Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,409
On January 3, 2026, marking day 1,409 of the Russia-Ukraine war, a Russian ballistic missile attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine killed two, including a child, and injured at least 31. Russia denied responsibility, blaming Ukrainian ammunition detonation and claiming it was a distraction from a Ukrainian strike on Khorly, a Russian-occupied village in Kherson, where the death toll rose to 28 with over 60 injured. Ukraine is evacuating over 3,000 children and their parents from front-line settlements in Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk due to Russian aggression. A Ukrainian attack on the Zaporizhia electricity grid left 1,777 households without power. Russia claimed to have shot down 64 Ukrainian drones, while reports indicate Russian forces gained territory in the Donetsk and Ternopil regions. Analysis shows Russia captured approximately 1% of Ukrainian territory in 2025.