Today’s top story so far:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed new decrees launching year-round military conscription starting in 2026 and authorizing the use of reservists to protect critical infrastructure, signaling a deeper militarization of Russian society.
The new conscription decree calls up 261,000 people ages 18 to 30 for mandatory military service in 2026, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported. Recruitment events will take place throughout the year, but conscripts will still be sent to military service sites twice a year — from April 1 to July 15 and from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31.
The move follows a law passed by the Russian parliament in October 2025 that allows draft boards to operate year-round.
In a separate decree reported by independent outlet Meduza, Putin also authorized the calling up of military reservists in 2026 for special training sessions meant to protect critical facilities and other vital infrastructure, such as energy and transport facilities.
The government has reportedly been tasked with identifying sites that require protection, while the Defense Ministry will determine which military units will host special training sessions for reservists.
According to Meduza, Russia’s mobilization reserve consists of volunteers under contract, who may be called up once a year for training. However, prior to a legal change in November 2025, they could only be deployed for combat or security duties during wartime or official mobilization.
Russia strikes 2 civilian ships in Black Sea, targets port infrastructure in Odesa Oblast
Russian forces attacked two civilian cargo vessels in the Black Sea with drones on Dec. 30, injuring several crew members, the Ukrainian Navy reported.
The merchant ships, Emmakris III and Captain Karam, had both entered the port to load grain, the Navy said.
“These are civilian ships. Ports and commercial vessels are part of civilian infrastructure. Attacks like this pose a direct threat to civilian lives and global food security,” the Navy said in a statement on Facebook, adding that targeting civilian infrastructure is a deliberate war crime.
Earlier on Dec. 30, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba said that Russian drones had also struck port infrastructure in Odesa Oblast, damaging facilities in Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk.
One civilian was injured, and oil storage tanks at an industrial site were damaged, and a Panama-flagged cargo ship loaded with grain was also hit while docked in port, according to preliminary reports.
“This is yet another deliberate Russian attack on civilian port infrastructure. The enemy is trying to disrupt logistics and complicate maritime shipping. Despite the shelling, ports continue to operate under strict safety protocols,” Kuleba wrote on Telegram.
Kuleba previously said that Russia has doubled its missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian ports in 2025. According to Kuleba, Odesa Oblast alone has experienced around 800 air raid alerts this year, with a total duration of over 30 days.
Ukraine faces no mobilization restrictions under proposed U.S. peace plan, Syrskyi says
Last updated at 6:54 p.m. Kyiv time.
The draft U.S.-backed peace framework aimed at ending Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine does not impose any restrictions on Ukraine’s right to mobilize troops, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi said in an interview with 24 Channel on Dec. 29.
Syrskyi clarified that the framework would not impose restrictions on Ukraine’s mobilization system, while negotiations have included discussion of a ceiling on the military’s overall authorized strength.
The initial proposals included a reduction in the Armed Forces to 600,000 personnel, but he said the current figure of 800,000 personnel is acceptable to Ukraine’s military leadership.
The figure reflects Ukraine’s efforts to maintain credible defense capabilities in the face of Russia’s massive troop expansion, he said.
In 2024, Russia officially increased the authorized strength of the Russian Armed Forces by 180,000 troops, bringing the total to 2,389,130 personnel, including 1.5 million active-duty soldiers.
As of March 2025, approximately 620,000 Russian soldiers are currently serving in Ukraine’s ground forces, with 200,000 of them deployed as assault troops along the front line, according to Major General Vadym Skibitsky, Deputy Head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR), who stated this in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
Russia offers no evidence for alleged drone attack on Putin residence, Ukraine says
Last updated at 4:12 p.m. Kyiv time.
Russia has failed to present any credible evidence to support its claim that Ukrainian drones attempted to strike President Vladimir Putin’s residence, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha said on Dec. 30.
“Almost a day has passed, and Russia still hasn’t provided any plausible evidence to its accusations. And they won’t — because there is none. No such attack happened,” Sybiha wrote on X.
He condemned statements of concern issued by the UAE, India, and Pakistan, noting their silence following a real Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian government building on Sept. 7, 2025.
Sybiha added that responding to unverified Russian claims only serves to amplify Kremlin propaganda and undermine the peace process that has recently made progress.
On Dec. 29, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that Ukraine had targeted Putin’s residence in Novgorod Oblast, describing the incident as “state terrorism” and warning that Russia had already identified its retaliation targets. He also said Moscow would reconsider its negotiating position but would not withdraw from the peace talks.
That same day, President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the allegation, calling it “another lie” aimed at justifying potential Russian strikes, most likely against Kyiv and government buildings.
Syrskyi says battalion commander to face legal review after loss of command post in Huliaipole
Last updated at 2:45 p.m. Kyiv time.
Ukrainian forces lost a command post in the Huliaipole sector and allowed Russian troops to advance after the 102nd Brigade failed to hold its defenses, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said in an interview with 24 Channel published on Dec. 29.
The remarks come as Russian forces continue assaults on Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
The Ukrainian monitoring group DeepState has designated the city as a “gray zone,” indicating ongoing fighting and uncertain control. Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Dec. 28 that Russian forces had taken control of the city, but Ukraine denied the claim.
The situation in the Huliaipole sector stemmed from what Syrskyi described as an unstable defense by the 102nd Territorial Defense Brigade. When troops abandoned the command post, they left behind military equipment, flags, soldiers’ personal belongings, and materials that may have contained sensitive information.
Syrskyi said Ukrainian forces had the opportunity to destroy the equipment and materials before withdrawing to prevent them from falling into Russian hands, but failed to do so.
Ukraine strikes Russian drone storage at occupied Donetsk Airport, commander says
Last updated at 2:40 p.m. Kyiv time.
Ukrainian forces struck a Russian drone storage facility at Donetsk Airport in Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces commander Robert “Madyar” Brovdi said on Dec. 30.
Ukrainian forces regularly strike military facilities in Russian-occupied areas that supply weapons, fuel, and equipment to Russian troops.
Russian forces have set up a base at the airport to train and launch Shahed, Geran, and Gerbera drones, according to Brovdi. Satellite images from August 2025 also showed Russia repairing the runway, likely to expand attack drone operations from Russian-occupied territory.
The Ukrainian strike hit a drone logistics hub, warehouses with combat units, drone storage facilities, a preflight training center, and a location housing military and technical personnel, Brovdi said.
Mandatory evacuation ordered in Chernihiv Oblast due to daily Russian attacks
Last updated at 2:37 p.m. Kyiv time.
Authorities in Chernihiv Oblast have approved a mandatory evacuation of residents from 14 border villages amid ongoing Russian attacks, regional governor Vyacheslav Chaus announced on Dec. 30.
The decision affects settlements in the Novhorod-Siverskyi, Semenivka, Snovsk, and Horodnia communities.
“These border areas are under daily attacks. Despite the real danger, around 300 people still remain there,” Chaus said, adding that more than 1,400 residents have already been evacuated from the oblast in 2025.
Chaus emphasized that the military strongly recommended the evacuation, and local authorities have been working to remove civilians from high-risk areas.
At least 4 killed, 16 injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine over past day
At least four people were killed and 16 others injured by Russian attacks against Ukraine over the past day, local authorities reported on Dec. 30.
Russia launched 60 attack drones (including Shahed, Geran, and other UAV types) and two Iskander-M ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight from the directions of occupied Crimea, Voronezh region, and multiple locations in Russia, the Air Force reported.
Ukrainian air defenses intercepted or suppressed 52 drones and one ballistic missile. Eight drones and one ballistic missile hit five locations, causing damage.
In Kherson Oblast, Russian strikes killed two people and injured two others, including a child, over the past day, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.
In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, a 46-year-old man was killed, and six women ages 43 to 91 were injured in Russian attacks, local authorities reported. Over the past 24 hours, Russian forces launched 608 strikes on 25 settlements in the region, using a combination of guided aerial bombs, FPV drones, rocket artillery, and tube artillery.
In Donetsk Oblast, Russian forces killed one person and injured four others over the past day, Governor Vadym Filashkin reported. In total, Russia conducted 19 attacks on settlements across the region overnight.
In Kharkiv Oblast, a 54-year-old man was injured as a result of a Russian attack, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov.
In Sumy Oblast, a 60-year-old man was injured in a Russian airstrike on the Bezdrivka community, where a guided aerial bomb detonated near a civilian area, local authorities reported. Russian forces launched nearly 50 attacks on 23 settlements across 13 local communities, using artillery, mortars, FPV drones, reconnaissance UAVs, and guided bombs.
Over 75,000 consumers in Chernihiv Oblast remain without electricity following overnight Russian strikes on energy infrastructure, Deputy Energy Minister Olha Yukhymchuk reported.
Power outages were also reported in Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts, where multiple settlements remain partially or fully cut off. Some energy facilities have been repeatedly targeted, and due to the scale of destruction, authorities are unable to resume scheduled power outages in parts of Kyiv’s left bank, Kyiv Oblast, and Odesa Oblast.
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,206,910 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022
Russia has lost around 1,206,910 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Dec. 30.
The number includes 1,220 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
According to the report, Russia has also lost 11,477 tanks, 23,841 armored fighting vehicles, 72,010 vehicles and fuel tanks, 35,589 artillery systems, 1,582 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,264 air defense systems, 434 airplanes, 347 helicopters, 96,932 drones, 28 ships and boats, and two submarines.
