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These are the key developments of the 1,408th day of the Russian war against Ukraine.
Published on January 2, 2026
Here’s where things stand on Friday, January 2:
Struggle
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Ukraine and Russia traded allegations of attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure over the New Year, with kyiv saying there had been another broad attack on its electricity sources, and Moscow reporting a deadly strike on a hotel in the territory it occupies in southern Ukraine.
- Russia says at least 24 people, including a child, were killed in a drone strike on a hotel and cafe where civilians were gathering for the New Year in a Russian-controlled part of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine.
- Vladimir Saldo, the region’s Russian-installed governor, said three Ukrainian drones struck celebrations in Khorly, a coastal village, in what he called a “deliberate strike” against civilians. He added that many people were burned alive.
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Asked about the strike on Kherson, a Ukrainian military spokesperson told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency that kyiv’s forces were targeting Russian military or energy sites exclusively.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a message on Telegram that Russia had launched more than 200 attack drones against Ukraine, targeting energy infrastructure in seven regions of the country.
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Russian air defense units shot down a total of 29 Ukrainian drones heading towards Moscow over the New Year’s Eve, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. Restrictions were in place on New Year’s Eve at two Moscow airports. Sobyanin made no mention of casualties or damage.
Ukrainian drones struck energy and industrial targets in the Russian regions of Krasnodar, Tatarstan and Kaluga overnight, Russian officials announced Thursday. The Ukrainian military confirmed carrying out two of the three attacks.
Alleged attack on Putin’s residence
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A senior Russian military official, Admiral Igor Kostyukov, said he handed over what he claimed was part of a Ukrainian drone to a U.S. military attaché. He said the drone data proved that the Ukrainian military target a residence of President Vladimir Putin in Russia’s northern Novgorod region this week.
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Ukraine has denied Russia’s allegations. U.S. intelligence sources told reporters on Wednesday that Kyiv was not behind the attack.
- Ukraine organized the death of a Russian anti-Kremlin fighter, Denis Kapustin, to prevent his assassination ordered by Moscow’s special forces, Ukrainian military intelligence announced. Kapustin’s Russian Volunteer Corps claimed he was killed on the front line, but he later appeared in a news video with the head of Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR), Kyrylo Budanov.
- Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said it has deployed two new Patriot air defense systems received from Germany as part of previously announced military aid.
Diplomacy
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Ukraine’s top negotiator in the U.S.-brokered peace talks, Rustem Umerov, said he met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara. Umerov said he discussed with Fidan the negotiation process and next steps, paying particular attention to humanitarian issues and the return of Ukrainians detained by Russia.
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In his New Year’s address to the nation, Ukraine’s Zelensky said he wanted the war to end, but not at any cost. He added that he would not sign a “weak” peace deal that would only prolong the war.
- Zelensky also said that weeks of US-led diplomacy, including his talks last weekend with the US president, Donald Trump in Florida, had resulted in a peace agreement almost ready. “A peace agreement is 90 percent ready, 10 percent remains,” he said.
