ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, January 22, 2025

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Ukrainian and US officials continued meetings in Switzerland on January 22.
• Putin is trying to use Trump’s Board of Peace to curry favor with Trump and negotiate the release of frozen Russian assets to fuel the Russian economy.
• There is conflicting reporting about possible US, Ukrainian, and Russian meetings in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on January 23 and 24.
• The Russian military command is reportedly prioritizing the provision of light motorized vehicles to Russian troops, further demonstrating how the Russian military is optimizing itself for positional warfare.
• The Russian military command is reportedly introducing a tactical-level situational awareness system to help streamline battlefield decision-making, seeking to use artificial intelligence to compensate for the low level of junior officer training and initiative in the Russian military, among other things.
• The Russian General Staff is reportedly creating a new drone brigade that will incorporate a large variety of unmanned systems, likely as part of wider efforts to centralize drone units in the Russian military.
• European states are increasingly seizing Russian shadow fleet tankers following a series of similar US actions in recent weeks.
• Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov dismissed five deputy defense ministers on January 22.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced in the Kostyantynivka-Druzhkivka tactical area and in eastern Zaporizhia Oblast. Russian forces recently advanced near Slovyansk, in the Dobropillya tactical area, and near Pokrovsk and Novopavlivka.

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