Spy chief Budanov named as new Head of Zelensky’s Office as Russia falls for assassination ploy

Day 1,408.

At the start of the fifth calendar year of the full scale invasion, attacks across Ukraine saw the beginning of 2026 marked with yet more death, injury and destruction across Ukraine. It has also seen General Budanov named as Andrii Yermak’s replacement, a remarkable double-cross operation by Budanov’s military intelligence department and a rebuttal by the CIA into claims by Moscow earlier this week that Ukraine tried to attack Putin directly. We report how Australian tanks have been in action around Pokrovsk, Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov has been rushed to hospital and Finnish authorities have boarded and seized a Russian vessel in the Baltic. Plus, we have an interview with a journalist looking at Colombian fighters who have joined Ukraine’s foreign legion.

Contributors

Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.

Adélie Pojzman-Pontay (Journalist and Producer). @adeliepjz on X.

With thanks to Natalie Gallon (Journalist). @natalielgallon on Insta.

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CONTENT REFERENCED:

Colombian soldiers fighting for Ukraine, WLRN

https://www.wlrn.org/americas/2025-10-28/ukraine-russia-war-colombia-soldiers

A Colombian amputee soccer player’s new battle in Ukraine, WLRN

https://www.wlrn.org/americas/2025-10-29/ukraine-russia-war-colombian-soldiers-soccer-amputee

Frontline report: Australian Abrams tanks enter combat at Pokrovsk, bolstering Ukrainian counterattacks

https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/01/01/frontline-report-2025-12-31/

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