Russia in January 2026: the most important developments in politics
In January 2026, Russian politics was shaped by the dispute over Greenland, talks on Ukraine and the fallout from the U.S. operation in Venezuela. On 20 January Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov compared Crimea to Greenland, saying Crimea is as vital for Russian security as Greenland is for the United States and calling Greenland's status within Denmark a colonial legacy. The Kremlin later accused UN Secretary-General António Guterres of a double standard on Crimea and Greenland. Donald Trump said Russia or China would take over Greenland if the United States did not act; Russia called talk of a Moscow-Beijing threat a myth, its ambassador said Russia has no territorial claims, and on 22 January Vladimir Putin said who owns Greenland is of no concern to Russia.
Diplomacy on Ukraine moved forward. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Putin in Moscow on 22 January, and on 23 and 24 January Russia, Ukraine and the United States held their first trilateral talks, in Abu Dhabi, which ended without a breakthrough; the Kremlin called them constructive, while Russian officials said Ukraine must give up territory. Russian strikes hit Kyiv and Kharkiv during the talks. On 29 January Russia invited Zelensky to Moscow and Lavrov rejected a truce proposal from Kyiv; on 30 January Zelensky invited Putin to Kyiv. The Kremlin confirmed that Putin agreed to Trump's request to pause strikes on Kyiv for about a week, until 1 February, and Russian and U.S. officials called talks in Florida on 31 January constructive.
Russia condemned the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the seizure of a Russian-flagged tanker. On Iran, Putin spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iran's president on 16 January and met Iran's top security official, Ali Larijani, on 30 January, while Moscow warned Washington of disastrous consequences if Iran were attacked.
Elsewhere, Syrian President al-Sharaa met Putin in Moscow on 28 January to discuss military assistance and Russia's bases. Moldova proceeded with leaving the Commonwealth of Independent States.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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