Waves of Ukrainian explosive drones smash Russian oil tanks, gasoline depots and substations across Russia, causing massive blackouts, as kyiv tries to put the Kremlin on the defensive at home.
Ukraine unleashed devastating waves of drone attacks on Russia overnight, causing widespread fires and damage to Russian refineries and petrochemical plants. Tens of thousands of Russians were affected by power cuts and blackouts due to the attack, while millions of pounds worth of damage was also caused to the Kremlin’s power plants.
Several regions suffered blackouts when substations, including Volgorod and Kursk, were hit in the attacks, aimed at revenge for the Kremlin’s missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. Both sides are now locked in a bitter exchange of missiles aimed at cutting off heating and power supplies as the big winter freeze approaches on both sides of the border.
A British security source told the Daily Mirror: “This war doesn’t look like it will end anytime soon, so Ukraine’s attacks inside Russia are an important part of its strategy. It serves in many ways, reminding ordinary Russians that the war affects them too, putting the Kremlin at a disadvantage at home and also crippling Putin’s war chest through energy exports.”
And it comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently revealed that Russia has amassed approximately 170,000 troops in the eastern Donetsk region. This is aimed at seizing the strategic stronghold of Pokroksk, which would serve as a key transportation hub into Ukraine for the Russian military.
Zelensky on Friday described the situation in Pokrovsk as “difficult”, while refuting Russian claims that the devastated city is surrounded after more than a year of intense fighting. He admitted that some Russian units had infiltrated, but maintained that Ukrainian defenders were actively “eliminating” them.
Ukrainian drones attacked a petrochemical plant nearly 1,000 miles inside Russia early this morning, as kyiv continues to step up long-range airstrikes against Russian infrastructure. The head of the Bashkortostan region, Radiy Khabirov, said on Telegram that two Ukrainian drones attacked the Sterlitamak industrial complex after being shot down.
Authorities said the drones partially destroyed a water treatment facility at the complex, causing widespread damage and reducing its ability to operate. Ukrainian officials have not commented on the attack as kyiv continues to attack key facilities such as oil refineries, gas storage depots and other logistics facilities.
In addition to reminding Russian civilians that President Vladimir Putin’s so-called “special military operation” is a real war, it also aims to destroy Moscow’s war machine. Repeated attacks on ammunition depots and transportation hubs have damaged Russia’s ability to supply frontline troops with vehicles and supplies to sustain their attack.
kyiv has asked the United States for long-range weapons such as Tomahawk missiles, which it says are crucial to counterattacking Russia as the Kremlin steps up airstrikes against Ukraine. But US President Donald Trump appeared to oppose the idea as he tries to mediate a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, telling reporters he hoped the conflict would end “without thinking about Tomahawks”.
He has also expressed concern about giving up Tomahawks, which have a range of 1,500 miles and suggests they could be needed by the US military. Moscow previously warned Washington against providing Tomahawks to Ukraine, and Russian President Vladimir Putin said such deliveries would represent a “completely new stage of escalation” between the United States and Russia.
Also in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region, a drone attack set fire to an industrial zone in Kstovo, home to the massive Lukoil-Nizhegorodnaftoorgsintez refinery and the SIBUR-Kstovo petrochemical plant. And Ukraine is also preparing more attacks with its new self-made Flamingo and Ruta missiles in combat. The Flamingo is a long-range Ukrainian missile presented in August, while the Ruta is a “drone missile” that underwent testing in December 2024.
The war has dragged on since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, which was repulsed within months by Ukraine’s fierce defense of its cities. But the changing US President Donald Trump has repeatedly changed his mind on his support for Ukraine, even hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is wanted for war crimes.
