Zelenskyy: Russia’s network of partners is shrinking. What is happening in Iran shows that things will not get easier for Russia.

Every normal person wants the Iranian people to finally free themselves from a regime that has caused so much harm, including to Ukraine. 1/ Zelenskyy: There is information from intel that Russians are preparing a new massive strike on Ukraine. They want to take advantage of the cold.

[The last Russian strike left thousands of Ukrainians without electricity, heating or warm water. Many are still without all three] 2/

Sen. Kelly: With force that we're going to take your territory — is that who we've become? That's Russia.

We are not that kind of a nation. I'm really concerned when you listen to Miller, what he’s said about this. We're the United States of America. We follow the rules. 1/ Sen. Kelly: United States uphold a standard of morality and an ethical code. We just don't go around and take territories from other countries or threaten to do that. I am rather concerned about where this is headed. 2/

Russia has lost at least 19 generals since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine has killed senior Russian officers — by artillery, sniper fire, strikes on command posts, and suspected sabotage — both near the front and deep behind it, The Insider reports. 1/ Recent losses include top figures from across Russia’s military hierarchy:

- Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s radiation, chemical and biological defense troops,
- Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the General Staff’s main operational directorate, 2/

Ukraine is producing 1,500 FPV interceptor drones per day.

Each costs $3,000–$5,000. A Russian Shahed costs $100,000. Ukraine is trying to win the air war by matching cheap threats with cheap counters, not $1M+ missiles — United24. 1/ Zelenskyy pushed interceptor drones from an experiment to a core air-defense tool in July.

By January 2026, Ukraine scaled output to 1,500/day and built these FPVs specifically to hunt Shahed-type drones and other low-cost aerial targets. 2/

Ukraine should study Baltic integration policies — what works and what backfires. Because after the war we will need to encourage a shift to Ukrainian without pushing Russian-speaking citizens into alienation.

The Economist uses Latvia as a warning case and calls it a “gift to the Kremlin.” 1/ Latvia shut down Latvian Radio 4 (LR4) on Jan. 1, ending public Russian-language broadcasting after nearly 25 years.

LR4 had a stable audience and an anti-Kremlin, pro-Latvian editorial line. It went silent because it broadcast in Russian. 2/

Sen. Tillis: We had 17 military installations in Greenland, and they'd be happy to have us back. We could do it without taking over a NATO country.

And I would defy you [Trump] to find any credible general with a star on his shoulder who would say that it is a good idea. 1/ Sen. Tillis: Stephen Miller speaks for the President of the United States. But when he says that the US government thinks that Greenland should be a part of NATO, he should talk to people like me who have an election certificate and a vote in the US Senate. 2/

“He stepped on a mine. His foot was torn apart. He couldn’t walk. Medicines were dropped by drones. Dressings were done. He stayed there for 2.5 months — until he could walk out on his own.”

This is how military surgeon Vadym Kryzheminskyi describes his daily work to UP. 1/ Vadym Kryzheminskyi has served as a military surgeon for seven years.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, he has operated at every stage of medical evacuation — from stabilization points 10 km from the front to mobile hospitals and city hospitals in the rear. 2/

Kellogg: Zelenskyy's a tough son of a b*tch. He's stubborn. He has his opinion. He's unafraid to say that. He knows how to use media.

I said [to Trump] he was an embattled and courageous leader. We in the United States have not seen a leader like him since Abraham Lincoln. 1/ Kellogg: There are some malevolent actors out there. You have North Korea, China, what's left of Iran, and Russia. In the past, we didn't allow those four to come together. We kept them separated. Now they've come together. The point is to separate them. 2/

Is the British Army ready to deploy to Ukraine after a ceasefire?

Former UK defence secretary Ben Wallace questions whether the proposed “coalition of the willing” has the troops, funding, and logistics to succeed. — The Telegraph. 1/ The Paris Declaration suggests Britain and France could put boots on the ground in Ukraine after a ceasefire. Wallace points to funding gaps among coalition leaders.

Wallace: “Britain and France aren’t spending any extra money on defence — only Germany is.” 2/

Ukraine is two steps away from a ceasefire, but the price is high. True peace arrives only with EU membership; now, it’s about a "grand truce."

The main hurdles are the status of Ukraine-controlled Donbas and security guarantees — former FM of Ukraine Kuleba, 24 Channel. 1/ Kuleba: We are standing "at the door." Opening it means a unified position between Ukraine, Europe, and the US. Crossing the threshold means forcing Putin to sign. The US needs a quick result for a Trump diplomatic win, so the pressure on Kyiv is immense. 2/

Trump told NYT: “I feel strongly they [Russia] wouldn’t re-invade [Ukraine], or I wouldn’t agree to it.”

Trump is ready to commit to the US being involved in Ukraine’s future defense, but only because he is confident that Russia would not try to invade the country again. 1/ Trump made the comment while discussing hypothetical US security guarantees for Ukraine after a ceasefire.

He conditioned any US involvement on his belief that Russia would not invade again — avoiding a direct commitment to fight if a ceasefire collapses. 2/

Ukrainian F-16 pilot: We have cases when a pilot destroyed six cruise missiles in one flight.

Our list of targets included not only destroyed kamikaze drones and cruise missiles, but also enemy aircraft. We can do more. 1/ "It was very difficult to learn English for pilots, because after a combat mission a pilot has to rest, because at some point he will be lifted again.

The pilots knew that they had to improve their English in order to later transfer to more technological equipment. 2/"

Veteran of the 24th Brigade, Petro Buryak: We cleared the area, then a drone hit. I lost my memory. In a coma I fought for my life.

I don’t remember my five clinical deaths, only fragments. I flatlined near Mykolaiv and was revived there and twice more in Odesa — Suspilne Lviv1/ Petro Buryak: My wife brought me out of the coma. Inside it I felt lightness and struggle, searching for a way back.

I remember rising above my body on the table—pain everywhere, no one hearing me. Then I floated free, lighter than a feather, no pain at all.

2/

Beatings with batons. A bag over her head. Rags instead of sanitary pads. Threats to “send home only her bones.”

She was detained less than a month after childbirth.

This is the story of Inna, who survived Olenivka — Suspilne. 1/ On Feb. 24, 2022, Inna was withdrawing cash when her husband Valentyn, wounded and on rehab leave, returned to the front.

It was their last meeting.

Inna has served in the military since 2016 as a cook and was on maternity leave after giving birth shortly before the invasion.2/

Donald Trump is implementing a 21st-century version of the Monroe Doctrine.

The United States is shifting toward direct control, military scale, and bilateral dominance.

Recent White House actions show how Trump plans to govern and project power. 1/ Military power sits at the core of this strategy.

Trump announced plans to raise the U.S. military budget for FY2027 to $1.5 trillion, the largest defense budget in history.

Trump: “We will build the Dream Military and keep America SAFE and SECURE.” 2/

130 days in solitary confinement. Beatings up to 20 times a day. Electric shocks. Teeth ripped out. Hunger that forced him to eat a rat.

This is the story of Ukrainian soldier Oleksii Anulia, who survived 10 months in Russian captivity — UP. 1/ Oleksii is a professional athlete and former bodyguard. Before the full-scale invasion, he trained in kickboxing, crossfit, and long-distance swimming. Among the people he protected were WhatsApp founder Jan Koum and the son of Libya’s prime minister. 2/

Cuban POW captured in Ukraine: "Russian comander just said, go to Kupyansk. You have to go to Kupyansk. I said it was impossible. I couldn't walk. They told me, it's no problem. So I went to Kupyansk through the forest with a bullet in my leg [friendly fire].” 1/ POW: "I didn't sign a contract. I was supposed to be deported to Cuba. The immigration officer replied that I was being deported to Cuba. After 6 days I left in a metal car. I didn't understand why. It wasn't true. I was going to war." 2/

How effectively Ukraine uses manpower will define the battlefield balance in 2026.

Victory will not hinge on new weapons alone, but on whether Ukraine can keep enough trained, motivated infantry on a 1,000+ km front without breaking unit cohesion — Kyiv Independent. 1/ Ukraine’s so-called “firefighter” units are central. Assault formations are repeatedly thrown into crisis sectors to stop Russian breakthroughs, stabilizing the line fast, but burning through mobilized troops faster than the system can replace them. 2/

Rubio: Part of stabilization in Venezuela is our quarantine. Two more ships were seized.

We are going to take between 30-50M barrels of oil, sell it at market rates, control how it's dispersed to benefit the Venezuelan people, not corruption. 1/ Rubio: The oil arrangement was made with PDVSA on their sanctioned oil that they can't move. We are exercising it in a positive way.

It will generate revenue to the benefit of the Venezuelan people and gives us leverage and control over how this process moves forward. 2/

In Kyiv, in a clandestine school children are taught using Soviet textbooks, study Russian language, and watch Russian films.

School operates at a Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) monastery. — SlidstvoInfo. 1/ The school functions on the grounds of the Holosiivskyi monastery of the UOC-MP.

It calls itself a “family club,” but in practice it operates as a full-time school: five days a week, 9:00–14:00, grades, exams, and extended-day groups. 2/

Hodges: Budanov [ex-Chief Spy, now Head of President Zelenskyy's Office] is an exceptional person.

I love the idea of him sitting across the table from the Russians and them knowing that he was responsible for the thinning out of their neighborhood. 1/ Hodges: Ukrainian HUR [Defense Intelligence of Ukraine] will continue going after Russian generals involved in war crimes and targeting processes.

Those generals need to be looking under their car for the rest of their life. 2/