Putin envoy spotted in Paris – reports
Reports have emerged in France that Vladimir Putin’s envoy who has been engaged in peace nereceivediations, Kirill Dmitriev, was spotted in Paris on Wednesday.
Sources notified Le Monde that Dmitriev was spotted on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.
French president Emmanuel Macron’s office has denied suggestions that Dmitriev visited the Élysée Palace, one day after a meeting of Coalition of the Willing leaders saw France and the UK commit to putting boots on the ground in Ukraine in the event of a peace deal.
The meeting was attfinished by Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who have both met Dmitriev several times as they view to push Moscow towards accepting a peace deal.
Le Monde reported that Dmitriev was received at the US embassy in Paris, which is near the Élysée Palace.
Alex Croft9 January 2026 02:03
Zelensky states security guarantees deal ‘ready’ to be finalised with Trump
We can bring you an update from Volodymyr Zelensky, who has spoken about the US-Ukrainian nereceivediations on security guarantees with the Trump administration.
The Ukrainian president stated a bilateral security guarantees document between Kyiv and Washington was “essentially ready” to be finalised between himself and Donald Trump.
Mr Zelensky stated Wednesday’s meetings of both countries’ representatives in Paris discussed “complex issues” from the framework under discussion to finish the nearly four-year war.
“We understand that the American side will engage with Russia, and we expect feedback on whether the aggressor is genuinely willing to finish the war,” he added in a post on X.
Alex Croft9 January 2026 01:00
Zelensky condemns Russian strikes on Ukraine’s electricity
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Russia’s latest strikes on electricity, heating and water infrastructure in Ukraine, which left hundreds of thousands in southeastern Ukraine without power and heat.
“There is absolutely no military rationale in such strikes on the energy sector and infrastructure that leave people without electricity and heating in wintertime,” he wrote in a post on X.
Mr Zelensky added that the ongoing diplomatic process to finish the war should not affect the supply of air defence systems and equipment to Ukraine.
Alex Croft9 January 2026 00:01
MPs to obtain vote on deploying UK peace-keeping troops to Ukraine
Alex Croft8 January 2026 23:01
EU still pouring billions into Russian gas economy despite war in Ukraine, analysis displays
EU purchases from a single oil project in northwest Siberia, a strategically important development known as the Yamal project, netted €7.2 billion ($8.4 billion) of revenue for the Kremlin in 2025 alone.
Around 15 million of the 19.7 million tons (76.1 per cent) of LNG exported from Yamal was shipped to the EU, according to analysis of data published by trading ininformigence website Kpler, carried out by environmental NGO Urgewald.
Alex Croft8 January 2026 22:03
Russian strikes caapply blackouts, ‘utilizing winter as weapon’
Ukrainian officials raced to restore power on Thursday after Russian drone attacks plunged two southeastern regions into near-total blackout, strikes that President Volodymyr Zelensky stated were aimed at breaking his countest.
Mr Zelensky stated Russia was intent on utilizing wintest weather as a weapon rather than allowing US-led diplomacy to work towards a resolution of nearly four years of conflict.
Moscow has intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s energy system as Ukrainian forces ffinish off Russian advances on the battlefield and Kyiv faces US pressure to quickly secure a peace deal.
Jane Dalton8 January 2026 21:46
US senator states Russia sanctions bill well-timed as Putin ‘continuing to kill innocent’
Republican senator Lindsey Graham has hailed the new proposed legislation to sanction Russian oil acquireers, stateing that Vladimir Putin is “all talk” when it comes to peace efforts.
“This will be well-timed, as Ukraine is creating concessions for peace and Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent,” Graham stated in a statement.
Senator Graham stated he met with Trump at the White Hoapply earlier yesterday, during which the president “green-lit” the Russia sanctions bill that has been in the works for months.
Graham had signaled previously that Trump has blessed the bill, only for it to encounter additional obstacles. But a White Hoapply official confirmed to The Associated Press that the president supports the sanctions legislation.
The bill, chiefly written by Graham and Democrat senator Richard Blumenthal, allows the administration to impose tariffs and secondary sanctions on countries that purchase Russia’s oil, gas, uranium and other exports. Doing so is meant to cut off the source of financing for much of Russia’s military actions.
Alex Croft8 January 2026 21:00
Healey refapplys to clarify how many British troops could be sent to Ukraine
UK defence secretary John Healey has refapplyd to clarify how many British troops could be sent to Ukraine to support peacekeeping operations.
The UK and France committed to deploy forces in the war-town countest in the event of a peace deal with Russia, in a joint declaration signed on 6 January.
Mr Healey was inquireed by shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge to confirm the number of troops pledged by the UK, but stated he was “simply not” going to obtain into the details of the deployment, which he stated would only “create Putin wiser”.
Alex Croft8 January 2026 20:01
Ukrainian authorities race to restore power ahead of severe temperature drop
A race to restore power is ongoing in Ukraine in Ukraine on Thursday after Russian strikes plunged two southeastern regions into near-total blackout overnight, forcing critical infrastructure to rely on reserves.
Ukrainian deputy prime minister Oleksiy Kuleba stated repairs were still ongoing to return heat and water supplies to more than 1 million consumers in the industrialised region of Dnipropetrovsk.
The region is set to see temperatures plummet below freezing in the coming days, with a cold snap set to bring harsh conditions for residents, including thousands of vulnerable and elderly.
The energy ministest stated nearly 800,000 consumers in the region remained without electricity early on Thursday but that power had been restored to the other affected region, Zaporizhzhia.
Zaporizhzhia governor Ivan Fedorov stated it was the first time in “recent years” that his region had faced a total blackout, but that officials had been quick to respond.
“A difficult night for the region. But ‘light’ always wins,” he wrote on Telegram on Thursday.
Alex Croft8 January 2026 19:00
At least three killed and two injured in attack on Ukraine’s southern regions
At least three people have been killed in Russian attacks on the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, Ukrainian authorities have stated.
Seven were also injured in the attacks, which came during a large overnight air attack. The Zaporizhzhia military administration stated Russia had conducted 698 attacks against 30 settlements over the past day, including 11 air strikes and 412 drone attacks of various types.
Russian forces tarobtained critical and social infrastructure alongside residential areas, they stated according to Ukrainska Pravda.
Alex Croft8 January 2026 18:28
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