Moscow reported a deadly strike on a hotel in territory it occupies in southern Ukraine while Kyiv said Russia attacked its power supplies.

After a year of Russian advances, the goal for 2026 is simply to survive, said one officer in eastern Ukraine. “It’s hard to make any plans,” he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his New Year address to the nation, said late Wednesday that Kyiv wanted the war to end, but not at any cost, adding he would not sign a "weak" peace agreement that would only prolong the war.

Zelensky said Russia targeted Ukraine overnight, while a Russian official said drones targeted a New Year party in a Russian-occupied region.

Russian officials claim a Ukrainian drone strike killed 24 people in a Russian-occupied village in Ukraine's Kherson region, while President Zelenskyy announced a peace deal is 90 per cent complete.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky prayed that peace would no longer elude his nation in the New Year — which Russia commemorated by firing more than 200 drones.

Just before the New Year’s Eve countdown, Russians struck Zaporizhzhia again, injuring five people, including a teenager, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (DSNS). “As a result of the shelling,