Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed Russian strikes on Ukraine with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and received a promise of assistance. The parties also mentioned the terrorist attack on Bondi Beach, where Ukrainians died.
Three enemy strikes were recorded in Kharkiv. In Dnipro, a UAV attack caused a fire, damage to an enterprise, damaging cars and power lines.
Russian troops continue their attempts to advance across the Siversky Donets River, using small group tactics and trying to bypass the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The enemy seeks to control the coastal part of the Siversky Donets for the deployment of artillery and UAVs.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed Chrystia Freeland, former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, as a non-staff advisor on economic development. She has significant experience in attracting investments and implementing economic transformations.
For the first time, quotas for medical cannabis-based substances have been determined, and the needs of the opioid substitution therapy program and codeine export have been taken into account.
According to a KMIS poll, 59% of Ukrainians trust President Zelenskyy. The majority of respondents (59%) believe that elections are only possible after the complete end of the war and the signing of a peace agreement.
On December 4 and 5, Russian occupiers attacked Chernihiv and settlements in the Chernihiv region, using various types of weapons. As a result of the strikes, garages, educational institutions, private houses, enterprises, and critical infrastructure facilities were damaged.
As a result of Russia's night attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, Slavutych was de-energized, as well as consumers in Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Donetsk regions. An attack on a generating facility in Donetsk region was recorded, and power outage schedules are ongoing.
The spokesman for the State Border Guard Service reported on active areas on the border of Sumy and Kharkiv regions, where the enemy is trying to expand the combat zone. The enemy uses small assault groups, without using equipment, and suffers heavy losses.
Over the past day, 229 combat engagements were recorded on the front, 65 of which were repelled in the Huliaipole direction. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported 54 stopped attacks in the Pokrovsk direction.
On the night of January 5, Russia attacked Ukraine with 9 ballistic and anti-aircraft guided missiles, as well as 165 attack drones. The Armed Forces of Ukraine reported shooting down or suppressing 137 enemy UAVs in the north, center, and east of the country.
As a result of the hit on a private medical facility in the capital, one man died and four were injured, two of them in serious condition. 16 patients of the clinic were transferred to municipal hospitals.
Over the past day, Ukrainian defenders eliminated 990 occupiers, bringing the total losses of the Russian army to 1,212,520 military personnel. The enemy suffered the greatest losses in drones and artillery.
As a result of the night attack by Russian troops on Kyiv on January 5, one person died and three were injured in a medical facility in the Obolonskyi district. A shell hit a four-story building where an inpatient department with patients was operating.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed changes in the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine with Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko. This happened after Valeriy Vavryniuk was appointed interim head of the SBGS on January 4.
President Zelenskyy announced upcoming diplomatic meetings in Europe aimed at protecting Ukraine and accelerating the end of the war. Ukraine is preparing for both scenarios: diplomacy and active defense.
Russian troops are trying to bypass Lyman, but are also attempting to infiltrate the city directly. Viktor Trehubov, head of the communications department of the Joint Forces Grouping, reported on the situation in the Lyman direction.
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.
