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

His speech came as Russia released video of what it said was a downed drone after it claimed Ukraine tried to attack a presidential residence

The Kremlin leader kept his speech short, spoke only briefly about the fighting in Ukraine, and did not mention U.S.-mediated talks on ending the war.

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.

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,

Ukrainian drone strikes inflicted significant damage on Russian oil and weapons facilities in attacks carried out overnight on Dec. 31, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces confirmed. Targets included Russia's Tuapse Oil Refinery,