As Russia continues to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, thousands have been left without power just as temperatures plummet well below freezing. Any hopes of an end to the war may be premature, with Moscow again putting progress in doubt with its latest comments. Follow below.
Wednesday 14 January 2026 16:32, UK
EU member states have placed stronger commitment on defence, both individually and for the wider continent, since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Defence spending for the entire bloc reached €343bn in 2024, about 1.9% of its total GDP, and is expected to have hit €381bn last year, around 2.1% of GDP, according to EU Council data.
Investment in defence jumped to a record €106bn in 2024 and is projected at almost €130bn for last year, the data shows.
The increases come as many member states have committed huge resources, both military and financial, to Ukraine.
In June last year, NATO members – many of which are also in the EU – pledged to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, more than doubling today’s 2% target.
A driving factor behind the spending rises is Donald Trump, whose America First policy in his second presidential term has forced European nations to step up.
One example is the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, which allows Ukraine to buy American weapons from the EU.
Ukraine’s parliament has voted to appoint Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s pick for energy minister and deputy prime minister, just a day after deciding against the move.
Only 210 Ukrainian Rada MPs initially agreed to Denys Shmyhal assuming the posts yesterday, falling short of the minimum 226 votes required to pass.
But in a re-run earlier today, 248 MPs voted in favour of the appointment, Ukraine’s Interfax news agency reported.
Shmyhal is one of Ukraine’s most experienced government officials, having previously served as prime minister from 2020 to July last year.
He then took up the role of defence minister before he was replaced by Mykhailo Fedorov (see 13:55 post) as part of Zelenskyy’s cabinet shake-up.
The appointment comes as Ukraine continues to face deadly Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure, including in the capital Kyiv where many have been left without power in recent days.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appeared to share the opinions of his new defence minister on Ukraine’s army after a meeting between the pair.
Posting on social media, Ukraine’s president said “broader changes” were needed in mobilising troops for Kyiv’s war effort after talks with the newly appointed Mykhailo Fedorov.
Zelenskyy wrote:
“Decisions have already been made to ensure a more equitable distribution of personnel among combat brigades. However, much broader changes are needed in the mobilisation process that will guarantee more opportunities both for Ukraine’s Defence and Security Forces and for economic processes in our state.”
Earlier, Fedorov told Ukraine’s parliament the state military wanted to recruit two million people, promising to drive innovation and reform to strengthen the military (see 13:55 post).
One of the ministry of defence’s first priorities outlined in the meeting was air defence, something Zelenskyy has repeated on several occasions in recent days.
Other issues discussed related to “frontline logistics”, including addressing shortages in defence sector funding and increasing pay for Kyiv’s frontline troops, Zelenskyy said.
Russia’s defence ministry has said its forces have taken control of the border village of Komarivka, in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.
The region is one of very few areas along the border where Kyiv’s forces have managed to restrict significant Russian advances since it launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Ukraine’s military have even previously made small gains into Russia’s neighbouring Kursk region.
Russia’s defence ministry has said two Ukrainian drones attacked an oil tanker in the Black Sea yesterday.
The Matilda tanker issued a distress signal around 62 miles (100 km) from the city of Anapa in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region at 10:15am Moscow time (07:15am UK time), the ministry said on Telegram.
It said the vessel was sailing under the flag of Malta.
Previous reports said four oil tankers, which also included the Freud and Delta Supreme, were attacked near a Russian loading terminal in the port city of Novorossiysk, some 31 miles (50km) south of Anapa.
One of the tankers was chartered by major US oil company Chevron.
Kyiv has not commented.
Ukraine’s newly appointed defence minister has said its military wants two million recruits.
Mykhailo Fedorov also said around 200,000 Ukrainian soldiers had gone AWOL during a speech to Kyiv’s parliament, Ukraine’s Interfax news agency reported.
The 34-year-old, appointed to his new role by the parliament this morning, promised to drive innovation and reform to bolster the military at a critical phase of the war.
Fedorov held previous roles as the first deputy prime minister and digital transformation minister, and has been an important figure in shaping Ukraine’s cyber response to the invasion.
Specifically, he helped improve connectivity for the nation’s forces at the frontline by deploying Elon Musk’s Starlink terminals.
He also played a leading role in creating a defensive ‘drone line’ which aims to inflict maximum damage on Moscow’s troops.
Images have been coming through of Ukrainians warming up in an emergency tent amid freezing temperatures in Kyiv.
Hundred of thousands of residents in the city have been without power in recent days after Russian drone attacks on Kyiv’s power grid.
Last month, EU leaders agreed to a €90bn (£79bn) interest-free loan for Ukraine to help fund its war effort and economic needs for the next two years.
Now the European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen has been setting out the details of the funding in Brussels.
The bloc intends to allocate one third of the loan (€30bn) for Ukraine’s general budget, and two thirds (€60bn) for military supplies, she said at a press conference.
The military funding will mainly be used mainly to buy equipment from the EU and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries.
“We take really a next step in our support to build a
stronger and more stable Ukraine,” Von der Leyen said.
As the war prepares to enter its fifth year next month, here’s the latest situation along the frontlines showing territorial gains and losses made by Moscow and Kyiv.
While Russia wants areas its forces don’t occupy, Ukraine is calling for fighting to stop along the current frontlines.
With that in mind, scroll through the maps below to get an idea of the current state of play.
Thousands of families in Kyiv and around Ukraine have been struggling to keep warm in recent weeks.
Ukraine’s capital was once again hit by a Russian drone attack overnight, with Moscow repeatedly targeting the country’s energy infrastructure.
In Kryvyi Rih, for example, which is Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown, more than 45,000 people are said to have been left without power today.
That’s after Russia fired around 100 drones and missiles across five regions, according to Zelenskyy (see 11:05).
The main targets, again, were energy-generation facilities and substations, Zelenskyy added, with one strike in the northeastern Kharkiv region killing four people.
Streets were covered in ice and generators rumbled throughout the capital as daytime temperatures in Kyiv, which has been hit by freezing temperatures for more than two weeks, plummeted to -12C.
“It’s dark in the apartment. I have an electric stove, so it’s impossible to heat up lunch or dinner, or make tea,” Kateryna Zubko, 67, an engineer who has lived without power, heating and water over the past few days, said.
“We support each other. Ukrainians are such resilient people, I think that this war will end someday, it can’t go on forever.”
In Kyiv’s Dniprovskyi district, Olena Davydova, 30, was charging her phone at what is called a “point of invincibility” shelter, a government-built temporary installation, often a large tent on the pavement, providing food, drinks, warmth and electricity.
Davydova said she had been without power for almost 50 hours.
It forced her to adopt some new routines: sleeping in one bed with her child and two cats, storing fresh food on the balcony and using candles after dark.
“I still have enough patience. I’m not reacting to this in a very emotional way,” she said.
Elsewhere, friends and relatives gathered in apartments still without power or hot water, to charge their phones, take showers or share a warm drink.
Kyiv has suffered from severe power shortages for days, although mayor Vitali Klitschko said Monday night’s strikes caused the largest electrical outage the city has faced so far.
More than 500 residential buildings remained without central heating yesterday.
Klitschko ordered Kyiv to provide one hot meal per day to residents in need.
He also announced workers in the city’s water, heating and road maintenance services would be paid bonuses for working “day and night” to restore critical infrastructure.
Emergency power cuts were introduced in the capital and also in the Chernihiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions, the energy ministry said.
DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, said the assault heavily damaged equipment at one of its thermal plants.
In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said emergency crews in Kyiv remained engaged around the clock to restore heating and power.
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