Governor: 2 villages in Luhansk Oblast remain under Ukrainian control.

1:21 AM

Russian commander linked to deadly strike in Ukraine severely injured in Russia after explosion.

Russian commander Konstantin Nagayko, who was involved in the 2023 missile strike on Hroza, is in critical condition following an explosion, the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) reported on January 4.

11:37 PM

German opposition suggests Scholz could meet Putin before end of February.

"There are increasing indications that Chancellor Scholz will travel to Moscow and meet Putin before February 23," Roderich Kiesewetter, defense spokesperson for Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said on X.

10:24 PM

Drone kills Russian journalist in occupied Donetsk Oblast, wounds 5 others, Russian media reports.

Russia’s Izvestia newspaper reported on Jan. 4 that a Ukrainian "kamikaze" drone attack killed one of its freelance reporters, Alexander Martemyanov, while he was traveling on a highway in occupied eastern Ukraine.

9:33 PM

Heavy Russian, North Korean losses in Russia's Kursk region, Zelensky says.

"In battles yesterday and today near a single village, Makhnovka, in Kursk region, the Russian army lost up to a battalion of North Korean infantry soldiers and Russian paratroops," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Jan. 4.

4:47 PM  (Updated:  January 4, 2025 7:51 pm)

Russia strikes residential building in Sumy Oblast, injuring at least 10, including children.

Russian forces carried out the strike using glide bombs that were dropped directly on the building and destroyed one of its blocks.

5:52 PM

Over 20 foreign citizens to be deported from Georgia for participating in protests.

The Migration Department of the Georgian Interior Ministry has initiated expulsion proceedings against 25 foreign nationals.

4:43 PM

Transnistria urges residents to heat stoves with wood amid significant gas shortages.

Some 1,500 high-rise buildings in Transnistria are currently without heating and hot water, and nearly 72,000 homes are without gas.

4:26 PM

Human story

As government cuts support, some internally displaced Ukrainians return home — to Russian occupation

4:18 PM

Russian soldiers near Toretsk disguise as civilians to bypass Ukrainian positions, military says.

The commander's statement comes after reports on Russian forces starting to move toward the town of Toretsk.

2:24 PM

Drones reportedly target one of Russia's largest sea trade ports in Leningrad Oblast.

Most of the drones that attacked Leningrad Oblast were shot down over the terminal of Novotrans, a Russian transportation and logistics company.

12:54 PM

Russia launches over 300 drones, 20 missiles at Ukraine in first 3 days of new year, Zelensky says.

President Volodymyr Zelensky added that the Russian army also strikes settlements close to the front line with guided aerial bombs every day.

12:49 PM

Slovak state energy company to continue supplying electricity to Ukraine despite Fico's threats.

Slovakia's state-controlled transmission system operator SEPS said it will continue supplying electricity to Ukraine as part of an emergency assistance contract.

11:13 AM

Woman injured in Russian Jan. 3 attack on Kyiv Oblast dies in hospital.

Russia launched a large-scale drone attack on Kyiv Oblast early in the morning on Jan. 3. The attack killed one person and injured four others, including a 16-year-old teenager.

10:06 AM

Russian attacks across Ukraine kill 2, injure 21 over past day.

Russian forces launched 81 drones at Ukraine overnight from the Russian cities of Bryansk, Kursk, Orel, and Primosk-Akhtarsk, Ukraine's Air Force said.

9:13 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 794,760 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022.

This number includes 1,510 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

5:55 AM

Lukashenko to visit China ahead of Belarus presidential elections.

The reported visit will be Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko's third trip to China in three years. Lukashenko is likely looking to reduce Belarusian dependence on Russia, Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation said.

4:31 AM

Finnish court upholds seizure of Russian tanker suspected of cable sabotage.

The Helsinki District Court has ruled to keep the oil tanker — suspected of belonging to Russia's "shadow fleet" — under seizure, despite an appeal from the ship's owner.

3:33 AM

EU chief von der Leyen ill with 'severe' pneumonia, cancels engagements.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has canceled engagements for the first half of January due to a case of "severe pneumonia," a commission spokesperson said.

2:20 AM

Moldova faces 'security crisis' after Russian gas shut-off, PM Recean says.

"Russia is revealing the inevitable outcome for all its allies — betrayal and isolation," Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said on Jan. 3.

1:15 AM

China may have stopped Putin from using nuclear weapons, Blinken says.

"We have reason to believe that China engaged Russia and said: 'Don't go there,'" outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Financial Times on Jan. 3.

12:06 AM

Transnistria rejects offer to buy gas from Europe, expects Russia to resume supplies.

Moldova had previously offered to assist the Russian-occupied region in securing gas via European platforms to mitigate the energy crisis. Transnistrian officials rejected the offer, saying they believe Gazprom will resume Russian gas supplies.

10:59 PM

'We are not Russia' — Thousands protest Fico's pro-Kremlin agenda in Bratislava.

Approximately 4,000 people assembled in Bratislava on Jan. 3 to protest Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's pro-Russian policies, according to local media.

10:13 PM

War update

Ukraine war latest: Russian envoy dismisses Trump’s reported peace deal; Over 50,000 Russians seek soldiers MIA

9:48 PM

'Nothing of interest' — Russian envoy dismisses Trump’s reported peace deal proposals on Ukraine.

"President (Vladimir) Putin last outlined our conditions for ending the conflict on Dec. 19. So far, nothing from the incoming U.S. administration suggests anything of interest to us," Russia's envoy to the U.N., Vasily Nebenzya, said.

9:10 PM

Ukraine hits $24.5 billion in agro-exports, nearing pre-war levels, Agriculture Ministry reports.

Ukraine, a global agricultural powerhouse, exported 78.3 million tons of products in 2024, including grains and sunflower seeds critical to markets across Africa and Asia.