War

One thousand four hundred and nine days. In Kharkov, 30 people were injured when a rocket hit a five-story building, authorities said. The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that it did not strike the city

Since February 24, 2022, Meduza has been broadcasting live about the Russian-Ukrainian war. We publish your letters in our daily materials because we are sure that we need to continue talking about the war. The year 2025 ended amid unprecedented diplomatic activity and claims by the US and warring parties that this time they were truly close to achieving peace. Do you think these efforts will lead to real results? Do you hope for peace to arrive in the first months of 2026? The feedback form is at the end of this article. A review of the previous day can be read here .

Russia

The Ukrainian military launched a missile attack on the center of Belgorod this morning, said the governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov.

As a result of the attack, three women were injured, two of them were hospitalized, one was treated on the spot.

In addition, Gladkov said, residential buildings and commercial facilities were damaged as a result of the shelling. Windows were broken in three apartment buildings and one private building, and seven cars were damaged.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces did not comment on the incident.

Ukraine

A few hours after the shelling of Belgorod, the center of Kharkov was attacked. As Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said , according to preliminary data, the Russian military fired two missiles at the city.

The head of the Kharkov regional civil administration, Oleg Sinegubov, later clarified that the blow hit a five-story residential building in the Kiev district of the city. The house was completely destroyed and a fire broke out on the spot. Several nearby houses had their windows broken.

According to updated data from the mayor of the city, Igor Terekhov, at least 30 people were injured. Debris clearing continues at the site.

Updated . The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that the Russian military “did not plan or carry out attacks within the city of Kharkov.” The department suggested that in the damaged building (the Russian Ministry of Defense states that this is a shopping center, not a residential building) “there was a high probability of detonation of Ukrainian Armed Forces ammunition.”

War through the eyes of Meduza readers

How we choose letters

Meduza's readers live in different countries and have different attitudes towards the war. We publish your letters to see this event through your eyes. Our editors try to present all points of view, even if they do not coincide with the editorial position. However, in accordance with the Meduza code, we do not publish messages that contain “hate speech,” justify the murder of civilians, or express direct support for an aggressive war.

Stasya (Moscow) . The war has already been mentioned here more than once. War is a nightmare that still doesn’t fit in my head. Plus they broke our destinies, friendships, kinship, made us feel ashamed of our flag, passport and compatriots. One consolation: the majority of compatriots can be convinced back as easily as they easily believed that war is peace, and freedom is slavery. But still, a residue will remain, even when these people again start saying things that are acceptable to me. If someone had told us in 2022 that the nightmare would last four years, we probably would not have taken it out.

But I'm talking about something else. Let's say the war ends. […] I hope, but what remains? Maybe not in the first months, maybe in the second quarter, ok. It will end, people will stop dying, that’s good. But what will this mean for Russia? Maybe the wild draconian laws will be repealed, the foreign agent status will be abolished, and political prisoners will be released? Will censorship be abolished? Will the jammers be turned off? Will they return the Constitution to factory settings and begin to comply? Will the telescreens stop telling us that we are surrounded by enemies? Will the economy miraculously heal, will prices for housing and communal services fall? And IKEA will return.

Probably not (well, unless IKEA returns - nothing personal, business). The current situation will continue. Who knows how long GDP will last. Maybe until 85 - how old will you and I be then? Or he will still please all people of good will, but his place will be taken by some young beneficiary of the existing order, and it is not clear for how long. I would like to leave, but where? There is a feeling that this war turned the whole world inside out and broke it. This world turned out to be flimsy.

Let's think already. Don’t swear, don’t find out who said what about whom, but think about how not to miss the proverbial window of opportunity, how to understand that it will open soon. And if we succeed, what will need to be done to ensure that the nightmare does not repeat itself in front of our grandchildren.

Share your thoughts about the war

"Jellyfish"