UNITED24 Media Telegram Highlights
Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodríguez met with the ambassadors of China, Iran, and Russia immediately after taking the oath, HCH Televisión Digital reported.
All three diplomats attended the ceremony. Afterward, Chinese Ambassador to Venezuela Lan Hu hugged Rodríguez, followed by Russian Ambassador Sergey Melik-Bagdasarov. Iranian Ambassador Ali Chegini bowed to her.
China, Iran, and Russia have condemned the US military operation aimed at capturing Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
“Venezuela in exchange for Ukraine.” Russia wants to benefit from the US operation in Venezuela, which it sees as proof that Washington is ready to divide the world into “spheres of influence,” Reuters reports, citing senior Russian officials.
Russia had previously proposed to the United States an “exchange of Venezuela for Ukraine,” Fiona Hill, former senior adviser on Russia and Eurasia at the US National Security Council during Trump’s first term, said in a 2019 address to Congress.
According to Hill, Moscow made the proposal when the US-backed opposition was trying to overthrow Nicolás Maduro, while the Kremlin was helping him stay in power.
“You want us out of your backyard. But actually, we’re in a similar situation. You are in our backyard,” Hill recalled Russia’s position on Ukraine.
Today, the “Coalition of the Willing” — a group of countries allied with Ukraine — will meet with US representatives in Paris to discuss security guarantees and ways to end the war with Russia, Deutsche Welle reports.
Representatives of 35 countries are expected to take part, including 27 heads of state. Ukraine will be represented by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
French President Emmanuel Macron will also host UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and other leaders.
The US delegation will include President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.
According to the Élysée Palace, the goal of the meeting is to demonstrate “coherence” between the United States, Ukraine, and European allies on security guarantees for Ukraine.
The focus will be on discussions of multinational forces to ensure peace in Ukraine, support for the Ukrainian army, long-term defense cooperation, and responses to potential new Russian attacks.
Participants will also discuss a shared vision for a ceasefire and responses to violations. The exact agenda has not yet been disclosed.
The Russian Federation bombed the American Oleina oil refinery in Dnipro, Mayor Borys Filatov said.
Up to 300 tons of oil spilled onto the roads.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Russia has been systematically targeting American businesses in Ukraine.
🇩🇪🇺🇦 The German Embassy in Kyiv announced the arrival in Ukraine of a transformer from the Karlsruhe power plant.
The embassy said the delivered transformer will help stabilize electricity supply amid Russian attacks.
✍️ Nearly $500 million in Telegram bonds held in Russia have been frozen due to Western sanctions. This has exposed the messenger’s financial vulnerability to the Russian market, despite founder Pavel Durov’s public efforts to distance himself from Moscow.
This is a particularly painful blow for Durov. In recent years, he has repeatedly dismissed speculation about his dependence on the Kremlin as “conspiracy theories” and sought to demonstrate a break with Russia. Telegram declined to comment.
Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, said the attack on Maduro “became a harbinger of a return to the era of lawlessness and US power domination.”
An S-300V air defense radar was destroyed in the Donetsk region on January 5, 2026.
The strike was carried out by the Unmanned Systems Forces of the 412th Nemesis Brigade using a medium-range strike drone.