Ukraine is expected to experience frosty weather with wet snow, black ice, and night frosts down to -20°C. The bad weather will begin on January 11 in the south, east, and central regions.
On Christmas, near the contact line in Luhansk region, children were forcibly involved in religious events with the participation of Russian military personnel. This was done to create a propaganda picture, despite the risk of shelling.
On Friday, January 9, difficult weather conditions are expected in Ukraine: strong winds, heavy snow, blizzards, and black ice. Forecasters from the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center have declared a Level I danger.
Russia is using the online game ARMA3 and the Discord app to recruit South Africans for the war against Ukraine. Two men in their 20s left South Africa, one of whom was killed in battle in Luhansk Oblast.
The Russian government approved the "Strategy for the Sustainable Development of the Azov Sea Region until 2040," which covers the occupied areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions. The Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine notes that this strategy is merely propaganda, as Russia systematically destroys the nature of the region, using it as military infrastructure.
In 2025, Russians damaged 307 monuments and 261 cultural infrastructure objects in Ukraine. In total, since the beginning of the war, 1640 cultural heritage sites and 2446 cultural infrastructure objects have been destroyed.
On January 5, most of the western and northern regions of Ukraine will be under the influence of high atmospheric pressure with no precipitation. A southern cyclone will bring rain to the south and snow to the central regions, Donetsk, Luhansk, Chernivtsi regions, and the Carpathians.
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%.
In the occupied Luhansk region, reservists from the mobilization reserve will guard critical infrastructure facilities, including oil depots, instead of Russian military personnel. The document came into force on December 30, providing for six-month training for citizens with the promise of financial assistance to the unemployed.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces' Unmanned Systems Forces confirmed the defeat of 10 military and infrastructure targets deep within enemy territory and in temporarily occupied territories on New Year's Eve. Among the targets were Russian oil refineries, an oil depot, a KASTA-2E2 radar, and a TOR air defense system.
In 2025, the Russian army increased the pace of its offensive in Ukraine, capturing 4,831 square kilometers of territory and reclaiming 473 square kilometers in the Kursk region. This was made possible by a new operational model, technological adaptations, and a change in attack tactics.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine seeks peace, but not at the cost of its own statehood. He emphasized that only pressure can force Russia to end the war, which has been ongoing for 1407 days.
The Cabinet of Ministers has allowed healthcare facilities to purchase housing for medical workers in frontline regions. Housing will be provided for the period of employment in the settlement or within 30 km of it.
In 2025, Russians used over 60,000 guided aerial bombs, about 2,400 missiles, and over 100,000 drones. Air raid alerts sounded at least 19,033 times across Ukraine.
The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine attacked a sea oil terminal and an oil refinery in the city of Tuapse, Krasnodar Krai, Russia.
Units of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine inflicted damage on a number of military and infrastructure facilities in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia regions and in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Among the hit targets are an oil depot, a floating craft base, a radar station, deployment points and substations.
In Luhansk region, unknown drones attacked an oil depot in Rovenky. Fuel tanks are on fire, as confirmed by local Telegram channels.
Russia does not change its intentions to seize Ukraine and plunge cities into "blackouts. " Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky announced increased countermeasures against enemy "Shaheds" and the formation of divisions of unmanned air defense systems.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that withdrawal from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions contradicts the law and public opinion. The issue of territories remains a key disagreement in peace talks, despite 90% agreement on a 20-point plan.
In temporarily occupied Luhansk, first-year medical students are being recruited as junior medical personnel due to a staffing crisis. This creates risks for patients, as the students lack basic knowledge.
Commander of the National Guard of Ukraine Oleksandr Pivnenko showed a video of the combat work of the "Typhoon" unit during the assaults on Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad. The unmanned systems unit destroys Russian armored vehicles used in mechanized assaults.
Ukrainian marines eliminated enemy armored vehicles in the Pokrovsk direction. Pilots of the 88th separate battalion of the 35th separate marine brigade detected and destroyed the targets.
As of December 29, 2025, the Defense Forces of Ukraine have eliminated 1,205,690 Russian occupiers. The enemy has also lost over 11,000 tanks and 23,000 armored combat vehicles.
Russian air defense allegedly shot down two targets. Relevant videos appeared online.
On the night of December 29, residents of Maykop, the capital of the Republic of Adygea, heard explosions. The Khanskaya military airfield, where air defense operations were recorded, came under attack.
On the night of December 28, a warehouse storing Shahed-type UAVs, a pontoon crossing, and a repair unit of the Russian army in Donbas were hit.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed the damage to the Syzran oil refinery in Russia's Samara region on the night of December 28, which led to a fire. Also successfully attacked were a boat storage facility in Chornomorske, a repair unit in Antratsyt, a pontoon crossing near Nikonorivka, and a UAV warehouse in Makiivka.
The Kremlin believes it can gain more by continuing hostilities while using negotiations as a foreign policy tool. Russian dictator Putin insists on the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as the exclusion of Ukraine's possibility of NATO membership.
ISW analysts believe that the Kremlin will have to compromise on its demands that are incompatible with the peace plan. Russia is not interested in a compromise-based settlement, as evidenced by its constant references to the 2024 demands.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to withdraw Ukrainian troops from parts of eastern Donetsk Oblast to create a demilitarized zone. This is a potential condition for peace talks, although Russia has not shown willingness to withdraw its troops.
