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Morning Headlines
Reuters: Russian forces launched the year’s most intense wave of missile attacks on Ukraine early on Tuesday, killing four people and injuring several others, while emergency power cuts were imposed in Kyiv after damage to infrastructure.
AP News: The United States accused Russia on Monday of a “dangerous and inexplicable escalation” of its nearly four-year war in Ukraine at a time when the Trump administration is trying to advance negotiations toward peace.
The Guardian: Russia is already working to circumvent the latest US sanctions to ensure India can continue to import high levels of cheap Russian crude oil, according to industry analysts.
A BBC Eye investigation has followed how a 40-year-old former teacher uses a Telegram channel to lure young men, often from poor countries, into joining Russia's military.
United24 Media: Russia’s once-dominant space program has reached a new low point, with orbital launches falling to a level not seen since the early 1960s.
ISW: The Russian people are increasingly feeling the effects of the Kremlin’s continued prioritization of the Russian defense industrial base.
Reuters: Trump said on Monday any country that does business with Iran will face a tariff rate of 25% on any trade with the U.S., as Washington weighs a response to the situation in Iran which is seeing its biggest anti-government protests in years.
The Kyiv Independent: Unidentified drones struck the Russian city of Taganrog early on Jan. 13, with reports indicating that a drone manufacturing facility was targeted, according to Russian Telegram channels.
More News
Sky News: The UK has no plan to defend the nation in the event of war, including how to mobilise the National Health Service to deal with mass casualties, the head of the military has revealed.
UNN: Iran has sold nearly $3 billion worth of missiles to Russia to aid Putin’s nearly four-year-long war in Ukraine, according to an assessment from a Western security official.
Bloomberg: Russia accelerated its attacks on civilians after Trump began his efforts to end the war in Ukraine, the first comprehensive assessment of 2025 casualties undertaken by European governments has found (archive).
Reuters: Last year was the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since 2022, driven by intensified hostilities along the front line and the expanded use of long-range weapons, the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said on Monday.
The Moscow Times: Relatives of Russian servicemen in the Far East Primorye region have appealed to military prosecutors over alleged sexualized violence and extortion at a local army unit, the news outlet Ostorozhno Novosti reported on Monday.
The Insider: Military personnel with experience in the special forces of Russia’s military intelligence agency and the Wagner PMC previously served aboard the tanker Qendil, which was attacked by Ukrainian drones in the Mediterranean Sea last December.
The Moscow Times: Russian-supplied air defense systems in Venezuela were largely non-operational and failed to respond to a large-scale U.S. strike that preceded an American special forces operation to seize Maduro, NYT reported Monday.
Kyiv Post: Former UK intelligence chief Sir Richard Dearlove said he is “certain” that Putin uses body doubles on some public occasions to reduce the risk of assassination.
Reuters: The European Union should ban companies from providing any support to Moscow's oil and gas-shipping fleet, introduce sanctions against Russian fertilisers and stop luxury goods exports to Russia, Sweden's foreign minister said on Monday.
United24 Media: Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide outlined his country’s plans to expand cooperation with Ukrainian arms manufacturers during a visit to Kyiv. He explained that the aim of the cooperation is to integrate interceptors or effectors produced in Ukraine into the NASAMS air defense system.
Reuters: Norway also said on Monday it was providing 340 million euros in emergency funding to support Ukraine's energy sector and help the government maintain critical services, as part of the Nordic country's wider aid to the war-torn nation in 2026.
The Kyiv Independent: A power plant in the Russian city of Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast, was reportedly attacked on Jan. 12, according to Russian independent outlet Astra, citing local residents.
Reuters: Finnish police said on Monday they had lifted the seizure of a ship which had been held on suspicion of sabotaging an undersea telecoms cable running from Helsinki to Estonia across the Gulf of Finland, although the investigation continues.
The Moscow Times: The Russian Orthodox Church launched a nationwide prayer service this weekend that urges women against having an abortion, coming amid government efforts to reverse the country’s population decline.
ERR: The Ministry of the Interior imposed an entry ban to Estonia last week on 261 Russian combatants who had taken part in the war of aggression against Ukraine.
The Moscow Times: The U.S. Soccer Federation has denied reports that it is in talks with its Russian counterpart about organizing football matches between the Russian and U.S. national teams.
Rheinmetall is supplying Ukraine with additional systems for national defence. The country is set to receive its first Lynx KF41 infantry fighting vehicles as early as the beginning of 2026.
BBC: The British government has identified a legal basis which it believes can be used to allow UK military to board and detain vessels in so-called shadow fleets, BBC News understands.
worth mentioning
Putin’s own propagandists finally admit Russia is scr*wed
Russian embassy employee in Cyprus found dead
Pentagon bought device through undercover operation some investigators suspect is linked to Havana Syndrome
Sweden to spend $440 million on unmanned military drone systems
France launches recruitment campaign for new voluntary military service
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