These are important developments since day 1,423 of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Published January 17, 2026
Here’s what happened on Saturday, January 17th.
finding
Russian troops attacked the city of Nikopol in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, killing two women and injuring six others, regional administrator Oleksandr Hanza wrote on Facebook. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced last week that Russian troops captured five settlements in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, including Zakotnoye and Zyovtnevoe, in the past 24 hours, according to a report in the Russian Defense Ministry TASS news agency. Russia’s Defense Ministry has acknowledged that its military has attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and military facilities seven times in the past week, including one operation that was described as a large-scale attack on the neighboring country. A man was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike in Russian-occupied Kherson, Moscow’s appointed official in the region, Volodymyr Sardo, said, TASS news agency reported. TASS also reported that the Ukrainian attack left 68,000 households without power in the Russian-occupied region of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya region, citing Russian-appointed local official Evhen Balitsky. Russia and Ukraine agreed on Friday to a local ceasefire to allow repairs to the last remaining backup power lines at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. Work on power lines that were damaged and severed as a result of the military action on January 2 should begin “within days,” the United Nations nuclear watchdog said in a statement. Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said 422,704 people signed contracts with the Russian military last year, state news agencies reported. The number of registrations is lower than in 2024, when around 450,000 people signed up to join the Russian army.
Ukraine energy crisis
An international aid agency said Friday that emergency stocks of generators are running low after Russia’s attack on energy infrastructure, leaving children at risk of hypothermia in sub-zero temperatures. Petro Andryushchenko, director of the Occupation Research Center, said on the messaging app Telegram that the explosion had caused a power outage to almost all of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which is currently occupied by Russian forces. Kiev Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said 67 apartments remained without heat in the Ukrainian capital as temperatures continued to drop to -17 degrees Celsius (1.4 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight, more than a week after Russian attacks left 6,000 apartments without heat. In an update shared on Facebook, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko said “harsh weather conditions and frost” continued to complicate efforts to restore heat and power following the Russian attack. Sviridenko said 17 substations were now powered by generators as repair work continued, and 1,300 tents had been deployed in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, leaving many households without heat. The Prime Minister said restrictions on going out were eased in areas where the energy emergency continues, and people were able to access heated shelter if needed. In response to Sviridenko’s update, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said tens of thousands of people across the country were working to restore power and heat. President Zelensky also said he spoke with British Deputy Prime Minister David Lamy and thanked Britain for its decision to provide an “energy support package” to Ukraine. Britain announced on Friday it would provide 20 million British pounds ($26.7 million) “in fresh support to repair critical energy infrastructure in Ukraine as Russia’s barbaric attacks on innocent civilians escalate.”
peace negotiations
President Zelenskyy said on Friday that a Ukrainian delegation was on its way to the United States to discuss security and post-war recovery plans with Washington, and expressed hope that a document could be signed in time for the World Economic Forum in Davos next week. President Zelensky held a news conference in Kiev with visiting Czech President Petr Pavel, and during the meeting, he also said that his team in Kiev wanted clarity from the United States about Russia’s position on U.S.-backed diplomatic efforts to end the nearly four-year war. The European Commission is considering ways to allow Ukraine to join the European Union early as part of a peace deal with Russia, but will not grant Kiev full membership rights, which will only be “earned” after a transition period, an EU official told Reuters.
military aid
President Zelenskiy said on Friday that the allies’ supplies of air defense systems and missiles were inadequate and warned that Russia was preparing a new major attack. He said it was important that allies heeded Ukraine’s request for additional supplies. President Pavel told Zelensky in Kiev on Friday that the Czech Republic would soon provide Ukraine with fighter jets capable of shooting down incoming drones. Pavel did not provide details, but two years ago he said Czech-made subsonic L-159 fighters could be transferred to Ukraine.
regional security
Five men have been indicted in Poland on suspicion of participating in a Russian-led sabotage plot to send explosive packages to Britain, the United States, Canada and other countries, and face life in prison if convicted, prosecutors announced Friday. Four Ukrainian nationals and one Russian were indicted “on behalf of the intelligence services of the Russian Federation,” the Polish State Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement. Lithuanian prosecutors have charged six foreign nationals with planning an arson attack in 2024 against a company manufacturing military equipment for Ukraine in a plot believed to have been directed by Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU. Those indicted include nationals of Spain, Colombia, Cuba, Russia and Belarus, as well as dual Spanish and Colombian nationals. The company manufactures mobile radio frequency analysis stations for the Ukrainian military.
politics and diplomacy
The Kremlin said on Friday it views calls by some European countries to resume talks with Russia as “positive” after the leaders of France and Italy called for re-engagement with Russia on Ukraine. Dialogue between the EU and Russia has been effectively frozen since Russia launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine in 2022, with the EU imposing huge sanctions and travel restrictions on Russia. A Kiev court on Friday released former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on bail pending a trial to determine whether she paid members of Ukraine’s parliament to sway votes. The 65-year-old Ukrainian political figure denies the charges, insisting the incident was politically motivated, and has served as prime minister twice since 2005.
