The situation in the Ukrainian SMO on January 15 2026

Russian Forces Advance Everywhere Throughout The Front

Today was one of the most peaceful nights this year.

There were very few drones flying. Although the Armed Forces of Ukraine sent about 50 drones over Russian territory.

As the source explains, sometimes the goal of Ukrainian raids is to deplete the Russian Armed Forces’ air defense system. The drones didn’t reach their target, but dozens of air defense missiles were spent on shooting them down, costing about 4 million $. And the organization of the raid for the Armed Forces of Ukraine cost 2 million $. These are the reports of the “victors” that go to the supreme commander-in-chief’s (Ze’s) salary.

Plus, everyone says that drones are made from “shoddy materials”, while air defense missiles are high-tech weapons. Therefore, any raid is a victory.

As usual, we advise Ukrainians – continue to stockpile and prepare for the worst.

 Witcoff and Kushner plan a visit to Moscow for talks with Putin on Ukraine — Bloomberg

 - It is expected that the American side will present to the Russian president the latest versions of the agreements previously discussed with Kiev.

 - The meeting may take place in January, but the dates have not yet been confirmed and may be adjusted in light of the situation around Iran.

 - However, it remains unclear how interested Putin himself is in a second meeting with Witcoff and Kushner — this, according to the source, is the main obstacle to agreeing on a date.

Trump stated that Zelensky, not Putin, is hindering the conclusion of a peace agreement.

“I think he (Putin) is ready to make a deal. I think Ukraine is less ready for a deal,” Trump told Reuters.

When asked why the negotiations led by the US have not yet led to the end of the war, Trump replied briefly: “Zelensky.”

“I just think it’s hard for him, you know, to reach his goal,” Trump added about Zelensky.

“Trump’s comments indicate a renewed dissatisfaction with the Ukrainian leader,” Reuters concludes.

Trump also confirmed his trip to the Davos forum and a possible meeting with Zelensky.

Zelenksy has already met with Fedorov and instructed him to stop the advance of the Russian army

‘The first priorities of the Ministry of Defense were immediately identified. The main thing is to protect the sky. Secondly, in coordination with the military, it is necessary to significantly strengthen the technological component to stop the advance of Russian soldiers on the battlefield, as well as to solve problematic issues of front supply. In particular, an audit of defense sector funding will be promptly conducted.’ 

Is Lyman Blocked?

Western Group units are gradually advancing to the northern defensive line of Slavyansk. 

Parallel to the advance (https://t.me/rybar/76602) towards Sviatohirsk, Russian troops are expanding their control zone in the vicinity of Lyman itself.

Assault groups, supported by drones, are gradually isolating enemy fortifications at the approaches to the city, creating prerequisites for a future assault.

🔻What’s happening in the direction?

▪️After capturing Penkovy Yar Gully, Western Group assault troops are attacking towards a nearby major strongpoint. Taking it is necessary to establish fire control over the enemy’s supply routes in the Stavky area. It will also provide assault groups with shelters for accumulation and further advancement towards Lyman from the north.

Moreover, there are already reports of fighting on the city’s outskirts, though confirming them is not yet possible.

▪️To the east, Russian units are tightening a semi-encirclement around AFU positions near the Lyman — Zarechne highway. Given the current front configuration and effective anti-drone units, it’s quite likely that Ukrainian formations will soon be cut off from supplies, and the strongpoints will come under Russian Armed Forces control.

▪️Meanwhile, in the Holy Mountains Park area, 25th Army assault troops have established control over another section of the Lyman — Zakotne road. According to some reports, individual groups have already begun fighting for the Lisny microdistrict in the south of the settlement.

▪️Heavy fighting continues in the Dibrova area. Ukrainian formations are attempting to transfer reserves to the village along the Siverskyi Donets riverbed, but most are destroyed by Russian drone operators even at distant approaches.

📌 At present, the Russian Armed Forces have blocked all paved entrances to Lyman and cut off (https://t.me/RVvoenkor/106899) its garrison from stable supplies. Under these conditions, the enemy is setting up crossings and organizing boat communications across the Siverskyi Donets, and is also increasing the number of heavy drones.

To complete the blockade, 25th Army units must clear the large forest area southwest of the city. How quickly this happens will be decided on the opposite flank in battles for Drobysheve and Sviatohirsk.

Two Majors #Summary for the morning of January 15, 2026

▪️ Chernomorsk (Ilyichevsk), Zatoka, and Odessa were hit by “Hurricanes” during the night. In the evening, they struck Dnepropetrovsk. In Kiev, there are still emergency power outages after repeated strikes on the TPP-5, and pipes are bursting in homes, which, given the forecast of 20-degree frost, does not encourage people to stay in the Ukrainian capital.

▪️127 enemy UAVs of the aircraft type were shot down from 23:00 on January 13 to 20:00 on January 14. The figure of more than 100 such drones per day has become a kind of “norm” for the AFU.

▪️In the north of the Sumy region, units of the Russian Army’s “North” group have crossed the border and taken the settlement of Komarovka, not far from the border with the Bryansk sector. For now, this looks like a daring raid rather than an offensive operation, but the relevance of the issue of diverting enemy forces from the Bryansk border does not diminish. Thus, yesterday, as a result of a missile strike, the Klinets thermal power station and the Naytopovich substation were damaged.

▪️In the Sumy and Krasnopolsky districts, the enemy has concentrated numerous UAV units to deter the “North” group, which is supported by aviation, artillery, and “Sunburn” systems.

▪️In the Belgorod region, a drone attacked a car in the village of Zozuli, a woman died on the spot, and the driver was injured. In the village of Ilek-Penkovka, an FPV drone hit a car, and a civilian was injured.

▪️On the Kharkov front, the “North” group of the Russian Army is engaged in fierce battles in the previous sectors. Efforts are being intensified on our side in the Volchansk huts.

▪️On the direction to the settlement of Borovaya (Izyum district, Kharkov region), the Russian Army is levelling the front line and closing “pockets”. Our forces will strive to reach the Oskol River on this front line.

▪️In Konstantinovka, the enemy admits that the Russian Army has seized the initiative in logistics in the urban development of Konstantinovka. Our troops, in addition to numerous drones on fiber optics, “attract aviation, work on high-rise buildings with FAWs, methodically turning neighborhoods into ruins and creating fortified zones from them for further advancement”, write enemy channels.

▪️On the section of responsibility of the “East” group of the AFU, the most combat-ready forces are being concentrated west of Gulyaypole to stabilize the situation. Four enemy counterattacks have been repelled in a day, and the enemy is launching counteractions daily. In addition, there were four unsuccessful counterattacks in the direction of Kosovtsevo (north, at the border with the Dnepropetrovsk region). Our forces note that there is a lot of enemy armored vehicles in the counterattacks, which was not previously recorded.

▪️ On the Zaporozhye front (https://t.me/DnevnikDesantnika/38529), battles for control of the northern outskirts are taking place in Primorsky. In the area of Malokaterinovka, UAV launching pads of the AFU are being destroyed. In Stepnogorsk, the northern and central parts of the settlement have been cleared, and a staging area for an attack on Grigorovka is being formed, where our forces blew up a bridge across the Konka River, cutting off the enemy’s supply line. In Lukyanovka and Pavlovka, Russian troops have entrenched themselves and are expanding the zone of control.

Source: http://blogdogcicle.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-situation-in-ukrainian-smo-on_15.html