Washington, DC – On January 16, 2023, the fighting between Ukraine and Russia has increased with both sides launching major drone and missile attacks. This comes as US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20 approaches. Trump has promised to end the conflict quickly, but he hasn’t shared many details about how he plans to do this.
Recently, Ukraine carried out its biggest attack yet on Russia, using drones and missiles, including six US-made ATACMS long-range missiles. This attack happened overnight, as reported by Ukrainian and Russian officials. Back in November, outgoing US President Joe Biden allowed Ukraine to use these powerful missiles, which Russia considers a big step up in the fighting.
Moscow warned that if Ukraine used ATACMS, it would respond with its own powerful missile named Oreshnik. This missile has only been launched once before, in November 2022.
The fighting escalated when Ukraine targeted Russian military bases and oil facilities. The Ukrainian army pledged to continue its attacks until Russia stops its aggression.
In response, Russia launched a massive attack on Ukrainian energy facilities, especially as winter has made energy supply crucial. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Russia fired over 40 missiles at Ukraine. Thankfully, Ukrainian forces managed to destroy about 30 of them, along with over 70 drones.
Zelensky stated, “Another massive Russian attack is happening. The focus remains on our energy sector. This is vital for our people’s normal life.” Because of the damage, Ukraine’s state energy company, Ukrenergo, had to temporarily turn off power to prevent the energy system from failing. However, power was restored by 9 am local time on Wednesday.
In just a few days, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States at the US Capitol.
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