AnewZ Morning Brief - 1 January, 2026
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 1st of January, covering the latest developments you need to k...
Ukrainian and European officials have rejected Moscow's claims that Ukraine targeted a personal residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin with a drone attack this week, an incident that threatens to disrupt U.S.-led peace negotiations heading into the new year.
On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov alleged that Ukraine had tried to attack Putin's residence in the northern Novgorod region with dozens of drones, adding that Moscow would review its negotiating position as a result.
U.S. national security officials have found Ukraine did not target Putin or one of his residences in a drone strike, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
The paper reported the conclusion was supported by a CIA assessment that found no attempt to target Putin or one of his residences. A CIA spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment.
U.S. President Donald Trump initially expressed sympathy for the Russian charge, telling reporters on Monday that Putin had informed him of the alleged incident and that he was "very angry" about it.
Ukraine has denied it carried out such an attack, describing the allegation as a Russian disinformation campaign meant to drive a wedge between Kyiv and Washington after a meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that both sides described as cordial and productive.
In a detailed briefing paper that Ukraine distributed to European Union delegations on Tuesday and seen by Reuters, Kyiv alleged the Russian allegations were designed to "sabotage" agreements made during the South Florida meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy.
On Wednesday, Kaja Kallas, the EU's top diplomat, called Russia's claims "a deliberate distraction."
"No one should accept unfounded claims from the aggressor who has indiscriminately targeted Ukraine's infrastructure and civilians since the start of the war," she wrote on X.
The Russian radio station known as 'Doomsday Radio' (or UVB-76) unexpectedly began playing ‘Swan Lake’, music from a ballet composition. The last time this was done was during the deaths of Soviet-era leaders and the 1991 coup.
Protests in Iran over soaring prices and a plunging rial have spread to universities in Tehran, as students join shopkeepers and bazaar merchants in demanding government action. With inflation above 42% and the rial at record lows, unrest continues to grow across the country.
As Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its fourth year, rising casualties, economic struggles, and mounting unrest expose cracks in society. Despite Kremlin propaganda, frustration is growing as more Russians question the government’s narrative, according to The Washington Post.
The head of Yemen’s Presidential Council, Rashad al-Alimi, has ordered all forces linked to the United Arab Emirates to leave Yemen within 24 hours.
European leaders held talks on Ukraine after Russia said it would revise its negotiating position, citing an alleged Ukrainian drone attack that Kyiv has firmly denied.
Senior officials from the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, met in Beijing this week for talks with Chinese counterparts, marking a rare in-person engagement between the four-nation grouping and China amid heightened strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 1st of January, covering the latest developments you need to know.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his New Year address to the nation, said that Ukraine wanted the war to end, but not at any cost, adding he would not sign a "weak" peace agreement that would only prolong the war.
People around the world said goodbye to a sometimes challenging 2025 and expressed hopes for the new year to come. Midnight arrived first on the islands closest to the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean, including Kiritimati, Tonga and New Zealand.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that Tehran’s answer to any aggression will be decisive and “discouraging” and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged his counterparts to strongly denounce US President Donald Trump’s recent threat of military strike against Iran.
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