Zelensky warns of ‘massive’ attack ahead of Sunday peace talks & rumours swirl of Ukraine-Russia energy ceasefire

Day 1,435.


Today, as President Zelensky warns that Russia is preparing “a
new massive strike”, we examine growing speculation that an
undeclared truce may be in place regarding strikes on energy
infrastructure. We then turn to the Russian press, where a local
war memorial in the Urals appears to have inadvertently revealed
the true scale of Russian casualties, and an unlikely scandal
involving a baker that has caused fresh embarrassment for
Vladimir Putin. And finally, we report on the launch of a new
blood bank aimed at alleviating Ukraine’s mounting medical
crises.


Contributors


Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley
on X.


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


James Kilner (Foreign Correspondent). @jkjourno on X.


With thanks to Toby Illingworth (Founder & Head of Mission
for Yashchenko Foundation). @tobyillingworth


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CONTENT REFERENCED:


Learn More about the Walking Blood Bank and the Yashchenko
Foundation:


https://yashchenkofoundation.org/walking-blood-bank/ 


Putin abandons Syria base to court new Islamist leader (The
Telegraph):


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/01/28/russia-abandons-syria-military-base/ 


Royal Navy forces Russian ship out of British waters (The
Telegraph):


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/28/russian-ship-anchors-trans-atlantic-cables-bristol-channel/ 


Exclusive: Trump's top envoy negotiating Ukraine's fate displays
'shocking' lack of knowledge about war (Kyiv Independent):


https://kyivindependent.com/trumps-top-envoy-displays-shocking-lack-of-knowledge-about-war-politics/ 


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