Since the beginning of the day, 95 combat engagements have occurred on the front, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In the Pokrovsk direction, 33 enemy attacks have been repelled, and in the Huliaipole direction – 25.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko have decided on candidates for the new head of the State Border Guard Service. The appointment will take place soon, as Zelenskyy announced on social media.
In Korenovsk, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, on December 26, 2025, at about 07:40, an explosion occurred at the entrance to the deployment site of the 47th Missile Brigade. As a result of a mine-explosive strike, a military Kamaz truck carrying personnel caught fire, and there were losses among the occupiers.
Serhiy Deineko, head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, has been appointed advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Ihor Klymenko. After rehabilitation, he will lead a combat unit of the State Border Guard Service.
In the village of Kushuhum, Zaporizhzhia region, a forced evacuation of children with their parents or other legal representatives has been announced. The evacuation must be carried out within 30 days from the date of its announcement.
Police, together with the SBU, detained a 32-year-old man for selling an automatic rifle, five magazines, about 150 cartridges, six grenades, and detonators. He tried to sell the arsenal for 64,000 hryvnias.
On January 3, Russian troops killed one person in Sloviansk and wounded another in Donetsk region. The total number of victims of Russian aggression in the region reached 3865 dead and 8747 wounded.
Over the past day, the enemy engaged in 211 combat clashes and used over 4,800 kamikaze drones for attacks. More than 2,700 shellings of Ukrainian troop positions and peaceful cities were recorded.
The Ukrainian partisan movement ATESH recorded emergency measures to increase security at the facilities of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Novorossiysk. The command of the occupation forces switched to an intensified camouflage regime for logistics centers after a series of successful strikes by the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
Over the past day, the Defense Forces of Ukraine eliminated 900 occupiers. The total enemy losses as of the morning of January 4, 2026, amount to over 1.2 million people.
Myanmar's military government has pardoned 6,134 prisoners, including 52 foreigners, on the occasion of the 78th anniversary of independence. This happened amid preparations for the 2026 elections and ongoing armed confrontation.
In the temporarily occupied territories of the Kherson region, the invaders are intensifying the militarization of youth, planning to open cadet classes of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in schools in Henichesk, Chaplynka, and Novotroitske districts starting from 2026.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported 191 combat engagements on January 3, 2026, with 1 missile and 41 air strikes recorded. The highest activity was observed in the Pokrovsk and Huliaipole directions.
The number of victims of the Russian attack on Kharkiv on January 2 increased to three after body fragments were found. Emergency services continue to work at the sites of the strikes, and the identification of the found fragments is ongoing.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a "major reboot" of the state system, including rotations of heads of the security, defense, and law enforcement sectors. The replacement of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, is not foreseen.
The Defense Forces of Ukraine control the northern part of Pokrovsk and hold the defense in Myrnohrad, eliminating the enemy on the approaches to the city. Since the beginning of January 3, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have repelled 49 Russian assaults, 16 of which were in the Pokrovsk direction.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha reacted to the US military operation in Venezuela, stating support for the right of peoples to a free life. Ukraine did not recognize Maduro's legitimacy after the rigged elections and violence against protesters.
Russian troops are actively storming and shelling, particularly the border settlements of Sumy Oblast. In the Northern Slobozhansky and Kursk directions, the enemy carried out 42 shellings, and in the Huliaipole direction, 19 combat engagements were recorded.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores will face a US court for narco-terrorism and illegal arms trafficking. Maduro has already been detained and will be brought to New York after an operation conducted by the Delta Force special operations group.
Doctors from the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine successfully operated on a wounded soldier in the open sea, despite the threat of enemy fire and the lack of proper equipment. The soldier, suffering from blood loss and hypothermia, was brought to a platform where, after warming up, a 45-minute operation was performed.
In occupied Luhansk region, miners were left without full payments on the eve of the New Year, and residents of Alchevsk and Perevalsk faced a sharp reduction in water supply. Russian investors did not pay the miners of the "Bilorechenska" mine, and water supply to Alchevsk was reduced by 80%.
Overnight, the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP lost power from one of its high-voltage lines as a result of hostilities. Russian shelling has repeatedly damaged the ZNPP's power lines, causing 12 blackouts at the plant.
The Venezuelan government accused the United States of military aggression after a series of explosions in Caracas and other regions. President Nicolás Maduro declared a state of emergency and mobilized defense forces.
In the Obukhiv district of Kyiv region, two private houses, a garage, and two cars were damaged as a result of a night drone attack on January 3. There were no casualties among the population, and critical infrastructure facilities were not affected.
On the night of January 3, air defense forces neutralized 80 out of 95 Russian attack drones that attacked from various directions. Hits were recorded at 8 locations and debris fell at two.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported 116 combat engagements at the front on January 2. The enemy launched 1 missile strike with two missiles, 57 air strikes using 153 guided aerial bombs, 6358 kamikaze drone strikes, and 3223 shellings. Aviation, missile forces, and artillery of the Defense Forces struck four areas of personnel concentration and two other important enemy targets.
Mykolaiv was attacked by enemy drones on the night of January 3. Explosions were heard in the city, and an air raid alert was announced.
Polls show that 59. 6% of Poles do not expect the war in Ukraine to end by 2026. This trend has been growing since 2024, reflecting war fatigue and expectations of peace among voters.
The German CSU party proposes sending men fit for military service back to Ukraine. It is also proposed to use refugees' personal funds and assets to cover their living expenses.
On January 2, 104 combat engagements were recorded, Russian troops used over 100 guided aerial bombs and nearly 3,000 kamikaze drones. The enemy's greatest activity was observed in the Pokrovsk and Huliaipole directions.