The situation 1402 – January 22, 2026

1. Ukrainian and US officials continued meetings in Switzerland on January 22.
2. Putin is trying to use Trump’s Board of Peace to curry favor with Trump and negotiate the release of frozen Russian assets to fuel the Russian economy.
3. There is conflicting reporting about possible US, Ukrainian, and Russian meetings in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on January 23 and 24.
4. The Russian military command is reportedly prioritizing the provision of light motorized vehicles to Russian troops, further demonstrating how the Russian military is optimizing itself for positional warfare.
5. The Russian military command is reportedly introducing a tactical-level situational awareness system to help streamline battlefield decision-making, seeking to use artificial intelligence to compensate for the low level of junior officer training and initiative in the Russian military, among other things.
6. The Russian General Staff is reportedly creating a new drone brigade that will incorporate a large variety of unmanned systems, likely as part of wider efforts to centralize drone units in the Russian military.
7. European states are increasingly seizing Russian shadow fleet tankers following a series of similar US actions in recent weeks.
8. Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov dismissed five deputy defense ministers on January 22.
9. Ukrainian forces recently advanced in the Kostyantynivka-Druzhkivka tactical area and in eastern Zaporizhia Oblast. Russian forces recently advanced near Slovyansk, in the Dobropillya tactical area, and near Pokrovsk and Novopavlivka.

The full update of the Russian offensive 1402 is available on UNDERSTANDING WAR.