"I will be 100% on board with taking sanctions up," Treasury Secretary-pick Scott Bessent told lawmakers on Thursday.

Scott Bessent, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of treasury, looks on as he sits near his son Cole, on the day he testifies during a Senate Committee on Finance confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 16, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Those fighting for Ukraine and those who have lost loved ones hope to end the war with Russia on their own terms.

Just three days before US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House, Russia and Iran have finally signed a “comprehensive partnership agreement,” a deal that had been in the works for months.

The presidents of Russia and Iran have signed a broad cooperation pact to deepen their partnership amid stinging Western sanctions

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has arrived in Russia for the signing of a broad cooperation treaty as his country grapples with growing economic problems and other challenges

The Russian missiles sought out targets from the Lviv region in western Ukraine near Poland to Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine bordering Russia. The state energy company Ukrenergo reported emergency power outages in six regions. It often shuts down production during attacks as a precaution.

The Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (SOF) attacked a Russian oil depot in the Kaluga region, causing a massive fire, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports.

Ukrainian forces attacked oil depots in Russia's Tula and Kaluga oblasts overnight on Jan. 18, according to the General Staff and a Kyiv Independent's source in Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR).