Shelling in Chernihiv and Johnson's re-election as Speaker of the House in the U.S.: key highlights from January 3rd.

Shelling of Ukraine

On the night of January 3, Russian forces launched drone attacks on Kyiv and the Kyiv region. As a result of debris falling, fires broke out.

In one area of the Kyiv region, a truck driver was killed by shrapnel from a downed target. The man died on the spot. In another area, debris from a downed drone fell on a private house, causing a fire on the roof. Three people were injured. A 16-year-old boy sustained a cut and was taken to a children's hospital. His father suffered lacerations to his legs. Another injured person exhibited an acute stress reaction.

By evening, the Russians struck with three ballistic missiles at the outskirts of Chernihiv. They hit residential buildings, resulting in one death and four injuries.

Mike Johnson - Speaker of the House Again

Former U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson was re-elected to this position in the first round of voting.

During the first vote, he received 216 votes. At least three Republicans voted against Johnson. After the first round, the Republican began negotiations with those who opposed him.

On the second attempt, Johnson secured the necessary votes.

Farmers' Protest in Warsaw

Polish farmers began a protest in Warsaw on January 3. Among the reasons is the import from Ukraine.

The protest started in front of the European Commission's representation. The slogan of these demonstrations is "5 x stop," which pertains to the following topics: the Mercosur agreement, the "Green Deal," imports from Ukraine, destruction of Polish forests and hunting, as well as the "extinguishing" of the Polish economy.

Suspect in the Murder of Faryon Remains in Custody

Vyacheslav Zinchenko, the suspect in the murder of linguist Irina Faryon, has been kept in custody for an additional two months.

He will remain in custody until March 4 without the right to bail. This decision can be appealed within 5 days. Additionally, the representative of the victim, Irina Faryon's daughter Sofia Semchishin, has filed a petition in court for measures to ensure her safety.

Plans for Ukraine's Defense Industry

President Volodymyr Zelensky instructed to develop at least 30,000 long-range drones and about 3,000 cruise missiles and drone missiles, stated Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

He reminded that this year Ukraine has a record budget to support the army and strengthen the defense industry, amounting to 2 trillion 230 billion hryvnias.

Spending on weapons and military equipment will be at least 739 billion hryvnias. Plans for domestic defense industry enterprises foresee increasing current production capacities to 30 billion dollars.

Transnistria Awaits Help from Russia

The unrecognized "Transnistrian Moldavian Republic" has declined assistance from Moldova for gas supplies. They are expecting help from Russian "Gazprom."

On January 2, "Moldovagaz" and another company, Energocom, offered the Transnistrian firm "Tiraspoltransgaz" help in organizing gas purchases on any European platform at market conditions to supply residents on the left bank of the Dniester with blue fuel.

However, Tiraspol declined this offer, stating that it would mean purchasing gas at "higher and unstable" prices.

The Next "Ramstein" Will Be in a Week

The meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in the "Ramstein" format, which was postponed from October 2024, will take place on January 9.

Back in December 2024, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced this January meeting. On the sidelines of the meeting, he will meet with his Portuguese counterpart Nuno Melo to discuss further steps to enhance security cooperation between the two countries.

Other Important News:

• Occupiers in Toretsk are disguising themselves as civilians and bypassing the front lines of the Armed Forces of Ukraine - military;
• President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law improving the procedure for wholesale and retail trade of vehicles registered at the Main Service Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs;
• Russians submitted requests regarding 50,000 missing soldiers from the Russian army to the "I Want to Find" project;
• A case has been sent to court regarding fraudsters who stole money from the bank accounts of deceased servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, managing to appropriate nearly 1.5 million hryvnias;
• Over 70 tons of sunflower oil have already been pumped out from the Southern Bug River. The spill occurred due to debris from a Russian drone.