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

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.


SIGN UP TO THE ‘UKRAINE: THE LATEST’ WEEKLY NEWSLETTER:

http://telegraph.co.uk/ukrainenewsletter

Each week, Dom Nicholls and Francis Dearnley answer your questions, provide recommended reading, and give exclusive analysis and behind-the-scenes insights – plus maps of the frontlines and diagrams of weapons to complement our daily reporting. It’s free for everyone, including non-subscribers.


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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Episoder(1097)

‘Staggering’ Russian losses as ‘tens of thousands of troops’ stall in Putin’s spring offensive & interviewing Ukrainians who fought for Russia

‘Staggering’ Russian losses as ‘tens of thousands of troops’ stall in Putin’s spring offensive & interviewing Ukrainians who fought for Russia

Day 1,489.Today, amid confirmation that Vladimir Putin’s spring offensive in Russia’s war in Ukraine has begun, we report on the assaults along the frontline that have driven a sharp rise in Russian c...

24 Mar 47min

Russia loses 7000 troops in 5 days & Putin tells Trump: I’ll stop giving Iran intel if you cut off Ukraine

Russia loses 7000 troops in 5 days & Putin tells Trump: I’ll stop giving Iran intel if you cut off Ukraine

Day 1,488.Today, after another weekend of so-called peace talks over Russia’s war in Ukraine, we search for signs of a diplomatic breakthrough (spoiler: there isn’t one). We report on a fresh wave of ...

23 Mar 48min

Russia’s deadliest day & Orban ‘gross act of disloyalty’ stalls €90bn Ukraine loan

Russia’s deadliest day & Orban ‘gross act of disloyalty’ stalls €90bn Ukraine loan

Day 1,485.Three days into Russia’s so called ‘spring offensive’, there are barely any advances on the ground yet casualties continue to rise. A Ukrainian delegation is on its way to Washington to resu...

20 Mar 45min

‘Put Putin on trial’: pro-Kremlin hardliner turns on president & interview with Britain’s leading military expert

‘Put Putin on trial’: pro-Kremlin hardliner turns on president & interview with Britain’s leading military expert

Day 1,484.Today, as Russian casualty figures continue to climb, we ask whether Moscow’s long-anticipated spring offensive has already begun. We also return to the situation in Moscow, where Vladimir P...

19 Mar 52min

Russian army suffers highest daily loss of the year & the horror of friendly fire with Hamish de Bretton-Gordon and James Hewitt

Russian army suffers highest daily loss of the year & the horror of friendly fire with Hamish de Bretton-Gordon and James Hewitt

Day 1,483.Today, as Russia records its highest daily troop losses of the year in its war against Ukraine, we examine how the head of the Russian armed forces, General Valery Gerasimov, is reportedly p...

18 Mar 42min

Mobile internet blackouts sweep Moscow & quizzing ‘Trump whisperer’ Finnish President Alexander Stubb

Mobile internet blackouts sweep Moscow & quizzing ‘Trump whisperer’ Finnish President Alexander Stubb

Day 1,482.Today, as world leaders gather in London, including President Zelensky, we bring you the latest from Moscow following another major Russian aerial bombardment overnight – and examine how the...

17 Mar 44min

Moscow on lockdown amid largest drone attack of the war & ‘the phone call that saved me from certain death’

Moscow on lockdown amid largest drone attack of the war & ‘the phone call that saved me from certain death’

Day 1,481. Today, after a massive Russian bombardment across Ukraine – including missile launches from warships in the Black Sea – we assess Kyiv’s latest wave of strikes on Russian energy infrastruct...

16 Mar 42min

Trump lifts sanctions on Russian oil as energy prices surge & the ‘leaner, more professional’ partisans in the occupied territories

Trump lifts sanctions on Russian oil as energy prices surge & the ‘leaner, more professional’ partisans in the occupied territories

Day 1,478.Today, as President Zelensky arrives in France for talks with Emmanuel Macron, Britain’s Defence Secretary claims the “hidden hand” of Vladimir Putin is behind Iranian drone strikes targetin...

13 Mar 50min

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