These are important developments since day 1,419 of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Published January 13, 2026
Here’s what happened on Tuesday, January 13th.
finding
Russia has launched an attack on the city of Kharkov in northeastern Ukraine, killing at least four people and injuring six others, regional governor Oleh Snievov said.
Russia also launched another missile attack on the Ukrainian capital Kiev, and air defense forces were deployed to repel it, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. Kiev military administrator Timur Tkachenko warned residents to evacuate. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage to property or infrastructure from the attack.
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said the attacks on two foreign-flagged vessels by Russian drones were the second in four days on shipping in the Black Sea. Kleba said the vessel was flying the Panamanian and San Marino flags and one person was injured.
DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, said Russia attacked energy infrastructure in southern Ukraine’s Odesa region, causing power outages and affecting at least 33,500 homes, calling the damage “severe.”
More than three days after Russia attacked energy infrastructure, emergency workers are struggling to restore heat and power to Kiev’s beleaguered residents.
Kuleba said on Telegram that heating has been restored in 90% of Kiev’s apartment buildings, with fewer than 500 units still having connectivity. However, Klitschko said there are 800 people without heating, most of whom live on the west bank of the Dnipro River.
Last year was the highest civilian death toll in Ukraine since 2022, a record brought on by escalating hostilities on the front and expanded use of long-range weapons, the U.N. human rights monitor in Ukraine said. In its monthly update, the watchdog group said conflict-related violence in Ukraine left 2,514 civilians dead and 12,142 injured in 2025, a 31% increase in the number of casualties compared to 2024.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced that the hypersonic ballistic missile Oreshnik hit a Ukrainian aircraft repair factory in Lviv last week. The Lviv Oblast Aviation Repair Plant is located near the Polish border. Russia said the targets were people with disabilities.
At an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, the United States condemned Russia’s use of the nuclear-capable Oleshnik missile as an “incomprehensible escalation.” The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that Russian troops have captured the village of Novovoikivske in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya region.
politics and diplomacy
In his regular evening address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the world must help Iranian protesters free themselves from an oppressive government that has “brought too much evil to Ukraine and other countries.” The Iranian government is a close ally of Russia. German Foreign Minister Johann Vardepoel said he agreed with U.S. Foreign Minister Marco Rubio on the importance of a transatlantic alliance to ensure lasting peace in Ukraine. Wadepulu added that Germany and the United States abide by Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which obligates member states to defend each other in the event of attack on either country. The German foreign minister added that in times of “uncertainty and crisis”, unity within NATO “is a clear signal to Russia that it should not threaten the alliance”.
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmar Schnaggart called for increased pressure on Moscow. He suggested the European Union should ban any support by companies to Moscow’s oil and gas fleet, introduce sanctions on Russian fertilizers and halt exports of luxury goods to Russia.
As part of its 2026 aid, Norway announced it would provide 340 million euros ($397 million) in emergency funding to support Ukraine’s energy sector and help the government maintain vital services.
Finnish police announced that they had released the seizure of a Russian-linked vessel that had been detained on suspicion of sabotaging an undersea communications cable that crossed the Gulf of Finland from Helsinki to Estonia.
Nevertheless, investigations into Russian-linked vessels continue. Some of the ship’s crew are still subject to travel bans, said Risto Rohi, head of investigations at Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation.
economy
Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko announced on Telegram that a group of US-linked investors has won the rights to develop Ukraine’s Dobra lithium deposit in the central Kirovohrad region. The deal is seen as a test case for deepening ties with the United States while drawing Western capital into the frontline economy.
