Biden eyes new Moscow sanctions before Trump era begins; Russia ‘dropped over 51,000 guided bombs since start of war’

Russia had launched more than 51,000 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine since the start of its full-blown invasion nearly three years ago, said the Ukrainian air force on Thursday.

Slovakia was weighing retaliation against Ukraine including withholding aid if a solution was not found to Kyiv’s decision to shut off Russian gas, said Prime Minister Robert Fico on Thursday after talks with EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen. 

Biden set to push new Russia sanctions before Trump era begins

President Joe Biden is expected to unveil new sanctions targeting Russia’s economy this week, according to a US official, as part of measures to bolster Kyiv’s war effort against Moscow before Donald Trump takes office.

Separately, the Biden administration announced $500-million in new military aid for Ukraine on Thursday that included air defence missiles, air-to-ground munitions and support equipment for F-16 fighter jets.

President-elect Trump’s return to the White House on 20 January has sparked hope of a diplomatic resolution to end Moscow’s invasion but also fears in Kyiv that a quick peace could come at a high price for Ukraine.

Advisers to Trump have floated proposals to end the war that would effectively cede large parts of the country to Russia for the foreseeable future.

Biden aides say they want to put Ukraine in the strongest position on the battlefield to give them leverage for possible negotiations with Russia this year.

There were no immediate details on the sanctions Biden would impose in his final days in office but Biden aides are briefing Trump’s aides on the steps they are taking, the official said.

Reuters reported earlier this week that three sources said the US was planning more sanctions targeting Russia’s oil revenues that help fund its war on Ukraine. One of the sources said the sanctions would target two Russian oil companies, more than 100 tankers, oil traders and Russian insurance companies, without naming the entities.

The US official said that most of the weapons and munitions promised to Ukraine had been delivered and the remainder were on the way. Ukraine’s critical munitions stockpiles were now in a healthy position, added the official.

Outgoing US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in a statement, noted that the latest aid came as he met with about 50 allies at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said separately that the group would “stand united to ensure Ukraine has the capabilities it needs to defend itself against Russia’s aggression”. But German officials were bracing for a possible US withdrawal from the meetings under Trump.

Meanwhile, US military officials are studying North Korean operations in the Ukraine war to assess how they might handle any conflict in Asia. Thousands of North Korean forces are believed to be supporting Russians in the war with Ukraine.

Russia ‘dropped over 51,000 guided bombs since start of war’

Russia had launched more than 51,000 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine since the start of its full-blown invasion nearly three years ago, said the Ukrainian air force on Thursday.

Guided, or glide, bombs are highly destructive and very hard to intercept. The air-launched weapons are conventional, often Soviet-era ordnance that have been fitted with wings and satellite-aided navigation to extend their range and precision.

They are cheaper than ballistic and cruise missiles that Russia also regularly fires at Ukraine, and more abundant.

Their destructive power means they can ravage even strongly fortified Ukrainian defensive positions, which have been steadily crumbling in parts of the east in recent months.

In 2024, Russia used some 40,000 guided bombs in Ukraine, said the air force in its statement on the Telegram messaging app.

Regions in proximity to the frontlines as well as those bordering Russia are most regularly targeted with these weapons, say Ukrainian officials.

On Wednesday Russia fired two such bombs at a residential area in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least 13 people and injuring 113 in the deadliest attack so far this year, officials said.

On Thursday a guided bomb strike on residential buildings in the southern city of Kherson injured at least six people.

Slovakia could withhold Ukraine aid over halted gas supply - Fico

Slovakia was weighing retaliation against Ukraine including withholding aid if a solution was not found to Kyiv’s decision to shut off Russian gas, said Prime Minister Robert Fico on Thursday after talks with EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen.

Kyiv took the step on 1 January to cut off revenue helping to fund Russia’s war on Ukraine, having given time for alternative suppliers to be found, and supplies have been maintained in the EU.

However, Fico says it will cost Slovakia €1-billion a year in higher prices for the gas it uses and €500-million in onward transit fees.

He has threatened to cut emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine as Russia attacks its power grid or to reduce aid for Ukrainian refugees.

On Thursday, he said the government could also halt humanitarian aid or use its veto right EU decisions on Ukraine, while insisting that he did not want to raise tensions.

“There is nothing — not international law or sanctions — that prevents the transit of gas through Ukraine,” he told reporters in Brussels.

He said higher energy prices would hit EU competitiveness.

“If the damage to the EU is permanent, as well as damage to Slovakia, Slovakia will take reciprocal measures,” added Fico.

Slovakia and the European Commission said they had agreed to set up a working group on the issue. The Kyiv energy ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Fico has shifted Slovakia’s foreign policy since taking power in 2023 by cultivating relations with Russia and refusing to provide military aid to Ukraine.

It was not clear how he had reached his assessment of Slovakia’s potential losses.

North Korea becoming better prepared for war, warns US 

The US warned on Wednesday that North Korea was benefiting from its troops fighting alongside Russia against Ukraine, gaining experience that makes Pyongyang “more capable of waging war against its neighbours”.

Russia has forged closer diplomatic and military ties with North Korea since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

More than 12,000 North Korean troops are in Russia and last month began fighting against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Camille Shea told the United Nations Security Council.

“The DPRK is significantly benefiting from receiving Russian military equipment, technology and experience, rendering it more capable of waging war against its neighbours," Shea told the 15-member council, which met over what Pyongyang said was a test of a new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile on Monday.

“In turn, the DPRK will likely be eager to leverage these improvements to promote weapons sales and military training contracts globally,” she said, using the acronym for North Korea’s formal name — the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

North Korea’s UN ambassador, Kim Song, justified Monday’s missile test as part of a plan to enhance the country’s defence capabilities.

South Korea’s UN ambassador, Joonkook Hwang, told the council that North Korea’s soldiers were “essentially slaves to Kim Jong-un, brainwashed to sacrifice their lives on faraway battlefields to raise money for his regime and secure advanced military technology from Russia”.

Orbán’s challenger backs strong EU, Nato ties 

Peter Magyar, the opposition challenger to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, told Reuters he would keep Hungary firmly anchored in the European Union and Nato if he wins elections due in early 2026 and would strive for “pragmatic relations” with Russia.

Magyar’s centre-right Tisza Party swept into Hungarian politics last year, mounting the most serious challenge to Orbán since he rose to power in 2010. Magyar’s popularity has been surging and in some recent polls Tisza has led Orbán’s Fidesz party.

Orbán has been criticised by some EU leaders for his government’s ties with Russia and opposition to military aid for Ukraine, while his government is struggling to revive the economy from an inflation shock.

Tisza’s dynamic leader, Magyar, a former government insider, said he would unlock billions of euros in frozen EU funds to boost the economy by taking strong steps to curb corruption. He also said he would join the European Union prosecutor’s office, a step rejected by Budapest’s nationalist government which has been stuck in a rule of law dispute with Brussels.

This row has led to Hungary losing access to vital EU funds.

“We are a member of the EU, this club, and member of Nato … of course, this is an open economy and we need to be on good terms with other powers ... and eastern ties are also important, but currently we sell some 80% of our goods in the EU’s market,” Magyar told Reuters on Wednesday in Tisza’s modest office in a Budapest apartment block.

He said his party would fight the elections on its own, ruling out an alliance with other opposition parties.

Orbán’s government has maintained close ties to Moscow, even after the war with Ukraine, and criticised EU sanctions against Russia. He is seen as having close ties with Trump.

Trump won’t abandon Ukraine, says Italy’s Meloni  

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, one of the European leaders closest to Trump, said on Thursday she believed the US president-elect would defend Western interests once he took office and would not abandon Ukraine.

Meloni flew to Florida last weekend for unannounced talks with Trump, winning praise from the incoming president, who called her “a fantastic woman”.

Addressing a press conference in Rome, Meloni said she had received an invitation to Trump’s inauguration and was keen to fit it into her schedule.

She used Thursday’s two-hour news conference to allay concerns that Trump might break with Washington’s traditional European allies as he pursued a Make-America-Great-Again agenda.

Meloni also dismissed speculation that Trump would stop supporting Ukraine and try to force it to accept unfavourable terms to end its almost three-year war with Russia.

“I do not expect a disengagement by the United States from Ukraine,” said Meloni, adding that the only way to persuade Moscow to negotiate was if it was in a difficult position.

“Trump has the ability to balance diplomacy and deterrence and I predict that this will be the case this time too.”

Broker McGill offers property war reinsurance for Ukraine

Broker McGill and Partners has launched a commercial property war risk reinsurance programme for Ukraine, which it said on Thursday was the first of its kind since Russia’s invasion of the country in February 2022.

Companies in Ukraine have found it difficult to get insurance since the start of the war because Western reinsurers, who insure the insurers, have placed exclusions on the country.

McGill said it had collaborated with local Ukrainian insurer ARX to provide up to $50-million in cover for each commercial property policy, with reinsurance from firms in London including Lloyd’s of London syndicates.

FortuneGuard, an insurance technology company, will use official data on projectiles fired into Ukraine to assess the likelihood of war damage. Cover will be available for properties which are more than 100km from the front line, said McGill in a statement. DM