Parts of Kyiv and the surrounding region face the most dire energy situation after the latest Russian attack, Ukraine’s Prime Minister says. The UK is to develop a ballistic missile for Ukraine capable of striking Moscow. The year 2026 started badly for Putin, can become worse than the previous one, according to a WSJ column.
Parts of Kyiv and surrounding region face most dire energy situation after latest Russian attack, PM says
The most difficult energy situation is in several neighborhoods of Kyiv and on the left bank of the surrounding region, particularly in the Brovary and Boryspil districts, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in a statement Monday after hearing reports by officials from across the country.
“Separate efforts are made to restore electricity supply to consumers in the regions of Odesa, Kharkiv and Donetsk where the situation is difficult after overnight attacks,” Svyrydenko said. It’s key to restore power and heating to all homes, she added.
“Energy teams in the most affected regions conduct repair works under constant enemy attacks, while the temperatures drop below -10 degrees Celsius and equipment and power lines are coated in ice,” she said.
Svyrydenko also said critical infrastructure was operating without interruption. There are more than 7,000 “invincibility points” [that offer emergency shelter and services for Ukrainians without power and heating — edit.] across the country. Main highways are cleaned from snow and are open to traffic, she added.
A major Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv on January 9 killed four people, including a medic, and wounded at least 24 others. Some 417,000 households were left without power. Major water and heating disruptions were reported across the capital. Half of Kyiv’s apartment blocks, a total of almost 6,000 buildings, remained without heating, the city’s mayor Vitaliy Klychko said on Friday morning. “I am appealing to residents of the capital who have the opportunity to temporarily leave the city for areas where there are alternative sources of power and heating to do so,” he said.
As of Sunday morning, more than 1,000 buildings remained without heating. Water supply has been fully restored. Klychko also said the situation with power supply was very difficult, with heating and water supply dependent on electricity. The situation will continue to be difficult in the coming days amid frigid temperatures, he warned.
Two thousand households in 19 towns and villages in Kyiv region were still without power on Monday afternoon, head of the regional military administration, Mykola Kalashnyk said. On Sunday, 25,000 consumers across the region were cut off from power.
Private energy company DTEK warned consumers of local power disruptions resulting from Russian airstrikes, freezing temperatures and overloaded power networks. The company said it deployed all resources available to repair the damage.
Energy teams completed a key part of repair works in Kyiv and the surrounding region after a Russian attack on January 9, Deputy Energy Minister, Roman Andarak told a news conference Monday. Emergency power cuts are being replaced with planned rolling outages on both river banks in Kyiv, he added.
UK to develop ballistic missile for Ukraine capable of striking Moscow
The British government said on Sunday that it will develop a new deep-strike ballistic missile for Ukraine to support the country’s war efforts against Russia.
Under the project, named Nightfall, the British government said it has launched a competition to rapidly develop ground-launched ballistic missiles that could carry a 200 kg (440 lb) warhead over a range of more than 500 km (310 miles), according to Reuters.
The missiles range will be enough to strike as far as Moscow from the battlefield, The Sun said.
“Nightfall missiles will be capable of being launched from a range of vehicles, firing multiple missiles in quick succession and withdrawing within minutes – allowing Ukrainian forces to hit key military targets before Russian forces can respond,” the UK government said in a statement.
“The project aims for three industry teams to each be awarded a £9 million development contract to design, develop and deliver their first three missiles within 12 months for test firings,” it also said.
In September 2025, British Defense Secretary John Healey said the UK would consider sending Nightfall ballistic missiles to Ukraine after their development is completed.
According to Ukrainian news site Militarnyi, the system’s launcher must accommodate at least two missiles and ensure “safe launch in conditions of high tactical threat” of the entire ammunition within 15 minutes after stopping at the firing position. After the launch, the crew should be able to leave the area within 5 minutes.
If the contract is awarded, the production facility should be able to produce at least 10 missiles per month with the possibility of further scaling up the production. The UK Ministry of Defense plans to find technical solutions and prepare at least five fully operational prototypes for testing within nine to 12 months.
The year 2026 started badly for Putin, can become worse than previous one, according to WSJ column
War-weary colleagues—and oligarch cronies—might well pressure Mr. Putin to come to the table with a peace plan, Amy Knight said in a column for The Wall Street Journal published on Saturday. Knight is an American historian and expert on Russia. She is the author, most recently, of “The Kremlin’s Noose: Putin’s Bitter Feud With the Oligarch Who Made Him Ruler of Russia.” The paragraphs below are quoted from the article.
The year has started badly for Vladimir Putin. As of Sunday, the war in Ukraine has lasted as long as the Great Patriotic War, as Moscow refers to the Soviet involvement in World War II: 1,418 days. Stalin’s forces made it to Berlin in that time, but Mr. Putin’s progress has been more modest.
Last year Russian troops captured less than 1% of Ukrainian territory. At this pace, it will take Russia another year to reach the Donetsk border and control the area Mr. Putin is demanding Ukraine hand over as a precondition for peace. The U.S. military’s swift capture of Venezuela’s dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife on Jan. 3 further highlighted Russia’s military weakness.
That Mr. Maduro was a crucial ally of the Kremlin made it worse.
Another embarrassment for Mr. Putin came Wednesday, when the U.S. seized an oil tanker south of Iceland that was escorted by the Russian navy.
Others who dutifully supported Mr. Putin’s war have reason to be unhappy. The front line has been replaced by a “kill zone” where drones destroy up to 80% of equipment and manpower on both sides. Russia’s total military spending in 2025 has been estimated at 15.5 trillion rubles—in nominal terms, five times that of 2021. That doesn’t include the cost of maintaining the Ukrainian territories Russia has occupied or payments to soldiers and their families.
In November 2025, oil and gas revenue had fallen 34% from the previous year. To plug a record 2025 budget deficit (expected to be $72 billion, or 2.6% of gross domestic product) and fund the war effort, Russia’s value-added tax on goods and services rose on Jan. 1 from 20% to 22%. That raises the cost of living for ordinary Russians, who are increasingly anxious to see the Ukraine conflict end.
High interest rates to fight war-driven inflation have stifled investment.
Adding to the Putin elite’s frustration, its members can’t access their billions of private assets tied up in European banks.
Mr. Putin is able to stifle ordinary Russians’ discontent with the war by employing the state’s powerful repressive measures. But he can’t continue this conflict without support from his Kremlin entourage. That support could be undermined if the U.S. provided Ukraine with the arms it needs to counter Russia’s drones and missiles.
So challenged, war-weary colleagues—and oligarch cronies—might well pressure Mr. Putin to come to the table with a peace plan that Ukraine could accept.