UNITED24 Media Telegram Highlights
Ukraine is tightening control over Kupiansk and blocking Russia’s attempts to use the city as a bargaining chip in negotiations, The Washington Post reports.
Russian troops are trying to enter the city in small groups, crossing the river and even moving through an unused gas pipeline. Ukrainian drones track and eliminate them before they can gain a foothold. According to the article, these are isolated incursions with no territorial control.
Ukrainian commanders say Moscow hoped to leverage Kupiansk in talks, but those plans have failed.
Fighting continues in small groups. Supplies and evacuations are carried out mainly by drones. A full clearance may take several more months, but Russia’s presence remains limited, and heavy equipment is not being brought into the city.
Russia is preparing to test a new generation of solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in 2026 as part of a program to replace its aging Topol-M systems, Izvestia reported on January 12, citing defense sources.
The upcoming trials are expected to include both silo-based and mobile-launch variants, with the missiles reportedly designed to carry advanced guided hypersonic warheads.
According to Army Recognition on January 19, the new missiles are part of a broader effort to modernize Russia’s land-based nuclear deterrent.
The missiles are expected to feature enhanced solid propellants and updated payloads, distinct from the current Avangard-class hypersonic gliders.
The Topol-M, designated RT-2PM2, was the first ICBM developed by Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It entered service in 2000 with the Strategic Rocket Forces and has an estimated range of 11,000 kilometers. A total of 78 units remain deployed—60 in silos and 18 on road-mobile platforms—according to Army Recognition.
Ukraine has suspended additional orders for attack drones from the German-based defense technology startup Helsing after problems during frontline combat tests, Bloomberg reports.
According to the publication, the company’s flagship attack drone, the HX-2, experienced takeoff issues during testing.
Latvian authorities have detained at least three individuals over the past two weeks in connection with the group calling itself the “Anti-Fascists of the Baltics,” which investigators say operated an informant network supplying Russian intelligence with sensitive information.
According to Latvian public broadcaster LSM on january 19, the network had for an extended period passed on data about the movement of military equipment, Ukrainian nationals, and people expressing support for Ukraine.
A Russian submarine struck by an SBU naval drone in the port of Novorossiysk has remained in the same position for more than a month, according to satellite imagery cited by Radio Svoboda.
An image dated January 19 shows the submarine still moored at the damaged berth, with visible signs of repair work on the pier.
Russia’s civil aviation sector is turning to stored aircraft from previous decades to maintain passenger capacity amid a continued shortfall in new domestically produced airliners, Izvestia reported on January 19, citing state corporation Rostec.
According to the report, twelve previously mothballed aircraft—including nine Tupolev Tu‑204 and Tu‑214 models, one Antonov An‑148, and two Ilyushin Il‑96 jets—are being restored for commercial service. @notimagain [will they be safe?]
China has sharply increased its imports of Russia’s Urals crude oil as Indian refiners—previously the largest buyers of the grade—scale back their purchases due to sanctions-related risks, according to a report by Baird Maritime on January 19.
Seaborne shipments of Russian crude to China exceeded 1.5 million barrels per day in December, roughly 300,000 barrels per day above the January–November average.
At the same time, deliveries of Urals crude that had traditionally gone to India tripled to about 259,000 barrels per day in the fourth quarter.
The shift accelerated in January, when China’s Urals imports jumped another 70% to 447,000 barrels per day, the highest level since April 2023.
The surge was driven by some of the deepest discounts offered since the start of Russia’s full-scale war, according to the report. Discounts at Russian ports reached $26–28 per barrel, while net discounts in China—after transport costs—were closer to $10 per barrel.
For the first time since the full-scale invasion, Russia used RM-48U target missiles against Ukraine overnight, according to military sources.
The RM-48U is a converted 5V55 or 48N6DM missile from the S-300PM and S-400 air defense systems. These missiles were originally designed for training air defense crews and are produced from decommissioned rounds whose service life has expired.
They are now being used to strike ground targets, effectively turning the S-300 and S-400 systems into makeshift operational-tactical missile platforms.
According to Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, Russia has around 400 such missiles.
Last night, Russian forces attacked Ukraine using a Zircon missile, Iskander-M/S-300 missiles, Kh-101 cruise missiles, and drones.
According to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 27 of 34 missiles and 315 of 339 UAVs were shot down.
❗️ In Kyiv, 5,635 high-rise buildings are without heating following a nighttime Russian attack — mayor.
Almost 80% of them are buildings where heat supply had been restored on January 9. As of yesterday evening, 16 out of nearly 6,000 buildings remained without heating due to damage to critical infrastructure caused by the enemy on January 9, Klitschko reported.
The left bank of the capital is still without water supply.
Maria Kalesnikava, the Belarusian opposition figure who spent five years in prison, has called for Europe to resume engagement with Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko.
“Lukashenko is a pragmatic person. He understands the language of business. If he is ready for humanitarian steps in response to a relaxation of sanctions, including the release of prisoners and allowing independent media and NGOs into Belarus, this needs to be discussed,” Kalesnikava said in an interview with the Financial Times.
😈 Legendary carmaker Renault is set to produce military drones — BFM.
The company has signed a contract with France’s Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) to manufacture drones for the armed forces.
Assembly will take place at Renault’s plant in Le Mans, while engines will be produced at the Cléon facility in Normandy. The project is being implemented in partnership with defense firm Turgis & Gaillard.
The drones, known as Chorus, are long-range remotely controlled munitions that can also be used for reconnaissance and surveillance. Production capacity is expected to reach up to 600 drones per month.
According to L’Usine Nouvelle, the contract could bring Renault around €1 billion over the next ten years.
Renault confirmed the project, saying it was “invited by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces” to take part in building a national drone industry, drawing on its experience in mass-producing high-tech products.
“Alpha” SBU eliminated enemy air defense assets worth $4 billion in 2025
Long-range strikes by special forces of the Alpha Special Operations Center of the Security Service of Ukraine have inflicted significant losses on key elements of Russia’s layered air defense system. The total value of destroyed and disabled enemy air defense assets over the past year is estimated at approximately $4 billion.
Destroyed systems include:
▪️ S-300 / S-350 / S-400
▪️ Buk-M1 / Buk-M2
▪️ Pantsir-S1 / Pantsir-S2
▪️ Tor-M1 / Tor-M2 / Tor-M3
In addition, Russia’s radar reconnaissance and guidance capabilities suffered serious losses. Damaged assets include radar stations critical for detecting air targets and operating air defense systems:
▪️ 55Zh6U Nebo-U / Nebo-M
▪️ Podlyot radar
▪️ Niobium radar
▪️ Kasta-2E2 radar
▪️ Gamma-D radar
▪️ Protyvnik-GE radar
▪️ Radars from Buk and S-300 / S-400 systems
▪️ 92N6 radar and others
Russia has complained about Denmark’s alleged “Russophobia.”
Russian Ambassador to Denmark Vladimir Barbin told the state-run agency TASS that the Danish government’s “repressive decisions” have significantly reduced the staff of the Russian diplomatic mission.