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Ukraine will take steps to research, publicize, and protect the histories of Ukrainians living in parts of modern-day Russia that have been historically inhabited by Ukrainians, according to a decree signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky on Jan. 22.

Zelensky announced he had signed the decree during his address on Unity Day, a national holiday celebrated on Jan. 22 that marks the unification of the Ukrainian People's Republic and the Western Ukrainian People's Republic in 1919 into one independent country.

The decree "On the Territories of the Russian Federation Historically Inhabited by Ukrainians" stipulates that the government should cooperate with international experts to create a plan "to preserve the national identity of Ukrainians" in specific territories of what is now Russia.

The decree listed the regions of Kuban, a historical region to the east of the Crimean Peninsula, Starodubshchyna, to the north of Chernihiv, and northern and eastern Slobozhanshchyna.

Also known as Sloboda Ukraine, Slobozhanshchyna was a significant and semi-autonomous region under Tsarist rule that extended across what is now northeastern Ukraine, predominantly Sumy, Kharkiv, and Luhansk oblasts, and southwestern Russia.

Krasnodar Krai covers most of what was once Kuban, while Starodubshchyna now lies predominantly in Bryansk Oblast.

The decree also declares that the government should preserve the history of Ukrainians in these regions. Their testimonies on the forced Russification, political repression, and deportations they suffered should be recorded, according to the decree.

More work should also be done to counter "disinformation and propaganda of the Russian Federation regarding the history and present of Ukrainians in Russia" and to develop relations between Ukrainians and other "peoples enslaved by Russia," the decree says.

The government should work with the National Academy of Sciences to develop materials about the "more than a thousand-year history of Ukrainian state formation, the historical connections of lands inhabited by ethnic Ukrainians, and Ukrainian national state formations in various historical periods."

The "true history of ethnic Ukrainians in the lands historically inhabited by them within the borders of the Russian Federation" should also be included in educational textbooks, according to the decree.

Everything you didnt know about Ukraines flag

At a small exhibit at the National History Museum in Kyiv on Ukraines flag, one notices something particular about the flags from the Soviet times and early days of independence: theyre homemade sewn by hand with different fabrics of slightly different blues and yellows, the result of a

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Zelensky signs decree recognizing some Russian territories as historically inhabited by Ukrainians - Kyiv Independent

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed support for Ukraine and condemned those who choose to remain neutral in the Russian-Ukrainian war in a statement during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Jan. 22.

You are not alone; not least in the sense that this fight is happening in every country in Europe, Tusk said.

Read also: No tolerance for anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Tusks government

Today, anyone in the free world who claims neutrality, equal distance, or offers it to Ukraine and Russia deserves the darkest place in political hell.

Tusk became Polands new Prime Minister on Dec. 11, ending the eight-year rule of the ultra-conservative Law and Justice party, led by Jarosaw Kaczyski and previous PM Mateusz Morawiecki.

During his speech, Tusk emphasized the importance of further aid to Ukraine and called for the Wests full mobilization. He said that Russias attack on Ukraine is an attack on us all, and should be discussed in unison to unite allies.

I will never allow anyone in my government to base their position on any anti-Ukrainian sentiment, Tusk said in an interview with Polish TVN24 on Jan. 12.

Tusk visited Kyiv for the first time since his appointment on Jan. 22.

Read also: Zelenskyy meets Polish President Duda in Davos to discuss policy of support

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Poland's new PM Tusk criticizes neutrality in Russia's war on Ukraine - Yahoo News

Ukraine hit an oil depot in Russia in a drone attack on Friday, officials on both sides said, the latest in a series of recent assaults targeting Russian oil facilities as Kyiv increasingly seeks to strike critical infrastructure behind Russian lines.

Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of the Russian region of Bryansk, which borders Ukraine, said oil tanks in the town of Klintsy had caught fire after a drone dropped munitions on the depot. The drone, he added, was brought down by electronic jamming. A Ukrainian intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters, said Ukraine was behind the assault.

Fridays attack was the fourth on a Russian oil facility in the past three weeks, in what experts say is an effort by Ukraine to deliver setbacks to Russias military capabilities by targeting the facilities that supply fuel to tanks, fighter jets and other critical military equipment.

Strikes on oil depots and oil storage facilities disrupt logistics routes and slow down combat operations, said Olena Lapenko, an energy security expert at DiXi Group, a Ukrainian think tank. Disruption of these supplies, which are like blood for the human body, is part of a wider strategy to counter Russia on the battlefield.

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Ukraine Targets Russian Oil Plants, Aiming to Disrupt Military Operations - The New York Times

KYIV, Ukraine Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk arrived in Ukraine's capital Monday for talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on how Poland can keep supporting the country's almost two-year war with Russia and resolve a dispute between the neighboring nations over grain shipments and trucking.

Tusk, who returned to power in Poland last month and is keen to show that a change in government won't bring a change in Ukraine policy, was also due to meet with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

There are some conflicts of interest, we know it well and we will talk about them, but not only in the spirit of friendship, which is obvious, but with the attitude to solve these problems as soon as possible, not to maintain or multiply them, Tusk said, according to comments posted on X, formerly Twitter, by his office.

For me, it is very important to build the feeling that Poland is the most reliable, most stable ally of Ukraine in this deadly clash with evil, Tusk said.

His visit took place the day after Moscow-installed officials in eastern Ukraine reported that Ukrainian shellingkilled at least 27 peopleon the outskirts of a Russian-occupied city. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the shelling outside Donetsk a monstrous terrorist act, and the Russia-backed local authorities declared a day of mourning.

The Ukrainian military, however, denied it had anything to do with the attack.

It was not immediately possible to verify either side's claims.

Ukraines allies have in recent weeks sought to reassure the country that they are committed to its long-term defense against the Kremlins forces amidconcerns that Western supportcould be sagging.British Prime Minister Rishi SunakandFrances new foreign ministeralso traveled to Kyiv recently.

Located on NATOs eastern flank, Poland has been one of Ukraine's strongest allies in its fight to defeat Russia. The government in Warsaw has provided weapons and humanitarian aid, and opened its borders to Ukrainian refugees since Moscow's troops invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Butrelations soured last yearas economic competition from Ukrainian food producers and truckers angered Poles who said their livelihoods were under threat.

Polish farmers and truckers blockaded border crossings, causing backups and threatening theflow of some aidgoing into Ukraine.

Polish farmers complained that imports of Ukrainian foods had caused prices to fall, hurting their incomes, while truckers said they were being undercut by their Ukrainian counterparts. The issuesurfaced during the waras Ukrainian ports were blocked and food producers turned to road routes through Europe to get their products to market.

At one point, Poland and some other European nations banned Ukrainian grain imports because of the trade dispute.

Poland's farmers and trucks have ended their protests for now, but Tusk is seeking ways of addressing their concerns. He has said that his country wants to help Ukraine economically but not at the expense of Polish businesses. He has suggested that Ukraine needs to better regulate its trucking industry.

Tusk was also scheduled to honor Ukrainian fighters and attend observances of the Day of Ukraines Unity, which marks Ukraines long struggle to be independent from both its eastern and western neighbors.

In other war-related developments, Ukraines air force said it intercepted all eight Shahed drones that Russia launch overnight over southern and central regions of Ukraine.

Debris from three drones shot down over the central Dnipropetrovsk region started a fire at an unnamed business but no human casualties were reported.

Meanwhile, major Ukrainian digital banking platform Monobank said it came under a massive denial-of-service (DoS) attack by unidentified hackers.

The attack was successfully repelled, the bank said, with no major consequences. Monobank is one of Ukraine's biggest banks.

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This story has been corrected to show that Denys Shmyhal is Ukraine's prime minister, not defense minister.

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Monika Scislowska contributed from Warsaw, Poland.

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Poland's Tusk Arrives in Ukraine to Reset Frayed Ties - TIME

MOSCOW (AP) A Russian presidential hopeful opposing Moscow's military action in Ukraine met Thursday with a group of soldiers' wives who are demanding that their husbands be discharged from the front line.

Longtime Kremlin critic Boris Nadezhdin, who serves as a local legislator in a town near Moscow, is collecting signatures to qualify for the race to challenge President Vladimir Putin in the March 15-17 vote.

Speaking at a meeting with wives and other relatives of Russian servicemen who were mobilized to fight in Ukraine, Nadezhdin, 60, criticized the government's decision to keep them in the ranks as long as the fighting continues.

We want them to treat people who are doing their duty in a decent way, he said.

Wives of some of the reservists who were called up for service in the fall of 2022 have campaigned for their husbands to be discharged from duty and replaced with contract soldiers.

Maria Andreyeva, whose brother is fighting in Ukraine and who took part in the meeting, said that we have been depressed for a long time and are looking for ways to spur ourselves. She said she and the other women have been filing petitions, picketing government buildings and taking other action.

Their demands have been stonewalled by the government-controlled media, and some pro-Kremlin politicians have sought to cast them as Western stooges accusations the women angrily rejected.

The mobilization of 300,000 reservists that Putin ordered in 2022 amid military setbacks in Ukraine was widely unpopular and prompted hundreds of thousands to flee abroad to avoid being drafted.

Aware of the public backlash, the military since then has increasingly sought to bolster the forces in Ukraine by enlisting more volunteers. The authorities claimed that about 500,000 signed contracts with the Defense Ministry last year.

During Thursday's meeting, Nadezhdin, a member of the local council in the town of Dolgoprudny just outside Moscow, reaffirmed his call for a quick end to the fighting in Ukraine.

The country wants peace, its crystal clear, Nadezhdin said. "The country wants this to end. People want to bring back those who are there. We told the truth and its very important how the government reacts to this meeting.

He spoke with optimism about his presidential bid, arguing that his calls for peace are getting increasing traction and he has received donations from thousands of people.

I will keep moving for as long as I feel public support, he said. Millions of people are supporting me.

Under Russian law, independent candidates like Nadezhdin must gather at least 300,000 signatures from 40 regions or more.

Another presidential hopeful who called for peace in Ukraine, former regional legislator Yekaterina Duntsova, was barred from the race last month after the Central Election Commission refused to accept her nomination, citing technical errors in her paperwork.

The election commission already has approved three candidates for the ballot who were nominated by parties represented in parliament and therefore weren't required to collect signatures: Nikolai Kharitonov of the Communist Party, Leonid Slutsky of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party and Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party.

All three parties have been largely supportive of the Kremlin's policies. Kharitonov had run against Putin in 2004, finishing a distant second.

The tight control over Russias political system that Putin has established during 24 years in power makes his reelection in March all but assured. Prominent critics who could challenge him on the ballot are either in jail or living abroad, and most independent media have been banned.

Under constitutional reforms he orchestrated, Putin is eligible to seek two more six-year terms after his current term expires this year, potentially allowing him to remain in power until 2036.

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Russian presidential hopeful calling for peace in Ukraine meets with soldiers' wives - Yahoo News