These are important developments since day 1,426 of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Published January 20, 2026
Here’s what happened on Tuesday, January 20th.
finding
An explosion was reported in Ukraine’s capital Kiev as the country’s air force warned that Russia launched a ballistic missile early Tuesday.
Russian officials have launched a barrage of drone strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, cutting off power to five regions in sub-zero temperatures, Ukrainian officials said.
The Ukrainian Air Force announced that the Russian military launched 145 unmanned aircraft against targets in Ukraine, and 126 were successfully intercepted.
The attack in the southern Odesa region damaged energy and gas infrastructure, the region’s governor said, adding that one person was injured.
DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, said its facilities in Odessa were “significantly” damaged, leaving 30,800 households without power.
Russia also attacked Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, with missiles on Monday, causing extensive damage to critical infrastructure, the city’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said on the messaging app Telegram. Telekhov did not provide details about the type of facility that was attacked.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that Russian troops have captured the settlements of Pavlivka in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya region and Novopavlivka in Donetsk region. The ministry’s claims could not be independently verified.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a nightly video address that the Ukrainian military is introducing a new air defense approach, including small groups of interceptor drones. Kyiv Independent Media reports that Ukraine’s SBU secret service has captured a Russian soldier suspected of executing nine Ukrainian prisoners in 2024.
military aid
The Czech Republic will not sell or donate light combat aircraft to Ukraine that could shoot down incoming Russian drones, the country’s Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said, rejecting a plan outlined by President Petr Pavel. Earlier, Pavel said Ukraine had offered to buy some of its L-159 subsonic jets.
peace negotiations
Ukraine’s top military commander, Oleksandr Shirsky, said there was no sign that the Russian government was interested in talks that could lead to a peace agreement with Kiev. Instead, he added, it is ramping up weapons production, including a goal of 1,000 drones per day. Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s security chief and chief negotiator, said Kiev was holding “substantive” talks on security and economic issues with US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff and others, and further talks were expected at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos this week. President Zelensky said he hoped to sign a document with the United States on Ukraine’s postwar security at Davos this week, adding that the negotiating team had held several talks in the United States. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev will visit Davos this week and meet with members of the US delegation on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, Reuters reported, citing two sources familiar with the visit.
politics
With infrastructure destroyed and millions of people displaced by the war, Ukraine will face great difficulties in holding its first elections since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the country’s election chief Ole Dydenko said in response to President Trump’s request for Ukraine to hold the vote.
Russia has sentenced an American man to five years in prison for illegally transporting weapons, a court has announced, after a rifle was found on his yacht after it docked in the port city of Sochi in June last year. Authorities identified the man as Charles Wayne Zimmerman and said he had “fully admitted his guilt.” He did not say when the man was sentenced, but said his appeal against the conviction had been rejected.
energy
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced that the 330 kilovolt (kV) Ferozplavna 1 transmission line has been reconnected to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. The power line, one of two high-voltage lines supplying power to a Russian-controlled nuclear power plant in Ukraine, was severed earlier this month.
Ukraine’s Energy Minister Denis Shmyhal announced on Telegram that he had informed the IAEA chief about Russia’s preparations for further attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities, including those that ensure the operation of nuclear power plants.
Revenue from oil and gas taxes in the Russian federal budget is expected to fall by 46% in January compared to the same month in 2025, due to lower oil prices and a stronger ruble, according to a Reuters analysis. Oil and gas revenues are key to financing Russia’s war against Ukraine.
As Russia continues its attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector, Polish pipeline operator Gaz System has announced that it will increase its capacity to transport gas to Ukraine between February and April.
