Editor's note: This article is a shortened on-site version of KI Insights' public newsletter, The Week Ahead, covering events from January 26 - February 1. Sign up here to start your week with an agenda of Ukraine-related events delivered directly to your inbox every week. In the coming days, international attention will be focused on the trilateral meeting involving Ukraine, the United States, and Russia, scheduled for January 23–24. These will be the first talks in a trilateral format since t

Orban cited a confidential document on Ukraine's accession allegedly presented at an EU summit in Brussels on the previous day.

Kyiv, home to more than 3 million people, is still reeling from the Jan. 20 attack in which Russia launched 33 missiles and 339 drones against Ukraine.

"The issue of Donbas is key," President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters hours before the talks began.

The Kyiv Independent's Chris York speaks with Adam Entous, an investigative reporter at The New York Times, about his new investigation into the first year of U.S. President Donald Trump administration's peace efforts to end Russia's war against Ukraine.

A fire broke out at an oil depot in the Russian city of Penza following a Ukrainian drone attack overnight on Jan. 23.

"(Russian) army will number 2.5-3 million. They want to reach all of this by 2030, and, based on their speed, we see that this is possible," Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Describing the plan, which was first floated in December, as a "bundle of documents," President Volodymyr Zelensky said he expects progress to be made in the future.

Kyiv's utilities workers have reconnected 650 high-rise apartment buildings in the past day, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Jan. 23.

"We spoke with President Trump about additional anti-air missiles – the PAC-3s, against ballistics, which are what we need," Volodymyr Zelensky said. "I'm counting on a positive result."

Russia launched 101 drones, including roughly 60 Shahed-type deep-strike unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), into Ukraine overnight, the Air Force said.

"We are interested in resolving the (war) through political and diplomatic means. But until that happens, Russia will continue to pursue its goals on the battlefield," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

This is Tania Myronyshena reporting from Kyiv on day 1,429 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today's top story: President Volodymyr Zelensky said Jan. 22, 2026, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that Russia is producing about 500 attack drones and "dozens" of ballistic missiles every day, calling on Europe to strengthen its own defenses as the war in Ukraine grinds on. Zelensky said Ukraine is manufacturing about 1,000 interceptor drones per day and using them again

The number includes 1,280 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

"Just last year, here in Davos, I ended my speech by saying Europe needs to know how to defend itself. A year has passed, and nothing has changed," Zelensky said.

"He said he'd like to make a deal. ... He came and he said he wants to make a deal," Trump said. He mentioned the "tough" situation Ukrainians face amid a worsening energy crisis, without bringing up Russia's attacks on critical infrastructure.

Heating was restored to 227 buildings overnight for the second time in two weeks after two massive Russian attacks targeted the Ukrainian capital, according to the mayor.

"Today in Ukraine was the most difficult day for the energy system since the blackout in November 2022," Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Jan. 22, 2026.

Serhii Sternenko, 31, played a key role in popularizing first-person-view (FPV) drones after Russia's full-scale invasion. He has previously criticized Ukraine's military and political leadership.

Russia launched another massive strike on Ukraine on Jan. 20, with President Volodymyr Zelensky noting the use of "updated tactics." The recent attack hit multiple regions, with Kyiv and the country's energy infrastructure taking the brunt of the damage. Russian forces also targeted substations supplying nuclear power plants, one of Ukraine's main sources of power generation in the midst of a harsh winter. Russia launched 18 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles, and 339 drones during the mas

As temperatures in Ukraine plummeted to -18C (-0.4F), leaving businesses fighting for survival without power and heating, world leaders and business chiefs congregated in the much milder Davos, the Swiss ski resort home to the World Economic Forum. Among them is Ulyana Khromyak, the head of Ukraine House Davos since 2023, representing Ukrainian businesses to the thousands of global figures in attendance. Her mission is to bring capital into Ukraine now and show the world that Ukraine is brimmin

A White House official told the Kyiv Independent that the Board could play a role in different situations, without ruling out engagement on Russia's war in Ukraine.

"We will not tolerate any violation," Emmanuel Macron said. "We are determined to uphold international law and to ensure the effective enforcement of sanctions."

The cities of Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast came under attack in the afternoon on Jan. 22, according to Ukraine's Air Force.

Ukraine reported additional strikes on military targets in Russian-occupied regions, including Crimea, Kherson and Donetsk oblasts.

As Ukraine continues to seek ways to sustain its army and its citizens, the country's mental health crisis has long been deprioritized, and the West is doing little to address it. Without systematic intervention now, overlooked trauma could become embedded in Ukraine's demographic future, with repercussions for generations to come. Given that Ukraine's resources are spread thin, it is unlikely that the country will substantially allocate them to the dire mental health needs, as all immediate p

Law enforcement sources confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that the official involved is Serhiy Deineko, who headed the State Border Guard from 2019 to Jan. 4, 2026.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Reuters that the deal would hinge on NATO allies doing more to strengthen Arctic security.

The Kyiv Independent is launching a new "Through darkness, I stand with Ukraine" collection to help those suffering as a result of the escalating crisis caused by Russia's relentless attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Donald Trump's bulldozer-style foreign policy is a gut punch for the far-right. Nationalist parties in the U.K., France, and Germany — endorsed by the U.S. president — have pushed back against the American leader's claim on Greenland and the temporary threat of tariffs against those who stand in his way. While aligned with Trump on immigration, enmity toward the EU, and a dovish stance on Russia, Europe's hard-right populists see their interests clash with MAGA's "America First" policy. Exper

On one of the first days of 2026, the Ukrainian military downed a Russian drone of a new type. It was identified as Geran-5, a fast and long-range drone. It shares the name with the Russian copies of Iranian Shaheds — Geran-1, Geran-2, Geran-3, and Geran-4 — and is made by the same Russian manufacturer and with similar components. But the new drone is quite different from the earlier Geran ones. The Geran-5 drone resembles a winged missile, unlike Russian Shahed-type drones — triangular and d

"Given the special relationship with the Palestinian people, Russia could direct $1 billion from Russian assets frozen under the previous U.S. administration to the Board of Peace," Putin said, referring to Trump's indications that a $1 billion payment would secure a permanent seat on the board.