Parts of Kyiv and the surrounding region face the most dire energy situation after the latest Russian attack, Ukraine\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in a statement Monday after hearing reports by officials from across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSeparate 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,\u201d Svyrydenko said. It\u2019s key to restore power and heating to all homes, she added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEnergy 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,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Svyrydenko also said critical infrastructure was operating without interruption. There are more than 7,000 \u201cinvincibility points\u201d [that offer emergency shelter and services for Ukrainians without power and heating \u2014 edit.] across the country. Main highways are cleaned from snow and are open to traffic, she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019s apartment blocks, a total of almost 6,000 buildings, remained without heating, the city\u2019s mayor Vitaliy Klychko said on Friday morning. \u201cI 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The British government said on Sunday that it will develop a new deep-strike ballistic missile for Ukraine to support the country\u2019s war efforts against Russia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The missiles range will be enough to strike as far as Moscow from the battlefield, The Sun said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNightfall missiles will be capable of being launched from a range of vehicles, firing multiple missiles in quick succession and withdrawing within minutes \u2013 allowing Ukrainian forces to hit key military targets before Russian forces can respond,\u201d the UK government said in a statement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe project aims for three industry teams to each be awarded a \u00a39 million development contract to design, develop and deliver their first three missiles within 12 months for test firings,\u201d it also said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In September 2025, British Defense Secretary John Healey said the UK would consider sending Nightfall ballistic missiles to Ukraine after their development is completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Ukrainian news site Militarnyi, the system\u2019s launcher must accommodate at least two missiles and ensure \u201csafe launch in conditions of high tactical threat\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
War-weary colleagues\u2014and oligarch cronies\u2014might 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 \u201cThe Kremlin’s Noose: Putin’s Bitter Feud With the Oligarch Who Made Him Ruler of Russia.\u201d The paragraphs below are quoted from the article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019s forces made it to Berlin in that time, but Mr. Putin\u2019s progress has been more modest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019s swift capture of Venezuela\u2019s dictator Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and his wife on Jan. 3 further highlighted Russia\u2019s military weakness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That Mr. Maduro was a crucial ally of the Kremlin made it worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Others who dutifully supported Mr. Putin’s war have reason to be unhappy. The front line has been replaced by a \u201ckill zone\u201d 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\u2014in 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
High interest rates to fight war-driven inflation have stifled investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adding to the Putin elite’s frustration, its members can’t access their billions of private assets tied up in European banks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr. Putin is able to stifle ordinary Russians\u2019 discontent with the war by employing the state\u2019s powerful repressive measures. But he can\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So challenged, war-weary colleagues\u2014and oligarch cronies\u2014might well pressure Mr. Putin to come to the table with a peace plan that Ukraine could accept.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"