Overview
- Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces neither planned nor conducted any strikes within Kharkiv on January 2.
- Officials identified the epicenter as the Persona shopping center at 2 Olesya Honchara Street and said video shows heavy smoke seconds before the blast.
- The ministry asserted the footage indicates a high-probability detonation of Ukrainian-stored munitions rather than a Russian attack.
- Russian authorities said Kyiv’s claims of a Russian strike were meant to divert attention from a January 1 drone attack in Horly that killed 28 and injured 31, with a criminal case opened.
- Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne reported an explosion in Mykolaiv, with no confirmed attribution in the available reports.