Russian army's advance has slowed at start of year – Estonian Intelligence

Ulyana Krychkovska, Oleksandr Shumilin - 16 January, 17:15

Ukrainian military. Photo: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Ants Kiviselg, the head of the Intelligence Centre of the Estonian Defence Forces, said that despite Russia stepping up attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, the advance of its troops at the beginning of 2026 has been slower than at the end of 2025.

Source: European Pravda, citing ERR, which quotes Kiviselg

Details: Kiviselg said that last week the intensity of military operations along the front line decreased slightly compared to the previous week, but Russia continued to attack Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

Quote from Kiviselg: "Last week, there were on average about 170 combat clashes per day, which is somewhat fewer than the previous week, when there were around 200. Meanwhile, the advance of Russian Federation units at the beginning of this year has been slower than in November and December last year."

Kiviselg said that Russia's main focus has not changed: the most intense fighting continued on the Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad fronts, as well as towards Zaporizhzhia and Huliaipole.

"Russian units managed to advance in the northern part of Kharkiv Oblast, towards Sloviansk, Kostiantynivka and Pokrovsk, as well as in the western part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast," he said.

The official added that over the past week the Armed Forces of Ukraine advanced on the Kupiansk front.

Background:

Last week Kiviselg stated that Russia's use of the Oreshnik ballistic missile in western Ukraine was intended as a signal to the West.
He also noted that Ukraine is increasingly successfully carrying out air strikes against targets in Russia, and given the growing attrition of Russian air defence systems, it can be predicted that Ukrainian drone and missile strikes will inflict ever greater damage on Russia.

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