Overview
- Ukraine’s General Staff logged 116 combat engagements on January 2 and reported by mid‑afternoon on January 3 another 104 clashes, with the Huliaipole, Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka sectors seeing heavy pressure.
- Officials said Russia launched one missile attack, 57 airstrikes using 153 guided bombs, 6,358 kamikaze drone strikes and 3,223 bombardments on January 2, as Ukrainian forces hit four troop concentrations and two other targets.
- A Russian Iskander strike on Kharkiv killed a 22‑year‑old woman and a 3‑year‑old boy and injured at least 27; more than 30 buildings were damaged and rescue work continues with people still believed under rubble.
- Ukraine’s energy ministry reported the Russia‑occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant temporarily lost power from a high‑voltage line overnight, alongside new strikes on energy sites in Mykolaiv and Kherson regions.
- National security advisers from 15 European countries plus NATO and EU bodies met in Kyiv to review full texts of framework documents, with UK and Ukrainian leaders discussing plans for potential multinational forces after a ceasefire; officials said the texts respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and now require rapid partner approvals, while the United States announced large‑scale strikes in Venezuela and claimed Nicolás Maduro’s detention, drawing EU calls for restraint and a Venezuelan appeal to the UN Security Council.