‘It’s Such a Disaster’ – Ukraine at War Update for Jan. 16

The governor of Russia’s Voronzezh region, Alexander Gusev, reported on social media that a drone attack struck an oil depot there on Wednesday evening. Gusev claimed that Russian air defense units and electronic warfare systems had downed incoming UAVs, igniting a fire on the premises.

Ukraine and Russia have been trading attacks on energy sources this week, during a season where the Kremlin’s forces have traditionally bombarded Ukrainian power grids in an effort to freeze out inhabitants. After just such an assault on Wednesday in Western Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media, “It is the middle of winter, and the target for the Russians remains the same: our energy sector.”

Sources on the Telegram social media platform spotted by Ukrainska Pravda reported that the oil depot hit by Ukrainian drones was in the town of Liski, about 90 kilometers from the regional capital of Voronezh, and not far from Ukraine’s northeastern border with Russia.

This latest attack on a Russian energy source comes on the same day that a fire broke out at a Lukoil refinery in Volgograd, Russia’s 16th largest city. Formerly known as Stalingrad, the city is one of the country’s major oil-refining and transportation hubs.

That particular Lukoil refinery is one of the largest producers of petroleum products in the Southern Federal District, processing 13.5 million tons of oil in 2023 alone.

Other Topics of Interest

Kyiv Brings Home 25 POWs, Including Wounded, in 1st Exchange of 2025

Ukraine brings home 25 prisoners, including wounded soldiers and civilians, with the youngest being 24 and the oldest 60.

Russia counterattacked on Wednesday with a barrage of missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities. Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU)  said Russia launched 43 cruise and ballistic missiles and 74 attack drones, targeting mainly sites mainly in western Ukraine.

Oleksandra Komuna, an elderly resident of the western Ukrainian village of Sknyliv, was at home during the attack when lamps and plaster began falling, she told AFP.

“All the doors and windows were blown out, everything was blown out. The car was damaged, and the roof was damaged. There were cracks everywhere… It’s such a disaster.”

Mariupol defenders among group of returned POWs, while Azov brigade picks up 23 more

Ukraine and Russia conducted their first prisoner exchange of the year with Ukraine bringing home 25 Ukrainian men and women from captivity, reportedly returning an equal number to Russia.

Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the exchange on Telegram, stating that, “as a result of the negotiation process, 25 Russian servicemen were returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime. In return, 25 Ukrainian servicemen were handed over.”

The repatriated military personnel included soldiers, sailors, and sergeants that defended the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk regions, as well as the city of Mariupol, including Azovstal, a statement from Zelensky statement read.

“Bringing our people home is what Ukraine is constantly working on, and we will not stop until we bring all of our people back,” the President posted to social media.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, Ukrainian troops captured 23 Russian soldiers in the Donetsk region, along the Toretsk front, near the decimated city of Bakhmut.

The press service of the 12th Azov Brigade of Ukraine’s National Guard said that its units captured 23 Russian soldiers who surrendered voluntarily. They were discovered in basements during assaults by Ukrainian troops, the press service said.

Zelensky’s office highlights and outlines latest round of Biden sanctions

The Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andrii Yermak, welcomed the latest round of sanctions out of the White House as US President Joe Biden prepares to hand over power to Donald Trump. The latest sanctions include banks and institutions collaborating with Russia, affecting nearly 100 entities.

“Today, the United States announced a new sanctions package aimed at increasing pressure on Russia for its aggression and violations of international law. Several proposals from the McFaul-Yermak Sanctions Group were taken into account,” Yermak wrote on social media platform Telegram.

Yermak laid out the list of the individuals and organizations affected:

• Russia’s Federal State Unitary Enterprise Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant and its director general V. Isayev, illegally managing the occupied Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant
• Two Rosatom subsidiaries: the Scientific Production Association Centrotech and the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Gorno-Khimichesky Combinat (Mining and Chemical Plant)
• Banks evading restrictions: Keremet Bank, a financial institution in Kyrgyzstan that collaborated with Russian officials to circumvent sanctions
• More than 25 Russian defense companies, including Serov Mechanical Plant, NNPO named after M.V. Frunze, and Saransk Instrument-Building Plant
• Companies from China, Turkey, UAE, and Malaysia that supplied millions of dollars’ worth of goods to Russian sanctioned entities
• Nearly 30 Russian companies involved in procuring and distributing sanctioned goods, including materials for ZALA drones
• Individuals such as Viktorov, a lawyer aiding in hiding Rotenberg family assets, and related companies like Evocorp
• Approximately 25 Russian metallurgy firms, including Kamensk-Uralsky Metallurgical Plant, Terra Steel Group, and companies under the Keramax group
• Turkish shipbuilding yard Kuzey Star Shipyard, which built a floating dock for servicing Russian nuclear icebreakers.