Year Month Day Russia-Ukraine Latest: The Turning Point of In-Depth Operations

On January 1, 2026, the Russia-Ukraine war entered its 1408th day. On the night of December 31, the number of Ukrainian drones over Russian territory exceeded the number of Russian drones over Ukrainian territory.

This is the first time during the entire war and could become a turning point in both sides' deep operations.

Media reports indicate that Ukraine's attacks targeting Russia's energy backbone are accelerating and repeatedly reaching new highs.

In the past December of 2025, Ukraine set a new record for attacks on Russian energy facilities, reaching 33 incidents. Since Christmas, seven more Russian oil and gas facilities have been attacked.

Attacking Russia's oil and gas infrastructure is precisely the key to the war and the most effective method to weaken Russia's war machine. Energy revenues, long the lifeblood of the Kremlin's budget, are rapidly shrinking under the impact of sanctions, rising costs, and persistent disruptions.

Bloomberg cited an article stating that the Russian government expects oil and gas revenues to account for 23% of budget revenues this year, a historic low. In the coming year, Russia's situation will undoubtedly worsen. Because even if Russians can protect their central cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg, they cannot fully defend the vast infrastructure that supports their military spending.

The article concludes by pointing out that as these revenues decrease, Russia's ability to sustain the war also declines. This war, initiated by Russia, will eventually reach a critical point where it can no longer be maintained and will ultimately come to an end.

In the Pokrovsk direction, the First Corps "Azov" of the Ukrainian National Guard announced that Rokytsk is currently under the control of the Azov formation—soldiers of the 14th Operational Brigade "Red Banner" of the Azov formation raised the Ukrainian flag in Rokytsk.

This is a great New Year's gift; the situation in Pokrovsk may be more optimistic than we anticipated. Currently, the Pokrovsk city area remains the same, with almost no significant changes in the front line over the past half month.

In the Kupiansk direction, over the past 24 hours, Russian troops trapped in the city attempted to break out but were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Russian counterattacks north of Kupiansk and northwest of Petropavlivka were also repelled.

In the Huliaipole direction, last night, a large Russian column was discovered by Ukrainian thermal imaging reconnaissance drones while arriving near the front line for rotation. Subsequently, the Ukrainian unmanned systems unit quickly assembled an attack drone swarm that almost completely annihilated this force.

From the video released by the Ukrainian forces, it seems the Russian command thinking has regressed again. This tactic of advancing a large number of infantry/tanks in a dense, single-file column is practically serving themselves up on a platter to the Ukrainian forces.

Or perhaps the Kremlin believes Russia's current population is still too large?