underscoring the region’s central role in Russia’s seaborne oil exports despite Western sanctions.

Researchers said monitoring was conducted daily across all Russian ports involved in exporting crude oil and petroleum products. Ports in Russia’s Far East ranked second with 651 voyages, followed by Black Sea ports with 434 and Arctic ports with 150.

Most tankers carried at least 100,000 metric tons of crude, the study said. Based on voyage volumes, analysts estimated total seaborne exports in 2025 exceeded 230 million metric tons, or roughly 1.7 billion barrels. The institute said it planned to publish a detailed “Tanker Factbook” summarizing the findings later this year.

Russian attacks target Chernihiv border areas, drones hunt civilian cars. Russian forces shelled border communities in Ukraine’s Chernihiv region on Jan. 30 and used attack drones to strike civilian vehicles, regional officials said. The head of the Chernihiv regional administration reported 44 attacks over 24 hours, causing 69 explosions across towns and villages near the Russian border.

An FPV drone hit a forestry service vehicle in the village of Kostobobrova, destroying the car and personal belongings of workers inside. No one was injured. Another civilian car was damaged by a drone strike in the town of Semenivka, officials said.

Ukrainian forces hit Russian Osa air defense system and logistics sites, military says. Ukrainian forces struck a Russian Osa short-range surface-to-air missile system and several logistics facilities in occupied southern Ukraine on Jan. 30, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said. The Osa system, designed to protect troops and equipment from aircraft and drones, was hit near the village of Semenivka in the Zaporizhzhia region, with a direct strike confirmed.

The military said additional attacks targeted key Russian support sites across occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia. Those included a repair unit linked to a Russian special-purpose brigade near Tokmak, supply depots used by an artillery regiment near Okhrymivka, and facilities tied to Russia’s 76th Air Assault Division near Kyrylivka.

Ukrainian officials said the strikes were aimed at reducing Russia’s offensive capacity by disrupting air defenses, maintenance and logistics. The extent of Russian losses was still being assessed.

Key Takeaways

1. Russian forces recently advanced in western Zaporizhia Oblast.
2. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that the United States and Ukraine have finalized security guarantees for Ukraine.
3. The Kremlin continues to reject Western security guarantees for Ukraine, however.
4. US President Donald Trump stated that Russian ruler Vladimir Putin has agreed to a week-long moratorium on some Ukrainian energy infrastructure, as the Kremlin reiterated its unwillingness to commit to a long-term ceasefire.
5. The reported week-long moratorium on energy strikes does not mark a significant Russian concession, given that Russia continues to reject a long-term ceasefire and has previously offered similar short-term moratoriums to advance its political objectives.
6. Russian forces are using cheap Molniya fixed-wing first-person view (FPV) drones equipped with Starlink satellite terminals to conduct battlefield air interdiction (BAI) against Ukrainian highways at an operational depth (about 25 to 100 or more kilometers from the frontline).
7. The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) appears to be conducting a dedicated recruitment campaign for the Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) at Russian universities.
8. Ukraine and Russia exchanged killed-in-action (KIA) servicemembers on January 29.
9. Belarusian balloons illegally entered Lithuanian and Polish airspace on the nights of January 27 to 28 and January 28 to 29, respectively.

• UN secretary general rejects Russia’s bid to justify Crimea and Donbas occupation as “self-determination”
• Kremlin confirms Trump personally asking Putin to halt attacks on Kyiv until 1 February
• Zelenskyy: There are no direct agreements with Moscow on stopping attacks on energy sector
• Ireland approves €25 million contribution to support Ukraine’s energy infrastructure
• Zelenskyy explained why he criticised Europe in Davos: lack of air defence missiles
• Russians halt prisoner exchanges
• Zelenskyy responds to Kremlin’s invitation to visit Moscow: I invite Putin to Kyiv
• EU chief diplomat says 20th Russia sanctions package will be approved on 24 February