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(1063)

US joins Russia and Ukraine in first trilateral talks of the war & Trump under fire for claiming NATO allies ‘avoided’ Afghanistan frontline

US joins Russia and Ukraine in first trilateral talks of the war & Trump under fire for claiming NATO allies ‘avoided’ Afghanistan frontline

Day 1,429.Today, as President Trump prompts further outrage with his claim NATO troops “avoided the frontline” in Afghanistan, we consider whether President Zelensky was right to call out Europe in hi...

23 Jan 55min

Zelensky launches attack on Europe's leaders & Trump predicts Ukraine war will end ‘soon’

Zelensky launches attack on Europe's leaders & Trump predicts Ukraine war will end ‘soon’

Day 1,428.Today, as President Zelensky savages Europe’s leaders at Davos, especially for blocking the use of frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine, we assess President Trump’s apparent retreat from hi...

22 Jan 57min

Ukraine aims to kill 50,000 Russians per month & Trump row over Greenland derails postwar deal

Ukraine aims to kill 50,000 Russians per month & Trump row over Greenland derails postwar deal

Day 1,427.Today, as Donald Trump heads to Davos with what he calls “good news” about Greenland, we examine prime minister of Canada Mark Carney’s extraordinary speech at Davos where he warned that we ...

21 Jan 48min

Russia 'risks meltdown' by targeting nuclear power plants & Trump leaks world leaders' texts

Russia 'risks meltdown' by targeting nuclear power plants & Trump leaks world leaders' texts

Day 1,426.Today, as Moscow reportedly tests thermobaric munitions on ground-based drones, and strikes on substations connected to Ukrainian nuclear power plants continue, we turn to the World Economic...

20 Jan 45min

Trump hands Putin ‘the prize he’s always wanted’ over Greenland & Ukraine’s robot machine gunner ‘held off Russia for six weeks’

Trump hands Putin ‘the prize he’s always wanted’ over Greenland & Ukraine’s robot machine gunner ‘held off Russia for six weeks’

Day 1,425.Today, amid the gravest crisis for the transatlantic alliance in decades over the fate of Greenland, we examine the implications of Russia considering strikes on substations supplying Ukrain...

19 Jan 56min

Europe overtakes US intelligence support for Kyiv & Trump ‘gifted’ a Nobel Peace Prize

Europe overtakes US intelligence support for Kyiv & Trump ‘gifted’ a Nobel Peace Prize

Day 1,422.Today, as Trump is finally gifted a Nobel Peace Prize – just not quite the one he wants – we hear how Germany has denied a Russian shadow-fleet tanker access to the Baltic Sea, and assess Em...

16 Jan 57min

Russia forces African recruits to become suicide bombers & Zelensky declares ‘state of emergency’

Russia forces African recruits to become suicide bombers & Zelensky declares ‘state of emergency’

Day 1,421.Today, as President Zelensky declares a national emergency over the energy crisis triggered by Russian attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure, we ask what Europe’s strategy is now, before exami...

15 Jan 45min

France pushes to block Ukraine from buying US weapons & Moscow’s ‘glee’ at Trump’s Greenland gambit

France pushes to block Ukraine from buying US weapons & Moscow’s ‘glee’ at Trump’s Greenland gambit

Day 1,420.Today, as reports emerge that a Russian air-defence missile has struck a residential building in the city of Rostov-on-Don, we examine claims that France is pushing to prevent Ukraine from p...

14 Jan 48min

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