Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 703

Here is the situation on Saturday, January 27, 2024.

Fighting

• Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Ilyushin-76 plane that crashed near the border with Ukraine was shot down by Ukrainian air defences, whether on purpose or by mistake.
• The death toll from Russian missile strikes on Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv earlier this week rose to 11, officials said.
• Putin said Russia’s future ruling class should be made up of army veterans, and not “weirdos” who “show their backsides”. The remarks appeared to slam a raunchy “almost naked” celebrity party held in Moscow last month that drew fierce public backlash.
• A court in Moscow on Friday extended the pre-trial detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by two months, following his arrest last year on espionage charges.

Economy

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the creation of a new economic body to assist businesses in wartime after several entrepreneurs voiced outrage at the arrest of a prominent banker.
• In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said the All-Ukraine Economic Platform would help businesses overcome the challenges posed by Russia’s invasion.

Diplomacy

• US President Joe Biden criticised congressional Republicans for stalling military aid to Ukraine amid a lack of consensus on a separate deal to reinforce the US-Mexico border.
• The chair of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Turkey needed to cooperate better on holding Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine following the US government’s approval of a $23bn deal to sell F-16 warplanes to Ankara.
• The chief negotiator for Moldova’s Russian-backed separatist Transdniestria region announced that his team would no longer attend talks on the country’s future in areas under government control because he feared arrest.