On January 7, Valerii Kluchok reported on the main events of the day. Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, made his first statement after joining negotiations in Paris on freezing the Russia-Ukraine war. Budanov said that talks with international partners are ongoing, there are already some concrete results, but most details cannot be made public at this stage. He stressed that Ukraine's national interests will be protected.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, during a press chat, confirmed his upcoming meeting with Donald Trump to discuss possible security guarantees for Ukraine lasting over 15 years. No final communiqué was signed as a result of the Paris talks, and statements about new security guarantees remain under discussion, requiring parliamentary approval in partner countries.
Special attention was paid to POW exchanges, action against Russia's shadow fleet, and the blockade of Russian and Venezuelan tankers. According to the channel, Donald Trump ordered the US to detain a Russian oil tanker bound for Murmansk and another vessel along the way. US and UK forces jointly intercepted these ships, which were allegedly transporting sanctioned Venezuelan oil. Some ships tried to evade sanctions by changing their flag to Russian. The US Department of Defense and State Department commented on the operation, which remains ongoing.
Ukraine continues rotations in its security leadership, considering Andriy Biletsky, Vasyl Maliuk, and Dmytro Kuleba for the post of head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, but no appointment has been made yet.
The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology released a poll showing a sharp drop in Ukrainian trust in the US—down from 41% to 18% over the year—while trust in NATO now stands at 30% and in the EU remains stable at 48%.
Heavy shelling continues across Ukraine, notably in Kryvyi Rih, Odesa region, Kherson, and Dnipropetrovsk, with fatalities and injuries reported. The government is preparing changes to electoral legislation. Detailed agreements on peace are expected after partner parliaments’ ratification and possible in-person meetings of state leaders.
