These are the important thing developments from day 1,426 of Russia’s battle on Ukraine.
Printed On 20 Jan 2026
Right here is the place issues stand on Tuesday, January 20:
Combating
- Explosions have been reported within the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, amid warnings from the nation’s air power that Russia had launched ballistic missiles early on Tuesday morning.
-
Russia launched a barrage of drone assaults on Ukraine’s power infrastructure, chopping off energy in 5 areas throughout the nation amid freezing temperatures, Ukrainian officers stated.
-
The Ukrainian Air Drive stated that Russia’s navy had launched 145 drones at targets in Ukraine and that 126 have been efficiently intercepted.
-
In an assault on the southern Odesa area, power and fuel infrastructure have been broken, the regional governor stated, including that one individual was damage.
-
DTEK, Ukraine’s largest non-public power firm, stated its facility in Odesa was “considerably” broken, knocking out energy to 30,800 households.
-
Russia additionally hit Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv with missiles on Monday, considerably damaging a vital infrastructure facility, the town’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov, stated on the Telegram messaging app. Terekhov didn’t present particulars about the kind of facility that was struck.
-
Russian forces have taken management of the settlements of Pavlivka, in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia area, and Novopavlivka, within the Donetsk area, Russia’s Ministry of Defence stated. The ministry’s claims couldn’t be independently verified.
- Ukraine’s armed forces are introducing a brand new strategy to air defence, involving small teams of interceptor drones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in his nightly video handle.
- The Kyiv Impartial media outlet reported that Ukraine’s SBU secret service captured a Russian soldier suspected of executing 9 Ukrainian prisoners of battle in 2024.
Navy support
-
The Czech Republic won’t promote or donate to Ukraine mild fight planes that would shoot down incoming Russian drones, the nation’s prime minister, Andrej Babis, stated, rejecting a plan outlined by President Petr Pavel. Pavel earlier stated that Ukraine had provided to purchase a few of the nation’s subsonic L-159 jets.
Peace talks
- Ukraine’s high navy commander, Oleksandr Syrskii, stated Moscow is exhibiting no indicators of curiosity in talks resulting in a peace cope with Kyiv. It’s as a substitute boosting arms manufacturing, together with a goal of 1,000 drones per day, he added.
- Kyiv has held “substantive” talks on safety and financial points with US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and envoy Steve Witkoff, with extra discussions anticipated on the World Financial Discussion board (WEF) in Davos this week, Ukraine’s safety chief and high negotiator, Rustem Umerov, stated.
- Zelenskyy stated he hopes to signal paperwork with the US on post-war security guarantees for Ukraine at Davos this week, including that his group of negotiators had held a number of rounds of talks within the US.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin’s particular envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, will journey to Davos this week and maintain conferences with members of the US delegation on the sidelines of the World Financial Discussion board, the Reuters information company reported, citing two sources with information of the go to.
Politics
-
Ukraine will face huge challenges to organise its first elections since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion, with its infrastructure shattered and tens of millions of individuals displaced by battle, the nation’s election chief, Oleh Didenko, stated, responding to Trump’s demand for Ukraine to carry the vote.
- Russia jailed an American man for 5 years for illegally transporting weapons, a courtroom introduced, saying {that a} rifle was discovered on his yacht after it docked within the port metropolis of Sochi final June. It recognized the person as Charles Wayne Zimmerman, and stated he “admitted his guilt in full”. It didn’t point out when precisely the person was sentenced, however stated an enchantment towards the conviction had been rejected.
Vitality
-
The Worldwide Atomic Vitality Company (IAEA) introduced that the 330-kilovolt (kV) Ferosplavna-1 energy line has been reconnected to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear energy plant. The facility line is considered one of two high-voltage traces supplying electrical energy that powers the Russian-controlled nuclear energy plant in Ukraine, and was disconnected earlier this month.
-
Ukrainian Vitality Minister Denys Shmyhal introduced on Telegram that he had knowledgeable the pinnacle of the IAEA about Russian preparations for extra strikes on Ukrainian power amenities, together with those who make sure the operations of nuclear vegetation.
-
Russia’s federal funds proceeds from taxes on oil and fuel are anticipated to drop by 46 p.c in January from the identical month in 2025 as a consequence of weaker oil costs and a stronger rouble, based on an evaluation by Reuters. Oil and fuel income are key to funding Russia’s battle on Ukraine.
-
Polish pipeline operator Gaz-System will enhance fuel transmission capability to Ukraine between February and April, the corporate stated in a press release, as Russia continues to attack Ukraine’s energy sector.
