Ukraine war latest live: Belgorod governor warns of possible evacuation as Russian border region reels from power outages
This is Jared Goyette, blogging from a cold, blacked-out apartment in Kyiv on day 1,420 of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Our top stories today:
- 'Russia is trying to disconnect Kyiv' — Supermarkets, public transport struggle after yet more strikes on energy infrastructure
- Project Nightfall — Everything we know about the UK's ballistic missile program for Ukraine
- ‘The situation now is the worst’ — Kyiv’s energy crisis deepens after Russia pounds power grid
What we're covering now on the War Desk:
Russian Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov urged residents on Jan. 13 to be prepared to temporarily relocate as power and heating outages hit the border region near Ukraine, saying officials were drawing up contingency plans in case the situation worsens.
"In no way am I saying that we need to abandon all our belongings and start moving to another region. Absolutely not. What we need to do is understand the sequence of our actions in the event of a complex, emergency situation, when there might be no heat or electricity," Gladkov said in comments posted on Telegram.
Gladkov said officials were considering moving residents to other municipalities that could accommodate large numbers of people, or relocating them to other regions if necessary. He also urged families to send children to relatives "where there is heat and electricity" if they have that option.
The remarks come after Russian officials blamed Ukrainian strikes on Jan 9 for a large-scale power outage in the border region. The alleged attack followed a series of alleged Ukrainian attacks on Belgorod's energy infrastructure in recent months.
On Dec. 14, Gladkov said a missile attack caused "serious damage" to local engineering infrastructure.
He claimed that Ukrainian attacks on Nov. 8 cut power to more than 20,000 people, and on Oct. 5, he said an attack damaged energy facilities in the city and left nearly 40,000 residents without electricity.
Earlier, on Sept. 28, Russian Telegram channels reported a HIMARS strike on a thermal power plant near Belgorod, and Gladkov later said the attack hit "critical infrastructure" and caused "significant power outages."
The Kyiv Independent has noted it cannot independently verify Russian claims about the strikes and their impact.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has suffered far more severe and sustained power and heating cuts since Russia launched its campaign of strikes on energy infrastructure, including outages affecting hundreds of thousands in Kyiv and over 1 million people in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast this month alone, according Ukrainian officials.
Since 2022-23, roughly half of Ukraine’s power generation capacity has been occupied, destroyed, or damaged, the International Energy Agency has said.
Tankers struck by drones off Russia’s Black Sea coast near Novorossiysk, Reuters says
Unidentified drones hit three Greek-managed oil tankers in the Black Sea on Jan. 13 as the ships headed to load crude at a terminal on Russia’s coast near Novorossiysk, Reuters reported.
Reuters said the ships were the Delta Harmony and Delta Supreme, both run by the Greek company Delta Tankers, and the Matilda, run by the Greek firm Thenamaris and hired by a subsidiary of Kazakhstan’s state oil company KazMunayGas, citing sources and shipping data.
Thenamaris confirmed Matilda was hit by two drones about 30 miles (48 km) and said there were no injuries and damage was minor and repairable, according to Reuters. Two maritime security sources told Reuters a fire was reported on Matilda but quickly extinguished.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the strikes. The Kyiv Independent reached out to Ukraine's Security Services (SBU) but not receive a response by publication time.
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has said it has used both Sea Baby naval drones and arial drones to strike Russian "shadow fleet" tankers and oil infrastructure in the Black Sea, including attacks on two sanctioned tankers off Turkey’s coast on Nov. 28, 2025, and on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s marine terminal near Novorossiysk the next day.
'A series of loud explosions' — Ukraine 'destroys' key Russian drone factory in Taganrog, SBU says
Last updated 12:15 p.m.Kyiv time
Ukraine struck a key Russian factory involved in the production of strike and reconnaissance drones in Taganrog, Rostov Oblast, overnight on Jan. 13, sparking a huge blaze and a "series of loud explosions," Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said.
"The SBU's Alpha Special Operations Center, together with units of the Ukrainian Navy's forces and equipment group, struck the production buildings of the Atlant Aero plant," the agency said in a statement.
4 killed, 15 injured in Russian overnight attacks on Ukraine
At least four people died and 15 others were injured in Russian attacks against Ukraine over the past day, local authorities said on Jan. 13.
Russia launched 25 missiles overnight — 18 Iskander-M/S-300 ballistic missiles and seven Iskander-K cruise missiles — along with 293 drones, the Ukrainian Air Force said.
Ukraine’s air defenses said they shot down or suppressed seven missiles (two ballistic and five cruise) and 240 drones. That leaves 18 missiles and 53 drones that Ukraine did not report as intercepted.
The Air Force added that the missiles and 48 drones hit 24 locations.
In Donetsk Oblast, Russian attacks killed two people and injured three others over the past day, Governor Vadym Filashkin said.
In Kyiv Oblast, a Russian overnight attack killed one civilian in Fastiv district, Governor Mykola Kalashnyk said.
In Kherson Oblast, Russian attacks killed one person and injured four others over the past day, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.
In Odesa Oblast, a Russian overnight drone attack injured six people and damaged energy infrastructure and civilian sites, Governor Oleh Kiper said.
In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a Russian missile-and-drone attack on Kryvyi Rih district’s Zelenodolsk community injured a 69-year-old woman, Governor Oleksandr Hanzha said.
In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russian attacks injured one person in Zaporizhzhia district over the past day, Governor Ivan Fedorov said.
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,220,950 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022
Russia has lost around 1,220,950 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Jan. 13.
The number includes 950 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
According to the report, Russia has also lost 11,544 tanks, 23,899 armored fighting vehicles, 73,887 vehicles and fuel tanks, 36,024 artillery systems, 1,600 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,270 air defense systems, 434 airplanes, 347 helicopters, 105,354 drones, 28 ships and boats, and two submarines.
