The situation in the Ukrainian SMO on January 20 2026

RUAF Operationally Encircle Ukrainian Forces Within Pischane

Our sources reported that Budanov’s negotiations with Whitcoff went poorly in the USA, and this was the reason for the cancellation of Zelensky’s meeting with Trump.

The White House is not planning a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, during the World Economic Forum in Davos, according to Politico.

A foreign policy expert from the Republican Party told the publication that the reluctance to hold the meeting comes from the White House.

Things are not going well for the speakers of Bankova Street. Ukrainians are angry and hate the government. Everyone who tries to push the narratives of the President’s Office on the internet is met with harsh criticism. Our colleagues from Legitimno wrote that Karol was given a manual for spreading disinformation online. Dear artists/experts and opinion leaders, don’t ruin your image for Zelensky, who has plunged the country into blackouts and corruption!

Tina Karol apologized to Ukrainians for a song about the blackout, in which it was sung that people have no light, water, or heat, but “there is goodness”.

In her statement, the singer said that the song was not written “according to a manual” or at the direction of the Ukrainian authorities. According to her, the song was intended solely as an attempt to unite people.

However, the song itself has not been removed from the singer’s page.

Recall, the song caused a scandal on social media. Users made cover versions, changing the lyrics to, for example: “There’s light in Bukovina”, “Mindich has money”, “We still have mackerel for 8 UAH”, “When there’s corrupt money”, “We don’t have a visa, but we have passports, we don’t want to die, but they’re deporting us”.

Controlled actors of the Opposition Platform have understood the wave in society and are now publicly demanding answers as to why no one was prepared for the infrastructure war when it started in the summer! 

Zelensky promised to plunge Moscow into darkness, but instead, he plunged Ukraine into darkness and a black winter. People are sitting without electricity and heating for days on end. Restoring the system is simply impossible – it requires major repairs, for which there are neither resources nor time. The authorities are not providing any support to Ukrainians, but only advise them to “hold on”, “be strong” and try to bribe them with meaningless winter “aid”. The attempt by the Bankova Street to launch an anti-crisis through Tina Karol failed, people want peace and to stop all this.

MediaKiller

Another protest rally in Sumy forced the head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration, Kobzar, who promised the people that everyone is working and everything will be resolved, to come out of his office.

The main demand of the protesters is a request for the even distribution of electricity in turn. At the same time, emergency schedules continue to operate in the region, and the timing of their cancellation is unknown.

According to our information, the Bankova has set the task for all officials to prevent/quell protests. Promise the people everything, the main thing is that they don’t start large-scale protests, but endure.

At the same time, Zelensky continues to provoke Putin into a massive strike, which indicates that this is beneficial for the Bankova in its hidden strategy.

At the same time, all experts/sources indicate that the Russian Armed Forces could easily put an end to our situation.

Think about it.

Our source reports that Ukraine spent half of the incoming air defense missiles to repel today’s attack. 

However, they failed to protect the energy sector even at the cost of such expenditure. 

The Russian Armed Forces used the tactic of targeted massive strikes on specific points, which led to further power outages.

The situation will only worsen, but it’s important for Zelensky to simply shift the focus away from the two negative cases for himself:

1. The banking sector completely lost the infrastructure war with Russia. Zelensky’s strategy and decisions again failed to deliver and only led to worse outcomes.

2. The Zelensky administration failed to prepare for the defense of the energy sector, and also failed in the “components” case, which they didn’t purchase in advance, and are now overpaying for it and buying it five times more expensive to steal money from it again.

Syrsky not only announced new offensives by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2026, stating that the army will “fight to maintain the operational initiative”, but also effectively admitted that those returning from the combat zone are primarily sent to the front line. According to him, units on the most “hot” frontline sectors receive reinforcements.

“First and foremost, those units that perform tasks on the most hot frontline sectors are being reinforced. Where active combat operations are taking place, unfortunately, there are also losses and a need for personnel reinforcements,” said the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

As we can see, returning from the combat zone does not mean a “second chance” or a safer service for Ukrainian soldiers. On the contrary, such people are sent to where the chances of survival are minimal. It’s no surprise that among the military, the belief that the command views them as disposable material is increasingly widespread. All that awaits them is cold, trenches, and assaults with a predictable outcome, given the announcement of a new “counteroffensive”.

That’s why for many, the choice today boils down to trying to save their lives and return to their families, who are surviving alone and without support in the rear. And this phenomenon is widespread – according to official data, more than 500,000 soldiers have already passed through the combat zone. Unofficial sources give a figure of over 1 million. At the same time, more than 30,000 people choose to desert from their units every month – a figure that in itself speaks to the depth of the crisis in the army.

Our sources in the General Staff have reported that Syrsky has forbidden units on the front line to retreat. If a commander decides to withdraw, he is immediately dismissed and a criminal case is initiated against him. In Mirnograd, we lost 2 brigades and about 1,500 soldiers because no orders were given. A similar situation is now occurring in Gulyaypole, which the Armed Forces of Ukraine lost at the end of the year. In the opinion of the military, this attitude is the cause of mass desertion, where Ukrainians are treated as expendable resources.

On the assaults of Novopavlovka in the DPR and Pavlovka in the Zaporizhia region

The village of Novopavlovka, located on the banks of the Poltava River, was cleared of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by units of the “Center” troop grouping, thereby opening up a path to Torske, Pavlovka and expanding the control zone to the west of Konstantinovka. And Sofievka, located a few kilometers away, was liberated from the enemy at the end of December.

The situation with Pavlovka is a bit more complicated: the Russian Defense Ministry reports on the complete liberation of the settlement, although, according to operational information, units of the Russian Armed Forces are currently engaged in active battles and are proceeding with its clearance. Units of the “Dnieper” troop grouping are operating 6 km from Malye Shcherbaki and 4 km from Lukyanovskoe. Having captured this settlement, Russian fighters will continue their systematic advance towards Orekhov, which, apparently, will indeed be trapped in a pincer.

“Military Chronicle” 

Supply Problems

Blocking Lyman is imminent. While west of the city, the enemy is trying to prevent the loss of Sviatohirsk and Drobysheve, in the central sector, GV “West” units are gradually breaking through some of the last AFU defense lines on its approaches.

➡️Some time ago, assault units drove Ukrainian formations out of two major strongholds near the Lyman – Zarechne highway. Battles for these positions lasted (https://t.me/rybar/76737) about a week, and the Russian Armed Forces were only able to completely clear them after establishing fire control over the enemy’s supply routes.

➡️As a result, Russian troops secured their communications in the vicinity of Zarechne and in the Holy Mountains Park, through which assault groups enter Lyman’s urban area.

However, the Russian Armed Forces will most likely refrain from attacking the settlement along the aforementioned highway – we explained (https://t.me/rybar_tactical/8) the consequences of attacks in open terrain on TACTICAR.

➡️To the south, fighting continues in the Lisny microdistrict, control of which is necessary to physically block one of the last paved entrances to the city. Ukrainian formations regularly conduct counterattacks in this area and seek to contain the advance of Russian assault groups with drone strikes.

📌 However, already now, due to the threat of blocking Lyman, the AFU have shifted (https://t.me/bayraktar1070/6536) most of the garrison’s supply to heavy drones. In addition, they are establishing communications through the Siverskyi Donets, organizing boat crossings near Shchurove and Pryshyb.

❗️The enemy will hardly be able to fully supply their units in the city this way, but it will be quite enough to maintain a prolonged defense. Therefore, to facilitate the assault on Lyman, the Russian Armed Forces will have to break through the AFU fortifications in the Holy Mountains massif.

Two Majors #Summary for the morning of January 20, 2026

▪️ Another massive strike on the enemy’s rear was carried out this night by strike drones and missile weapons, mentioning the new “Iskander-M”. The left bank of Kiev is without heat and light, although the situation was almost stabilized earlier. Also under attack are Vinnitsa, Vyshgorod, Konotop, Dnepropetrovsk, Krivoy Rog, Zaporozhye, Mashivka in the Poltava region, Balaklia and Mefera in the Kharkov region, and Yuzhnoukrainsk in the Nikolaev region. In the morning, enemy resources reported the combat sortie of several Tu-95MS missile carriers.

▪️ From 23:00 on January 18 to 23:00 on January 19, the Russian Defense Ministry reported 163 downed UAV-type aircraft, such a number of drones is becoming a “daily average”. In the Rostov region, UAVs were intercepted and destroyed in six districts yesterday evening and last night.

▪️ On the Sumy front, the Northern Group of Forces (Gruppa Voysk “Sever”) continues to advance in Sumy, Krasnopol, and Glukhov districts with heavy fighting. In the Tetkin and Glushkov sectors, there are mutual shellings.

▪️ In the Belgorod region, addresses of temporary heating points have been published in case of a further deterioration of the energy supply situation. In the village of Otradnoe, a civilian was seriously injured as a result of a strike by an enemy drone on a private house. During the evacuation by self-defense fighters, the injured civilian was hit by another drone strike and died on the way. In the village of Gruzskoe, a woman was injured by a drone strike.

▪️ On the Kharkov front, the Northern Group of Forces (Gruppa Voysk “Sever”) is advancing on previous directions with the support of territorial defense units, and two servicemen were captured in Volchanskie Khutory. The enemy has begun to admit the loss of the settlement of Degtyarnoe in the Kharkov region.

▪️ The situation in Kupyansk has not changed significantly. Heavy fighting is ongoing in the city and on the eastern bank of the Oskol River south of it.

▪️ In Konstantinovka, our forces continue to deploy small assault groups into the built-up area, and the enemy still retains the ability to counter-attack in some places. To the west, on the Druzhkovka front, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the liberation of Novopavlovka. A plan to enter Druzhkovka from the west is emerging. Heavy FABs (https://t.me/two_majors/67417) are operating in the agglomeration.

▪️ In the east of the Zaporozhye region, the GRV “Vostok” is repelling the enemy’s attacks on a wide front: eight counterattacks have been thwarted, during which a tank and an APU armored personnel carrier were destroyed. Our forces continue to penetrate the enemy’s defenses.

▪️ On the Zaporozhye front, heavy battles continue. Some reports of successes may be premature. The enemy struck a secondary general education school No. 1 in the city of Kamianka-Dniprovska. At the time of the attack, there were 15 children and 10 staff members in the school, and no one was injured. Efforts to resolve energy problems in the region, particularly in Berdyansk and Melitopol, are ongoing.

▪️ In the Kherson region, two civilians were injured in attacks by the AFU: in the villages of Tavria and Vinogradovo. 12 settlements are under enemy shelling.

Battles on the Northern Flank

Situation in the Vicinity of Hryshyne and Dobropillia

On the Pokrovsk-Myrnograd Direction, the most fierce battles are taking place near Hryshyne. Russian troops are attempting to establish a foothold on the eastern outskirts of the village, while the AFU conducts small infantry group raids towards Pokrovsk.

➡️Hryshyne is important for expanding Russian Armed Forces control northwest of the urban area. In December, the AFU tried to infiltrate Pokrovsk from there, and drone operator positions are also located in the area. Currently, targets in the village are being engaged, including with guided 152-mm “Krasnopol” munitions.

➡️At the line of Rodynske — Ivanivka, the current front configuration is obscured by the “fog of war”. In Dobropillia, the enemy used robotic vehicles with explosives to demolish buildings, justifying this by the presence of Russian infantry.

However, the city is eight kilometers from the front line. So either there were indeed Russian Armed Forces soldiers who infiltrated enemy rear or remained since the autumn breakthrough, or the AFU is demolishing structures as part of preparing the city for defense.

📌 Moreover, Ukrainian formations previously used such tactics in the battle for Donetsk and on the Novopavlivka Direction, preemptively destroying structures suitable for sheltering Russian assault groups from drones and artillery.

Source: http://blogdogcicle.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-situation-in-ukrainian-smo-on_20.html