Overview
- Investigators said 27 people were killed and 31 injured, including five children, in the New Year’s drone attack on a café and hotel in Horly, with a criminal case opened on terrorism charges.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry reported two waves of air-defense activity on January 2, claiming five Ukrainian fixed‑wing drones downed in the morning and 11 more intercepted later over regions including Rostov, Tatarstan, Voronezh, Crimea, and the Azov Sea.
- Rostov region’s governor said drone attacks were repelled in four districts with no reported casualties and only limited damage to windows and a power line, with power restored.
- The ministry denied carrying out strikes inside Kharkiv and said video evidence indicates a likely detonation of Ukrainian ammunition stored at the Persona shopping center.
- Overnight into January 3, Ukrainian reports noted explosions in Mykolaiv and two air-raid alerts in Kyiv, reflecting continued cross-border strikes and air-defense activity.