**Head of North America Desk at The Kyiv Independent**
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent. She has been with the company since January 2012, starting as a staff writer and later becoming the Canadian correspondent in June 2018.
**Drone Attack Hits Russia’s Saratov Region**
A drone attack overnight on January 14 caused damage to an industrial facility in Engels, Russia’s Saratov region. The city is about 600 kilometers (370 miles) from Ukraine’s front lines. This is not the first disruption in the region since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
**Sanctions and Escalation**
The European Commission plans to draft new sanctions against Russia next week, with a goal of approving the package on February 24 – the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia has endured over 700,000 casualties since launching its invasion, according to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
**Support for Ukraine**
Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said on January 8 that her country will support Ukraine’s NATO membership further down the line. The United States has also announced plans to send $138 million (CAD $200 million) in aid to Ukraine, including large-calibre ammunition.
**Increased Tensions**
Lithuania and Poland are enhancing security measures around their power grids in preparation for next month’s decoupling from Russia’s energy system. North Korea is benefiting from receiving Russian military equipment and technology, according to the U.S. ambassador to the UN.
**Shandong Port Group**
The Shandong Port Group has prohibited U.S.-sanctioned tankers from accessing its ports in eastern China, where many independent refiners are based.
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