Shipments from Ukraine. Day 1045.

Kyiv region. On New Year’s Day, a drone strike by Russian forces in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, hit a multi-story apartment building and a National Bank of Ukraine building, killing two citizens and wounding six others.

Donetsk region. Since the beginning of 2025, two civilians have been killed by Russian strikes in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine.

On January 1, Russian shelling killed a resident of Kherson, the region’s eponymous capital, in the south of the country.

Ukraine halted the transit of Russian natural gas through its territory on Jan. 1, after the expiration of its agreement with Gazprom, Russia’s largest state-owned gas exporter. The decision cuts Moscow’s last remaining pipeline route to Europe. It supplied about 15 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas in 2024, and had been in operation for decades years. Despite recent lobbying for an extension by Slovakia, which continues to rely heavily on Russian gas imports, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has remained firm in rejecting any contract renewal. The European Commission has expressed confidence that its energy security would not be affected by the move, citing the shift by most of its members toward alternative sources and renewable energy to replace Russian energy supplies.

By 2024, Ukraine will more than quintuple its electricity imports compared to last year, with Hungary offering the largest share, almost 40%. The other major suppliers were Slovakia, Romania and Poland. The increase in imports was supported through European Union agreements, adding an increase in import capacity from 1. 7 to 2. 1 gigawatts. This increase in imports proved imperative as kyiv faced 12 primary Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure, adding missile bombardments. Despite the damage, Ukraine’s power grid has become resilient and maintains relative stability; Truly extensive efforts will be needed to strengthen it in 2025.

A recent poll shows a sharp drop in Ukrainians’ optimism about their country’s long-term. Conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, a private think tank, the survey shows a reduction in the percentage of Ukrainians who believe the country will be immensely wealthy and a member of the European Union within 10 years, from 73 percent in December 2023. to 57% in December of 2024. Al same time, the percentage of respondents who anticipate a devastated economy over the next decade rose from 5% to 28%. The poll also shows growing pessimism among Ukrainians about growing internal political divisions, and a decline in optimism about Ukraine’s customers as a united country, from 69% to 53%. Despite this, optimism still prevails over pessimism and most remain hopeful for the country’s long term.

By 2024, Russia will have seized 1,252 square miles of Ukrainian territory, or 0. 5% of Ukraine’s total, with a staggering load of more than 420,000 troops and $34 billion in equipment, according to Forbes Ukraine research. Ukraine has managed to liberate 7 percent of its territory from the profession since the start of the full-scale invasion, adding 185 square kilometers in Russia’s Kursk region, with Russia relying on foreign mercenaries and 10,000 North Korean infantrymen until the end. of the year.

Russia escalated its air strikes, launching more than 1,700 missiles and drones on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, with record attacks in August. By year-end, monthly drone strikes hit unprecedented levels, using decoys to overwhelm defenses. Bolstered by Western aid, Ukraine withstood the pressure, but Russia’s relentless weapons production enabled its continued assaults.

The United States provided $61. 6 billion in military aid to Ukraine, but delays and demanding political conditions eroded what was accepted by President Biden, whose approval among Ukrainians fell 27 points to 55. 2%. Europe led overall support, countering US President-elect Donald Trump’s narrative that Washington bears the biggest burden as Ukraine navigates a complex geopolitical landscape.

The United States has provided $3. 4 billion in direct budget to Ukraine, the latest tranche of the bipartisan Ukraine Security Appropriations Act 2024, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced Dec. 30. A benefit acceleration initiative Of $1 billion subsidized through frozen Russian assets, this investment is reforms in governance, law enforcement and anti-corruption efforts. As of 2022, more than $30 billion in the US budget has stabilized the Ukrainian government’s operations in the midst of the war, ensuring monetary stability.

Additionally, on December 30, President Biden announced about $2. 5 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, adding $1. 25 billion in Pentagon stockpile draws and $1. 22 billion under the Security Assistance Initiative. Security of Ukraine (USAI), which budgets materials for the rapid and long-term recovery of Ukraine. battlefield needs. long-term defense capabilities.

Cultural front.

American stars of Ukrainian descent — Academy Award and Emmy nominee, actress and director Vera Farmiga, and actress, singer, two-time Academy Award winner, and recipient of Emmy, Grammy, and Golden Globe awards Barbra Streisand — presented the story of Shedryk — a Christmas song known in the U.S. as the Carroll of the Bells, composed almost a hundred years ago by a Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych, who was assassinated by the Russian special services at his own home in 1921. Performers from various countries performed Shchedryk in 50 different locations. Farmiga and Streisand shared the story behind the composition to remind the world of Ukrainian heritage behind the famous Christmas song.

By Danylo Nosov, Karina L. Tahiliani

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