Victory Chronicles-DAY 1416

Nearly half of Kyiv’s apartment buildings numbering about 6,000 are without heat after a Russian overnight aerial strike severely damaged the capital’s critical infrastructure, Mayor Vitali Klitschko says. 

The nearly five-hour airborne attack occurred during a period of falling temperatures that dipped below freezing levels, compounding risks for residents across the city.

Klitschko said the city is also experiencing disruptions to water supply. Utility workers have prioritized hospitals, maternity wards and other social facilities, reconnecting them to heat using mobile boiler units. Crews are working alongside energy specialists to restore electricity and heating to residential buildings, he added.

The mayor describes the combined missile and drone attack overnight on Jan. 9 as the most damaging to Kyiv’s critical infrastructure in recent months. City services are operating under emergency conditions as weather forecasts point to colder days ahead.

Klitschko has urged residents who have the option to temporarily leave the city for places with alternative heat and power sources to consider doing so.

Russian strike damages dozens of apartment buildings in Kryvyi Rih, officials say. A Russian strike on a residential neighborhood in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih damaged 36 apartment buildings, one of them which was nearly destroyed, local officials said. The attack took place on Jan. 8, according to Oleksandr Vilkul, who heads the city’s defense council.

Ten buildings sustained severe damage, with windows blown out across the area and roofs damaged on nine structures. More than 20 passenger vehicles and several business properties were also hit. Consequently, utility services were disrupted: four buildings lost electricity, four lost gas supply — two completely – and about 20 buildings were left without heating after pipes were damaged. Repair crews are working to restore services.

Ukraine finds fragments of Russian ballistic missile after strike in Lviv region. Ukraine’s Security Service says it has recovered fragments of a Russian ballistic missile used in an overnight strike on the Lviv region, offering rare physical evidence of the projectile involved. 

Officials say preliminary analysis indicates the remains belong to an Oreshnik (Hazel) missile, following an attack late on Jan. 8 into Jan. 9. Investigators reported finding key components, including a stabilization and guidance unit that is described as the missile’s control center along with parts of the propulsion system, orientation mechanism and separation-stage nozzles. 

The fragments were documented at the site and registered as physical evidence for further forensic examination. The strike targeted civilian infrastructure, the Security Service says, and has been classified as a war crime under Ukrainian law. Lviv lies far from the front lines and is located near the Polish border, and attacks in the region underscore Ukraine’s claims that Russia continues to use high-powered weapons against civilian areas well beyond active combat zones. Oreshnik is a new Russian intermediate-range ballistic missile that was publicly unveiled in 2024. 

According to Russian statements, it is designed to strike high-value targets at long distances and is claimed to be difficult to intercept due to its very high speed and complex flight profile. However, detailed technical information has not been independently verified, and much of what is known comes from official Russian messaging rather than open, confirmed sources.

Russian strikes hit hospital and city center in Kherson, injuring civilians. Russian forces struck a hospital and the central part of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Jan. 9, injuring at least three civilians, regional officials say. The Kherson Regional Military Administration said the first attack occurred around noon, hitting a medical facility and damaging one of its wards.

Two nurses were injured in the strike, suffering blast injuries and concussions. They are receiving medical treatment, officials said. About 30 minutes later, Russian fire hit the city center. A 73-year-old woman who was outside at the time was wounded by shrapnel, sustaining blast injuries to her arm. She was taken to a hospital in moderate condition.

Kherson, which sits along the Dnipro River near the front line, remains under frequent Russian shelling despite having no active military targets in many of the affected areas, Ukrainian officials say.

Key Takeaways

1. Preliminary unconfirmed reports suggested that Russian forces may have conducted an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) strike against Lviv Oblast on the night of January 8, but Ukrainian officials have not yet confirmed these reports.
2. The Kremlin again explicitly rejected the security guarantees for Ukraine that the United States and Europe are currently finalizing with Ukraine as part of a peace agreement.
3. The owner of the Russian-flagged Bella-1 oil tanker that the US Coast Guard seized on January 7 is reportedly affiliated with Russian efforts to evade sanctions against the Venezuelan oil sector.
4. Russia appears to be attempting to distance itself from the Bella-1 oil tanker even as it seeks to protect other likely shadow fleet vessels.
5. The Russian military command reportedly continues to create new military units and formations but will likely struggle to staff them to their full doctrinal end strength.
6. The United Kingdom provided Ukraine with air defense systems amidst Russia’s escalating long-range drone and missile strikes against Ukrainian civilian and critical infrastructure.
7. Russian forces recently advanced in Sumy Oblast.

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• Ukrainian intelligence says over half of Russia’s main tank and armored vehicle producers remain unsanctioned