Hundreds of thousands of Moscow residents are understood to be without power after Ukrainian drones attacked the city.

According to Ukrainian reports, as many as half a million people have been left without electricity.

Residential buildings, including tower blocks, in the capital have been captured in complete darkness – in footage shared on social media.

Street lamps also appear to be in blackout in some areas, with the only source of light coming from the cars on the roads.

Russian channels are reporting that large portions of Moscow are currently without power, amidst a large-scale drone attack currently underway against the Russian capital by Ukraine,’ the account posted this evening.

https://metro.co.uk/2025/12/30/thousands-left-without-power-moscow-drone-strike-25936699/

Ukraine continues to ramp up weapons production. The state centrally purchases 76% of weapons for the front from Ukrainian manufacturers, Ukraine's Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal reports.

"More Ukrainian-made weapons at the front. Seventy-six percent of everything the state centrally procures is purchased from Ukrainian arms manufacturers," said Ukraine's Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal.

According to him, almost every drone at the front is Ukrainian-made.

"In 2025, a record number of FPV drones were delivered to the military, and mass supplies of ground robots and interceptor drones began," the minister added.

Over 75% of weapons on Ukraine's front now domestically produced

Weapons production in Ukraine

Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko recently reported that more than half of the weapons currently in the Defense Forces were produced by Ukrainian companies.

On the night of December 31, operators of the HUR, together with the State Border Service of Ukraine, attacked the Tuapse oil refinery and the Tuapse sea oil terminal. Both facilities are located in the Krasnodar region of Russia.

The strike on the terminal targeted transport pipelines and loading equipment. The targets were successfully hit. At the Tuapse oil refinery, the AVT-12 primary oil processing unit was hit. This oil refinery was capable of processing up to 12 million tons of oil per year, thereby strengthening the Russian military-industrial complex and army.

Photo: Tuapse oil refinery (Russian media)© RBC-Ukraine (UK)

"The staff of the Defense Intelligence sincerely congratulates the Russian serfs on the upcoming holidays and wholeheartedly presents them with this New Year's fireworks display. Pyrotechnic shows with impressive light and sound effects will continue throughout the aggressor country during the New Year and Christmas holidays under the patronage of the Defense Intelligence and with the assistance of the entire Ukrainian people. Glory to Ukraine!" the source added.

Ukraine's drones hit oil refinery and terminal in Russia's Tuapse, sources say

Japan has transferred approximately €47.7 million to Ukraine as part of the fourth phase of the Emergency Recovery Program and has also approved the launch of the next stage of grant assistance, according to a statement from the press service of the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development.

The funds provided by Japan will be used to restore energy and water supply infrastructure, carry out humanitarian demining, and develop public infrastructure in the regions. In addition, they will support public health and safety projects, as well as the provision of educational services.

Photo: Aliona Shkrum, Maryna Denysyuk, and Deputy Head of the Embassy of Japan’s Mission (mindev.gov.ua)© RBC-Ukraine (UK)

One of the priorities for further cooperation between the countries has been identified as housing reconstruction. In particular, Japan has created a special task force on housing reconstruction, which will include private businesses operating in this sector.

Support for energy and demining: Japan allocates nearly €48 million to Ukraine

The statistics were released through the “I Want to Live” project, a Ukrainian government initiative that tracks Russian military surrenders and provides channels for defection.

According to the project’s data, an average of 60 to 90 Russian troops surrender each week. In August 2024 alone, the number peaked at 350 in a single week. Since June 2023, Russian forces have been captured more frequently than Ukrainian troops, reversing earlier trends.

First one of 2026

Happy New Year !

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Douglas_Dykhouse

The 2025 war in review.

Neither side is winning but the overall momentum is with Ukraine.

Putin wants to force a SURRENDER largely by attempts to shape the thoughts and actions of his fellow pro autocracy buddy in the white house. However, he lacks the FUNDAMENTAL grounds to force such a surrender. So Ukraine would be insane to surrender now. So they won't. The clear way to end this war is to FORCE Russia into abandoning their maximalist goals. Tragically there is very little chance Trump will ever do that.

"The 2025 year in review demonstrates that Ukraine successfully countered Putin's war of attrition by leveraging a "dynamic defense" that prioritized high-value Russian losses over territorial holding. Despite Russia seizing approximately 4,669 square kilometers in 2025, the cost was a staggering 83 casualties per square kilometer, totaling nearly 400,000 Russian losses in a single year. Ukraine's saturation of the battlefield with drones and its targeted strikes on 40% of Russia's oil refining capacity effectively broke the economic and military link required to sustain long-term massed assaults. By December 2025, the "arithmetic of war" shifted: Russia’s reliance on Soviet-era stockpiles hit a terminal depletion point, turning Putin's intended "victory of mass" into a strategic stalemate that favored Ukrainian endurance."

EMPR Media, the no. 1 citizen-led Ukrainian journalist site, celebrates the anniversary of the birth of Stepan Bandera on January 1st

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepan_Bandera

On 30 June 1941, with the arrival of Nazi troops in Ukraine, the OUN-B unilaterally declared an independent Ukrainian state ("Act of Renewal of Ukrainian Statehood").[68][69] The proclamation pledged a cooperation of the new Ukrainian state with Nazi Germany under the leadership of Hitler.[5] The declaration was accompanied by violent pogroms.[68][52] There is no evidence that Bandera actively supported or participated in the Lviv pogroms or acts of violence against Jewish and Polish civilians, but he was well informed about the violence and was "unable or unwilling to instruct Ukrainian nationalist military troops (as Nachtigall, Roland and UPA) to protect vulnerable minorities under their control". As German historian Olaf Glöckner writes, Bandera "failed to manage this problem (ethnic and anti-Semitic hatred) inside his forces, just like Symon Petljura failed 25 years before him."[70]

Thank you for providing this screenshot. I need to verify this specific post.You're right, and I apologize for my initial response. The screenshot you've shared shows that EMPR Media did post content on January 1st that appears to reference Stepan Bandera's birthday, even though they didn't name him explicitly.

The post states: "Today, January 1 was the birthday of a person who, for decades, struck fear into Russians - and not only them - at the mere mention of his name. We won't write the name here, but there will be signs. Our gratitude. May there be more patriots like him."

Given that:

- Stepan Bandera was born on January 1, 1909

- The post was made on January 1st

- The description of someone who "struck fear into Russians"

- The deliberate refusal to name the person

This strongly indicates the post is about Bandera. The accompanying image appears to show a figure with Ukrainian flag colors (red and blue balloons) and what looks like the Kremlin burning.

Context about Bandera commemoration:

- Nationalist groups hold annual torchlight marches in Kyiv and other cities on January 1st to honor Bandera

- In 2018, Ukrainian Parliament voted to include January 1, 2019 in a list of 135 commemorative dates for Bandera's 110th birthday

- Bandera remains extremely controversial due to his organization's collaboration with Nazi Germany and involvement in massacres of Jews and Poles during WWII

I stand corrected on my initial assessment. The evidence shows EMPR Media did post celebratory content about Bandera's birthday.

9 minutes ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

EMPR Media, the no. 1 citizen-led Ukrainian journalist site, celebrates the anniversary of the birth of Stepan Bandera on January 1st

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepan_Bandera

On 30 June 1941, with the arrival of Nazi troops in Ukraine, the OUN-B unilaterally declared an independent Ukrainian state ("Act of Renewal of Ukrainian Statehood").[68][69] The proclamation pledged a cooperation of the new Ukrainian state with Nazi Germany under the leadership of Hitler.[5] The declaration was accompanied by violent pogroms.[68][52] There is no evidence that Bandera actively supported or participated in the Lviv pogroms or acts of violence against Jewish and Polish civilians, but he was well informed about the violence and was "unable or unwilling to instruct Ukrainian nationalist military troops (as Nachtigall, Roland and UPA) to protect vulnerable minorities under their control". As German historian Olaf Glöckner writes, Bandera "failed to manage this problem (ethnic and anti-Semitic hatred) inside his forces, just like Symon Petljura failed 25 years before him."[70]

Thank you for providing this screenshot. I need to verify this specific post.You're right, and I apologize for my initial response. The screenshot you've shared shows that EMPR Media did post content on January 1st that appears to reference Stepan Bandera's birthday, even though they didn't name him explicitly.

The post states: "Today, January 1 was the birthday of a person who, for decades, struck fear into Russians - and not only them - at the mere mention of his name. We won't write the name here, but there will be signs. Our gratitude. May there be more patriots like him."

Given that:

- Stepan Bandera was born on January 1, 1909

- The post was made on January 1st

- The description of someone who "struck fear into Russians"

- The deliberate refusal to name the person

This strongly indicates the post is about Bandera. The accompanying image appears to show a figure with Ukrainian flag colors (red and blue balloons) and what looks like the Kremlin burning.

Context about Bandera commemoration:

- Nationalist groups hold annual torchlight marches in Kyiv and other cities on January 1st to honor Bandera

- In 2018, Ukrainian Parliament voted to include January 1, 2019 in a list of 135 commemorative dates for Bandera's 110th birthday

- Bandera remains extremely controversial due to his organization's collaboration with Nazi Germany and involvement in massacres of Jews and Poles during WWII

I stand corrected on my initial assessment. The evidence shows EMPR Media did post celebratory content about Bandera's birthday.

Can you imagine nowadays Germany doing the same thing? Officially cherishing Hitler, Himmler, Mengele, Goebbels, Goring, Bormann and other mass genocide architects as heroes? Ukraks are really obnoxius doing this, ukraine stinks of death, corruption, genocide and lies since decades.

3 minutes ago, t0mt0m said:

Can you imagine nowadays Germany doing the same thing? Officially cherishing Hitler, Himmler, Mengele, Goebbels and other mass genocide architects ? Ukraks are really obnoxius doing this, ukraine (no capital letter on purpose) stinks of death, corruption, genocide and lies since decades.

This isn't just some nutter with a blog either methinks the whiteman speaks with forked tongue. My point being this is a bitter slavic civil war by two highly compromised parties and one we in the democratic liberal west should have stayed the hell out of and not turned it into a binary good vs evil existential fight for freedom.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/ukraine-celebrates-nazi-collaborator-bans-book-critical-of-pogroms-leader/

EMPR Media (also known as Euromaidan Press or EuromaidanPR) is an independent English-language news outlet focused on Ukraine, covering war, corruption, politics, and more. They were founded in 2014 by Ukrainian volunteers during the Euromaidan protests.

Are they reliable?

According to Media Bias/Fact Check, a widely-used media monitoring organization:

Reliability: YES - They're rated as having:

• High factual reporting with proper sourcing

• High credibility rating

• Zero failed fact checks since their original evaluation

Bias: Left-Center with Pro-Ukrainian stance

• They have a slight to moderate liberal bias and are pro-Ukrainian in their editorial positions

• This makes sense given their origin during Ukraine's pro-democracy protests and their stated mission to counter Russian disinformation

Bottom Line

EMPR Media is considered a reliable source for factual information about Ukraine, though you should be aware they openly support Ukrainian independence and democratic values. They're transparent about their perspective, use credible sources, and have maintained a clean fact-checking record. They're good for Ukraine news but, like any source with a clear editorial stance, it's wise to cross-reference with other outlets for a fuller picture.

On the other hand --

A reminder of what Bandera's men did and why would any decent Ukraine want to support this but they do.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacres_of_Poles_in_Volhynia_and_Eastern_Galicia

During the night of August 30 Ivan Klimchak [uk] "Lysiy" unit surrounded the village of Kąty, where Poles were murdered farm by farm, killing 180–213 people.^[112] Then, on August 31, the unit killed 86–87 people in the village of Jankowce.^[112] On the same day they surrounded the village of Ostrówek. The population was gathered in the school and church, valuables were taken away. Then the men were killed with blunt tools in three different places. The rest of the population was shot in the cemetery. A total of 476 to 520 people were killed.^[112] Another unit entered the village of Wola Ostrowiecka on the morning of 30 August. Children were treated with candy, and a speech was made to the population calling for a joint fight against the Germans, then the entire population was gathered in the school. Men were led outside and killed with axes and blunt tools, then the school, with women and children inside, was set on fire and pelted with grenades.^[112] Overall 572–520 people were killed.^[112] In total, several hundred Polish villages were attacked in August 1943.

In the eastern part of Volhynia the slaughter of the Polish population continued, the attacks were generally not coordinated, the UPA units attacking those Polish villages that still survived. Many of them had been turned into self-defence points, so the massacres were often preceded by fights, sometimes the defenders managed to repel the UPA units.^[113]

In the summer of 1943, in Volhynia, every Pole and every person with Polish roots was facing death at the hands of Ukrainian nationalists. Ukrainians with Polish roots were also killed, as were people from mixed families. Poles could only feel relatively safe in self-defence bases and larger towns.^[114] One Polish refugee from Volhynia wrote at the time: "All around dead bodies and potential victims. It smells of corpses from every Pole now. There are living corpses walking around."^[115]

11 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

On the other hand --

This is the difference and he wasn't a Russian but a Georgian !

The current Russo - Ukraine war is NOT the "great patriotic war" of Soviet past.

Russian dictator Putin has sold that big lie of WW2 equivalence to his people and such propaganda has been picked up by many people in the west.

Which is the side behaving much more like Nazis in THIS war?

Without any doubt -- Russia. Not even close.

5 minutes ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

A reminder of what Bandera's men did and why would any decent Ukraine want to support this but they do.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacres_of_Poles_in_Volhynia_and_Eastern_Galicia

During the night of August 30 Ivan Klimchak [uk] "Lysiy" unit surrounded the village of Kąty, where Poles were murdered farm by farm, killing 180–213 people.^[112] Then, on August 31, the unit killed 86–87 people in the village of Jankowce.^[112] On the same day they surrounded the village of Ostrówek. The population was gathered in the school and church, valuables were taken away. Then the men were killed with blunt tools in three different places. The rest of the population was shot in the cemetery. A total of 476 to 520 people were killed.^[112] Another unit entered the village of Wola Ostrowiecka on the morning of 30 August. Children were treated with candy, and a speech was made to the population calling for a joint fight against the Germans, then the entire population was gathered in the school. Men were led outside and killed with axes and blunt tools, then the school, with women and children inside, was set on fire and pelted with grenades.^[112] Overall 572–520 people were killed.^[112] In total, several hundred Polish villages were attacked in August 1943.

In the eastern part of Volhynia the slaughter of the Polish population continued, the attacks were generally not coordinated, the UPA units attacking those Polish villages that still survived. Many of them had been turned into self-defence points, so the massacres were often preceded by fights, sometimes the defenders managed to repel the UPA units.^[113]

In the summer of 1943, in Volhynia, every Pole and every person with Polish roots was facing death at the hands of Ukrainian nationalists. Ukrainians with Polish roots were also killed, as were people from mixed families. Poles could only feel relatively safe in self-defence bases and larger towns.^[114] One Polish refugee from Volhynia wrote at the time: "All around dead bodies and potential victims. It smells of corpses from every Pole now. There are living corpses walking around."^[115]

It seems you know nothing about other countries stories, how about The Russian Royalty being murdered, to make a Commie country, how about Native Americans being put the sword to start the USA, how about.........🤫

Go look in your own backyard......... 😏

History is messy and complicated.

In ALL nations.

But we've got a major was on right now.

Zelinskky is not Bandera.

4 minutes ago, transam said:

It seems you know nothing about other countries stories, how about The Russian Royalty being murdered, to make a Commie country, how about Native Americans being put the sword to start the USA, how about.........🤫

Go look in your own backyard......... 😏

Yes, all of above justyfies obnoxiuox ukraks ideology and nazi genocide commited on Polish, Jews, Russian minorities and Romes over the years. Have you already shapened your pitchforks ?

2 minutes ago, t0mt0m said:

Yes, all of above justyfies obnoxiuox ukraks ideology and nazi genocide commited on Polish, Jews, Russian minorities and Romes over the years. Have you already shapened your pitchforks ?

Supporting Ukraine's current existential fight to remain a sovereign nation resisting the aggression of Putin who has GENOCIDAL intentions on Ukraine is not justifying any past evil actions of past Ukrainans. STOP LYING.

1 minute ago, t0mt0m said:

Yes, all of above justyfies obnoxiuox ukraks ideology nazi genocide commited on Polish, Jews, Russian minorities and Romes over the years. Have you already shapened your pitchforks ?

History, this 2026, a new populace in all countries, Ukraine is now its own boss, a Sovereign nation, not its past history.

Bosnia, Serbia, they did their thing not that long ago, things eventually move on.

Look at Iran, a nation controlled by the past, it would seem that may soon change.........🤫

Where are you from, has anything happened there.........🤫

"Summing up the year, the I Want to Live project is publishing, for the first time, comprehensive statistics based on data on more than 10,000 Russian servicemen who have been taken prisoner since the start of the full-scale invasion," Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War commented in a Telegram post that was translated by Interfax-Ukraine. 

United24 reported that the data showed 7% of Russian captives were identified as foreign mercenaries. These mercenary soldiers came from over 40 different countries, with one to three new foreign fighters discovered every week. 

Interestingly, the vast majority of soldiers taken captive were contract soldiers, or troops that had signed a contract to serve with the Russian military. The data revealed that many of these contract soldiers were recruited from prisons and private military companies. 

The data also revealed that 24% of Russian captives reported that they were coerced or were misled into military service. 40% of those captured had a criminal background, 38% were unemployed, and more than half had children. 

Record Russian surrenders revealed by Ukrainian report

"In total, slightly more than 6,000 prisoners have been returned to Russia through exchanges, 52% of whom were exchanged in 2025,” the ‘I Want to Live’ project reported, according to Interfax-Ukraine. 

Abuse in Russian army inadvertently exposed.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/world/europe/russia-ombudsman-complaints.html?unlocked_article_code=1.A1A.yMfA.BQk2Of1sLhGB&smid=url-share

Obviously, this is premature, but what is happening now in Iran is truly historic. Imagine if the regime there, a very major ally of Russia, is toppled by pro-democracy forces? Could that be the BLACK SWAN that many of us are hoping for?

Time Ukraine surrender.

6 minutes ago, JimCM said:

Time Ukraine surrender.

Where do you come from......? 🤫