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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