Four civilians were killed in Russian shelling across Ukraine on January 8
The National Police reported that as a result of Russian military shelling on January 8, 2026, four civilians were killed in the Kherson region, and nearly four dozen others sustained various injuries, specifically in the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
A house in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast shelled by the Russian military on January 8, 2026Four residents of the Kherson Oblast fell victim to Russian strikes:
- A 63-year-old man in a car that was targeted by a drone on the highway near the village of Taras Shevchenko;
- Three men, aged 39, 51, and 57, from Kherson, sustained fatal injuries during an artillery strike on the city center.
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At least ten civilians in the Kherson region were wounded by enemy shelling on January 8.
Among them were a passenger from the vehicle struck on the highway near the village of Taras Shevchenko, a mother and two children from the village of Tekstylne whose house was hit by Russian artillery overnight, and six other residents of Kherson.
A rescuer extinguishes a fire that broke out in a building in the Donetsk region after a Russian strike on January 8, 2026There were many injuries caused by shelling in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast that day.
In the region, the Russians specifically targeted Kryvyi Rih, which had also been in their crosshairs just a day earlier.
As of the morning of January 9, twenty-three victims were reported from the city, including six children. Some of them sustained injuries after midnight, so they will be included in tomorrow’s daily police report.
A police officer stands near a residential high-rise building hit by the Russian military in Kryvyi Rih on January 8, 2026
A building in Kryvyi Rih was severely damaged after a Russian strikeTwo more civilians were injured by the Russian military in the Donetsk Oblast. A total of over 1,700 strikes were carried out across the region within a 24-hour period, and the victims are residents of Druzhkivka and Dobropillia.
In the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, January 8 concluded with one person injured. This refers to a resident of Hryhorivka, whose house was directly targeted by a Russian military drone.
A hole in the wall of a private house in the Dnipropetrovsk region, left by one of the Russian strikes in the region on January 8, 2026To provide background, on January 7, Russian military shelling also killed four people in Ukraine. In total, over the course of nearly four years, the death toll has exceeded 14,500.
Earlier, the new chief of the UK foreign intelligence service MI6, Blaise Metreweli, accused Russian ruler Vladimir Putin of deliberately prolonging negotiations to put an end to the war in Ukraine, in an assessment that complicates Donald Trump’s efforts to broker a deal by year-end, Bloomberg news agency reported.
Metreweli’s words suggest there has been little alteration in Western security officials’ assessment that Putin doesn’t intend to stop fighting in Ukraine anytime soon, despite talks to end the war that have taken place between the Kremlin and American negotiators in recent weeks.
Ukrainian experts point out that countries including China, North Korea, Hungary, Slovakia, Iran, and Brazil assist Moscow in killing Ukrainians in its war against Ukraine by funding the Russian budget through trade.
Previously, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Ukraine would close its embassy in Cuba and downgrade ties over Havana’s complicity in Russian aggression.
Newly appointed Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN Andriy Melnyk stated in an interview with Suspilne broadcaster that Brazil paid Russia almost $10 billion for 6.5 million tons of diesel.
Over the last three and a half years, China has become a critically important partner for the Russian Federation. While Beijing officially declares its neutrality, Western intelligence and analytical studies indicate otherwise. For instance, China does not supply weapons directly to Russia, but it provides critically important components, including machinery, microelectronics, specialized chemicals, optics, gunpowder, and ammunition components.
In 2024, then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that 70% of heavy industrial equipment and 90% of all microelectronics are sourced from China, which then flows into Russia.
Furthermore, according to recent NATO intelligence data, 80% of all Russian drones consist of Chinese parts.
According to The Telegraph newspaper, Chinese firms supplied sanctioned Russian companies with at least £47 million ($57.4 million USD) worth of parts between 2023 and 2024. Almost a quarter of the value of these supplies went to firms that produce Shahed-type drones.
Moreover, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine stated that China is also providing intelligence to Russia. The Kremlin used this data to prepare missile strikes, particularly against objects belonging to foreign investors, though the specific targets were not clarified. China denies these accusations.
Following the imposition of Western sanctions, Beijing has become a key supplier to Russia of cars, clothing, raw materials, and a range of other goods. In 2023, Russia-China trade turnover set a historic record, exceeding $240 billion, which is more than 60% higher than before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Chinese customs data.
Reuters also reported that China is buying oil and gas from Russia. The average daily volume of oil is more than two million barrels per day. During Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing, the countries signed a document for the supply of 106 billion cubic meters of gas per year to China.
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