CloseRussian missiles struck a multi-storey apartment building in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, killing at least two people and injuring about 25 more.
However, Russia has denied the attack took place on Friday, suggesting that an explosion at the site was caused by Ukrainian ammunition.
Speaking on Ukrainian television, Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said two ballistic missiles had struck the area and "nearly destroyed a five-storey dwelling". "Rescue teams are on site," he said. "They are primarily clearing rubble and searching for people underneath."
It comes after Kyiv denied Russian claims that Ukrainian drones deliberately struck a cafe and hotel in the occupied village of Khorly in Kherson, killing at least 27 people.
Svetlana Petrenko, spokeswoman of Russia's Investigative Committee, had claimed in a statement that the strike targeted a hotel where at least 100 civilians were celebrating New Year's Eve overnight into Thursday. A total of 31, including five minors, were hospitalised with injuries.
A spokesman for Ukraine's General Staff, Dmytro Lykhovii, denied attacking civilians.
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Russians won't represent their country at Winter Olympics even if Ukraine war ends, IOC chief says
Russian athletes at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics will not be able to represent their country even if a peace deal is reached with Ukraine, International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said in an Italian newspaper interview.
At this stage nothing would change the Committee's decision allowing Russian athletes to take part in the February games only as individuals representing themselves, Coventry told Corriere della Sera in an interview published on Friday.
The IOC banned Russia and Belarus following the former's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the IOC ruled in September that Russians and Belarusians competing at Milano Cortina would do so as individual athletes, without a national flag or anthem.
In other remarks, Coventry – the IOC's first woman president – said holding the Olympics in multiple cities, as Italy is doing, would become "the new normality" and the Milano Cortina games would provide useful guidance for the future.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain2 January 2026 23:00
Trump riffed on Ukraine’s ‘beautiful’ women during peace talks and called former Miss Ukraine to speak with Zelensky, report says
During an August meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Donald Trump reportedly interrupted discussions to make remarks about “beautiful” women from Ukraine and then arranged for former Miss Ukraine to speak with the Zelensky over the phone, according to
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Zelenskiy proposes appointing First Deputy PM Fedorov as Ukraine's new defence minister
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy proposed appointing First Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov as Ukraine's new defence minister.
He praised his abilities in developing the drones and digitalisation needed for the country's defence.
Fedorov also served as minister of digital transformation and his appointment must be approved by parliament. But he could be replacing Denys Shmyhal.
"Mykhailo is deeply engaged in the 'drone line' initiative and works very effectively on the digitalisation of state services and processes," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.
"Together with all our military personnel, military command, national weapons manufacturers and Ukraine's partners, we must implement changes in the defence sector that will truly help."
Rebecca Whittaker2 January 2026 21:27
Zelensky to make cabinet changes to make Ukraine 'resilient'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, has said he has “begun a substantial overhaul” to his team to make Ukraine more “resilient”.
In a post on X he defended the modifications and said: “Today, we have begun a substantial overhaul – internal changes to make Ukraine more resilient.
“Last year, there were good results from state institutions that need to be scaled up, as well as problems that should not carry over into the new year.
“Therefore, a wave of personnel changes is underway, and more decisions will follow regarding institutions. Tomorrow, we will continue the changes.”
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Russian strike on Ukraine's Kharkiv kills two
Russian missiles have struck a multi-storey apartment building in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, killing at least two people and injuring about 25.
But Russia has denied the attack even took place and said that an explosion at the site was caused by Ukrainian ammunition.
Photographs and videos posted online showed smoke rising from the area, with emergency crews making their way through rubble and large chunks of building materials, Reuters reported.
Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov, writing on Telegram, said that according to preliminary information the bodies of a woman and her son were found under rubble.
Speaking earlier on Ukrainian television, Syniehubov said two ballistic missiles had struck the area and "nearly destroyed a five-storey dwelling". "Rescue teams are on site," he said. "They are primarily clearing rubble and searching for people underneath."
Rebecca Whittaker2 January 2026 21:16
Cargo ship accused of damaging Baltic Sea cable seized by Finland
A cargo vessel sailing from Russia has been seized by Finnish police on suspicion of sabotaging an undersea telecoms cable running from Helsinki to Estonia across the Gulf of Finland.
’Fitburg’ was en route from the Russian port of St Petersburg to Israel at the time of the incident, Finland's Border Guard authority said on Wednesday.
"At the moment we suspect aggravated disruption of telecommunications and also aggravated sabotage and attempted aggravated sabotage," Helsinki Chief of Police Jari Liukku said.
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During an August meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Donald Trump reportedly interrupted discussions to make remarks about “beautiful” women from Ukraine and then arranged for former Miss Ukraine to speak with the Zelensky over the phone, according to
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Kremlin release video of downed UAV ‘used in 91-drone attack on Putin residence’
Kremlin release video of downed UAV ‘used in 91-drone attack on Putin residence’
Russia has released video claiming to show one of the 91 Ukrainian drones it alleges carried out an attack on one of Vladimir Putin’s residences. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the supposed attack on Sunday night (28 December) – which Kyiv has denied and Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed as “typical Russian lies” – would lead Russia to review its position in peace negotiations. The Kremlin have since released undated video of an official inspecting the wreckage of downed drone in an unspecified location. “This is a rare, unique case where we have an unexploded warhead filled with high-explosive elements weighing six kilograms,” the unidentified man tells the camera. Further footage shows Major General Alexander Romanenkov of the Russian Aerospace Forces claiming the drone was part of an "purposeful" and "thoroughly planned" attack. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which verifies military strikes, says no open-source evidence such as geolocated videos, visible air defence activity, explosions or smoke, exists supporting Russian claims.Maryam Zakir-Hussain2 January 2026 19:00
Australian man reportedly killed fighting alongside Ukrainian forces against Russia
Australian authorities are trying to confirm reports that a national was reportedly killed while fighting alongside Ukrainian forces against Russia.
The man, identified in social media posts as Russell Allan Wilson, was killed on 12 December in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, according to local media reports.
In an Instagram post on 19 December, a man identifying himself as a US army veteran said Wilson had been killed during combat and had chosen to remain in Ukraine despite the risks.
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Putin vows victory in Ukraine in defiant New Year’s address
Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed victory in Ukraine in a defiant speech despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the war.
Putin used his annual televised New Year's address to rally his troops fighting in Ukraine, saying he believed in them and in victory in a war that he has framed as part of an existential struggle with the West.
It comes as Trump is trying to broker an end to the nearly four-year-old conflict, Europe's bloodiest conflagration since World War Two, with both sides' negotiating stances still far apart.
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