11.01.2026

The British government said on Sunday that it will develop a new deep-strike ballistic missile for Ukraine to support the country's war efforts against Russia.

Reuters: A group of European countries, led by Britain and Germany, is discussing plans to boost their military presence in Greenland to show Trump that the continent is serious about Arctic security, Bloomberg reported on Sunday. Germany will propose setting up a joint NATO mission to protect the Arctic region.

Reuters: Nordic diplomats rejected Trump's claims of Russian and Chinese vessels operating near Greenland, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian forces struck three Russian drilling platforms belonging to Lukoil, one of Russia's largest oil producers, in the Caspian Sea, Ukraine's General Staff reported on Jan. 11. Separately, Ukraine also hit a Russian Buk-M3 anti-aircraft missile system in the occupied parts of Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast.

The Kyiv Independent: Russian forces are attempting to create a beachhead for new offensive operations in Ukraine's northeast, potentially setting the stage for an "advance toward the city of Sumy," the Ukrainian military reported on Jan. 11.

Reuters: More than 1,000 apartment buildings in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv are still without heating following a devastating Russian attack earlier this week, local authorities said on Sunday.

Politico: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv is moving to step up pressure on Moscow with new operations targeting Russia, following a week of Russian attacks that knocked out power to Ukrainian cities as freezing temperatures set in.

RBC-Ukraine: Slovak President Peter Pellegrini, Prime Minister Robert Fico, and National Council Speaker Richard Raši confirmed a unified stance on not providing military aid to Ukraine following a joint lunch on Saturday, according to the Slovak news outlet Aktuality.

The Kyiv Independent: At the start of the year, Russian forces used a new Geran-5 attack drone against Ukraine for the first time, military intelligence reported on Jan. 11. The unmanned vehicle, which resembles the Iranian-designed Karrar drone, utilizes the Telefly jet engine, though with a greater thrust than the Geran-3 model.

ISW: Russian officials are explicitly using the recent Oreshnik strike to deter Western states from deploying troops to post-war Ukraine, in line with ISW’s assessment about the purpose of the strike.

10.01.2026

InformNapalm: Ukrainian hackers have uncovered a Russian weapons smuggling group, operating in conjunction with Russia's "shadow tanker" fleet putting arms into the hands of terrorists worldwide.

The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine's General Staff confirmed an overnight attack on the Zhutovskaya oil depot in Russia's Volgograd region on Jan. 9-10.

Politico: Kyiv is in talks with the United States about a possible free-trade agreement, as Ukraine seeks to entice a reluctant Washington to provide firm security guarantees, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine and the U.S. are expected to sign an economic deal aimed at spurring Ukraine's postwar recovery at a gathering of world leaders and business leaders at Davos.

RBC-Ukraine: French President Emmanuel Macron informed parliament of a plan to deploy 6,000 French troops to Ukraine after the conclusion of a peace agreement, reports Le Monde.

The Kyiv Independent: Iraq is setting up a special government commission to investigate and prevent the recruitment of Iraqi youth to fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine, the "I Want to Live" project reported.

Reuters: China, Russia and Iran began a week of joint naval exercises in South Africa's waters on Saturday in what the host country described as a BRICS Plus operation to "ensure the safety of shipping and maritime economic activities".

Reuters: Britain said it was allocating 200 million pounds ($270 million) to fund preparations for the possible deployment of troops to Ukraine, after pledging its soldiers this week to a multinational force for the country in the event of a ceasefire.

09.01.2026

The Kyiv Independent: Given the option of being able to kidnap any world leader, U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey told the Kyiv Independent he would "take Putin into custody and hold him account for war crimes.”

The Moscow Times: Russian fashion retailers closed hundreds of stores in 2025, and further shutdowns are expected next year as weak consumer demand and rising costs erode profitability, industry experts said.

Forbes: Putin’s internet blackout is now “unprecedented in both scale and technical sophistication.” The crackdown has been “sustained and systemic, combining nationwide blackouts, selective service throttling, and targeted protocol interference.”

The Insider: Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, at least 19 Russian generals have been killed, according to open-source data and reports from Russian and Ukrainian sources.

Reuters: A man detained in Sweden on suspicion of espionage appears to have been working for Russia, the prosecution authority said on Friday. The Swedish national, who according to the armed forces was or had been employed by the military, was formally detained on Wednesday.

The Moscow Times: Russia on Friday said the United States had decided to release two Russian members of the crew of a Russian-flagged oil tanker that Washington seized earlier this week.

Reuters: Russia has attacked two foreign-flagged civilian vessels with drones in the southern Odesa region, killing a Syrian national and injuring another, Ukrainian officials said on Friday.

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