Overview
- The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces neither planned nor conducted a strike in Kharkiv on January 2.
- Officials said eyewitness video indicates a detonation of Ukrainian ammunition at the Persona shopping center in Kharkiv.
- From 09:00 to 13:00 MSK, Russian air defenses downed five fixed-wing UAVs over Nizhny Novgorod (two), the Moscow region (two) and Belgorod (one), according to the ministry.
- Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported drone attacks on five municipalities that damaged buildings, vehicles and power lines, with no preliminary casualties.
- Ukrainian outlet Hromadske reported an explosion in Mykolaiv, and Russia asserted Kyiv’s Kharkiv allegations seek to divert attention from the earlier deadly incident in Horly, Kherson region.