As we enter the 702nd day of the war, these are the most important developments.

Here is the situation as of Friday, January 26, 2024.

Ilyushin-76 plane crash

• Russia and Ukraine exchanged allegations over the circumstances surrounding the crash of a Russian military transport plane over the southern Belgorod region.
• Russia claimed that Ukraine shot down the Ilyushin-76, which was reportedly carrying dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) as well as nine Russians, and that Kiev was informed of the flight 15 minutes in advance.
• The Russian Investigative Committee, which launched a “terrorism” probe, said it recovered the plane’s black boxes and released a 39-second video of the scene that showed mostly aerial footage of a large, blackened section of a snow-covered field with some damaged trees . The video also showed a block of twisted metal and wires, a hand and an arm.
• Ukraine said there had been no Russian request for safe airspace in the area where the plane crashed.
• Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said a list of alleged prisoners of war on board circulated in Russian media contained inconsistencies and soldiers who had returned home in previous exchanges. He called for international experts from the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to be granted access to the site.
• Kyiv opened a Investigation process into the crash.

• The UN Security Council met at Russia’s request to discuss the crash. UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the council the UN was unable to verify the circumstances of the incident. “It is clear that the incident took place in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war,” she said. “To avoid further escalation, we urge all parties involved to refrain from any actions, rhetoric or claims that could further inflame the already dangerous conflict.”

Battle

• The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia fired 14 attack drones and five missiles into the southern Black Sea regions, with air defense systems destroying 11 of the drones. According to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry, six people were injured and residential buildings and a warehouse were damaged in the historic city of Odessa.
• Ukrainian security sources said they staged a drone attack on an oil refinery in the southern Russian city of Tuapse, about 240 kilometers (150 miles) southeast of the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula. The attack caused a major fire, but there were no reports of casualties.
• Nepal’s Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud told The Associated Press that Nepal had asked Russia to send back hundreds of Nepali nationals recruited to fight Ukraine and to repatriate the bodies of those killed in the conflict. The Russian army is estimated to have recruited more than 200 Nepalese nationals to fight in Ukraine and at least 14 have died there, Saud said.
• Ukraine’s National Resistance Center said it had seen “mercenaries from Malaysia accompanied by a translator” in Russian military training camps in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region. It warned that anyone fighting alongside the Russians against Ukraine would be a “military target.” Malaysia did not respond to requests for further information about the suspected presence of Malaysian nationals.
• Several major Ukrainian state organizations, including the state energy company Naftogaz, the postal service and the transport security agency, reported serious cyberattacks, which a source close to the government blamed on Russian intelligence.

Politics and diplomacy

• A court in St. Petersburg Anti-war activist Darya Trepova was sentenced to 27 years in prison after she was found guilty of “terrorism” last year for what Russia said was Ukraine’s orchestration of the murder of prominent ultra-nationalist blogger Vladlen Tatarsky. Trepova told the court that she believed the package she gave to Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, contained a covert listening device and did not know it was rigged with explosives.
• A Moscow court locked Prominent nationalist and former rebel commander Igor Girkin was sentenced to four years for “inciting extremism.” Girkin, also known as Igor Strelkov, has repeatedly criticized the Kremlin over its war strategy in Ukraine.
• Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) expressed concern that Ukrainian journalists investigating corruption would come under increasing pressure, citing recent intimidation attempts against Yuri Nikolov, Iryna Hryb and Bihus.info staff.

weapons

• The White House urged senators in the United States to reach an agreement tying vital military aid to Ukraine to U.S. border security after reports that former President Donald Trump, who is seeking re-election, was trying to to torpedo any agreement to deprive US President Joe Biden, who is seeking a second term, is confident of a political victory.