Ukraine war latest live: Russia used 'updated tactics' during latest mass missile, drone strike, Zelensky says
This is Chris York reporting from Kyiv on day 1,427 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Today's top story so far:
Russia used "updated tactics" during its latest overnight aerial assault on Ukraine's energy infrastructure on Jan. 20, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, adding Kyiv would be informing allies including the U.S. about the development.
The overnight strike targeted substations serving nuclear power plants, and triggered widespread outages of electricity, water, and heating, including in Kyiv.
"The Air Force Commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported on the use of our air defense systems to shoot down Russian missiles and the initial findings regarding the enemy's updated tactics," Zelensky said.
"I instructed the military to immediately contact our partners – first and foremost the United States – and to inform them in detail about the change in Russia's strike tactics and the specific targeting of energy infrastructure," he added.
Zelensky did not elaborate on what the "updated tactics" were. Among the 33 missiles launched by Russia during the attack was a rarely used hypersonic Zircon anti-ship missile.
Technically, it is a cruise missile powered by what is called a scramjet, giving the missile the necessary hypersonic push.
In 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed it would be "a hypersonic missile able to accelerate to about Mach 9," meaning the missile would travel nine times the speed of sound, and have a range of "over one thousand kilometers," boldly declaring it "invincible."
But due to its limited use, little is known for certain about its capabilities.
Ukraine denies capture of Rybne village in Zaporizhzhia Oblast
Last updated 3:57 p.m. Kyiv time.
Ukraine on Jan. 20 denied reports of the Russian capture of the village of Rybne, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
The Ukrainian open-source mapping project DeepState reported earlier in the day that the village was occupied by Moscow's forces, which also made advances near Solodke, Rodynske, and Pokrovsk.
But Vladyslav Voloshyn, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Southern Operational Command, told the Kyiv Independent the report was "premature."
"The enemy tried to enter the village, but the main thing is whether he will gain a foothold there," he said.
Voloshyn acknowledged Ukrainian forces were having "very difficult" logistical issues, adding "there is no clear front line" in the "gray zone."
"We keep it under fire control. We have not lost it yet. There are rivers, meadows, they cannot occupy it either. We did this to block the enemy and save the lives of the military personnel," he added.
Ukraine's SBU captures Russian soldier suspected of executing 9 Ukrainian POWs in 2024
Last updated 1:50 a.m. Kyiv time.
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) has captured a Russian soldier who allegedly shot and killed nine Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in Kursk Oblast in October 2024, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported on Jan. 19.
The announcement comes over a year after Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office opened an investigation into reports that Russian troops shot nine Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered as prisoners in Kursk Oblast on Oct. 10, 2024.
A suspect in the shooting has now been detained, according to Zelensky, who was briefed on the arrest by SBU First Deputy Chief Oleksandr Poklad.
"We will find every Russian murderer," the president said. "Every single one will be held accountable."
The battlefield monitoring group DeepState reported the killing of the Ukrainian soldiers on Oct. 13, 2024, citing sources from Ukraine's First Tank Brigade. The execution occurred in Russia's Kursk Oblast, where Ukrainian forces launched a shock incursion in August 2024.
At least 4 killed, 35 injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine over the past day
At least four people were killed and 35 others injured in Russian attacks against Ukraine over the past day, local authorities said on Jan. 20.
Russia launched 18 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles, as well as 339 drones, including about 250 Shahed-type drones, against Ukraine overnight, primarily targeting Kyiv, the Air Force said on Jan. 20.
Ukrainian air defense downed 27 missiles and 315 drones, according to the report. A Zircon anti-ship missile, known to travel considerably quicker than most cruise missiles, was named as among the weapons used by Russia.
The attack killed and injured civilians across two Ukrainian regions, targeted substations serving nuclear power plants, and triggered widespread outages of electricity, water, and heating, local authorities said.
A death was reported in Kyiv's surrounding region overnight. Kyiv Oblast Governor Mykola Kalashnyk said a 50-year-old man was killed northwest of the capital. One person was injured in Kyiv's Dniprovskyi district, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Air raid sirens and reports of missile and drone attacks continued throughout the day in Kyiv.
Two women, aged 67 and 76, were also injured in the overnight attack in the central-eastern city of Dnipro, the regional military administration reported on Jan. 20.
Elsewhere over the past day, in Kherson Oblast, Russian attacks injured four people over the past day, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.
In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, five people were injured in a Russian attack against the city of Nikopol, Govenor Oleksandr Hanzha said.
A 57-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman also suffered injuries in a drone strike in the Vasylkivka community. At the same time, a 44-year-old man was hospitalized in moderate condition following an attack on the Petropavlivka community, the governor added.
In Donetsk Oblast, Russian strikes killed two people and injured four others over the past day, according to regional Governor Vadym Filashkin.
In Kharkiv Oblast, one person was killed and 13 others injured in Russian attacks, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russian attacks injured three people over the past day, Governor Ivan Fedorov said.
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,228,570 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022
Russia has lost around 1,228,570 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. 20.
The number includes 1,130 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
According to the report, Russia has also lost 11,579 tanks, 23,928 armored fighting vehicles, 75,067 vehicles and fuel tanks, 36,393 artillery systems, 1,618 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,279 air defense systems, 434 airplanes, 347 helicopters, 111,140 drones, 28 ships and boats, and two submarines.
