These are important developments since day 1,415 of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Published January 9, 2026
Here’s what happened on Friday, January 9th.
Finding:
Overnight on Friday, Russia launched a major attack on Ukraine using missiles and drones, killing at least three people and wounding 16 others in the capital Kiev, according to the Associated Press. Timur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, reported that several districts in Kyiv were attacked, including Desnyansky, where a drone crashed into a building and damaged the first two floors of a residential building. There were also reports that drones damaged high-rise buildings in Kiev’s Dnipro district, with one building’s entrance collapsing. Water and electricity services were also disrupted in parts of Kiev, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Klitschko identified one of the dead as an emergency medical worker who arrived at an apartment building that was hit by two drones in quick succession. Four more paramedics were injured in the same incident. An air alert was in effect for five hours in the capital. A ballistic missile hit infrastructure in the western city of Lviv, the city’s mayor, Andriy Sadovy, said. An investigation has been launched into the type of missile used in the Lviv attack after the Western Command of the Ukrainian Air Force recorded a speed of 13,000 km/h (more than 8,000 mph). The shelling came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned late Thursday that “another large-scale Russian attack is possible” as the Russian military seeks to “take advantage of the severe winter weather” to gain a strategic advantage. In Russia’s Belgorod Oblast, 500,000 people lost power or heat and nearly 200,000 people lost water after Ukrainian attacks on local public facilities, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Politics and diplomacy:
President Zelenskiy posted a message late Thursday urging the United States to take action against Russia. “Right now, Russia is betting more on winter than on diplomacy. More on ballistic missiles against our energy systems than on cooperation with the United States or an agreement with President Trump,” Zelenskyy wrote. “Through pressure on Russia and continued support for Ukraine, this situation must change.” In a separate message, President Zelenskiy announced progress with the United States on the security agreement. “The bilateral document on Ukraine’s security is now almost ready to be finalized at the highest level with the President of the United States,” President Zelensky told social media platform President Zelensky acknowledged that the United States would continue negotiations with Russia on peace talks, writing that he “understands that the American side will engage with Russia and looks forward to feedback on whether the aggressor really intends to end the war.” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that European forces stationed in Ukraine “are considered legitimate military targets.” She called Ukraine and its allies the “axis of war.” In a wide-ranging interview with the New York Times, US President Donald Trump positioned his country’s military as the primary bulwark against Russia’s expansionist goals. He also described himself as a good ally of Europe. “I’ve been very loyal to Europe. I’ve done a good job. If I hadn’t been there, Russia would have had all of Ukraine by now,” he told the Times. “If you look at NATO, you can see that Russia has no interest in anyone but us,” Trump said, referring to the impending expiration of the New START Treaty in February, which will end one of the last remaining nuclear non-proliferation agreements. “If it’s expired, it’s expired,” Trump told the Times. “We will only get better deals.” He added that future agreements should also include China and other nuclear powers. Marking the anniversary of the attack on Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, which was shot down by an Iranian missile on January 8, 2020, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Ukrainian government will continue to seek responsibility for the 176 lives lost. “We believe that impunity for serious violations of international law, including international aviation law, undermines trust in the international security system and creates the preconditions for similar crimes to be repeated,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte met on Thursday and reaffirmed their commitment to Ukraine’s security. The two leaders also expressed optimism about talks between US and Russian envoys in Paris this week. “The two leaders welcomed the strong commitment of all participants in Paris,” the spokesperson said. “Leaders reiterated that it is vitally important to guarantee Ukraine’s security and ensure that Russia cannot invade it again.” The Downing Street spokesperson also said Mr Starmer and Mr Rutte called for further efforts to prevent Russian incursions into the High North region, which refers to the North Pole and surrounding areas.
Sanctions:
President Trump addressed the seizure of the Russian oil tanker Marinella earlier this week in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity. “They have some Russian ships guarding them and they have decided not to interfere with us,” Trump said. “We’re occupying it, we’re unloading oil. We’re taking billions of dollars worth of oil.” In Britain, Scotland’s first minister, John Swinney, offered discreet support for the US seizure of the Russian tanker. “If this is a step to enforce the agreed sanctions that were being avoided by the use of this tanker, then I support that action,” Siwiny said, according to local media. “Because I think that if sanctions are put in place to address the unacceptable misconduct of a state like Russia in Ukraine, then those sanctions should be enforced.”
