Russia has opened a new phase of its air war on Ukraine, combining massed cruise missiles with waves of attack drones to hit major cities and critical infrastructure. The latest strikes have torn into energy systems, housing blocks and heating plants just as winter temperatures bite and diplomats try, and so far fail, to edge talks toward peace.
The pattern is grimly familiar but tactically evolving, with fresh salvos timed to coincide with political milestones, from negotiations in Abu Dhabi to Western aid announcements. I see a campaign designed not only to damage Ukraine’s grid and military industry, but also to send a message to Kyiv’s backers that Russia is prepared to escalate whenever pressure mounts on the battlefield or at the negotiating table.
Missiles and Shahed drones batter Ukraine’s biggest cities
The latest wave of attacks has focused on Ukraine’s largest urban centers, where dense populations and vital infrastructure sit within reach of Russian launchers. Ukrainian officials say Russia has combined cruise and ballistic missiles with Iranian-style Shahed loitering munitions in an effort to overwhelm air defenses and force blackouts in cities already exhausted by years of bombardment. In one of the heaviest recent barrages, Russia fired 25 missiles and a staggering 219 Shahed drones at targets across Ukraine, a figure that illustrates how central these relatively cheap systems have become to Moscow’s strategy.
Those strikes tore into heating and power facilities in Kyiv and other major hubs, leaving residents scrambling for warmth and light. Ukrainian reports describe how Kyiv, Odesa and Dnipro all came under attack in the same overnight assault, a coordinated pattern that points to a deliberate attempt to stretch Ukrainian air defense coverage thin across the map. When I look at those numbers and locations together, it is clear that Russia is not just testing Ukraine’s interceptors; it is trying to force impossible choices about which cities to protect as the stock of missiles and anti-drone ammunition runs down.
Kyiv’s heating system in the crosshairs
Targeting the capital’s heating network has become a signature of this renewed offensive. In the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russian strikes have zeroed in on heating infrastructure in Kyiv, disrupting essential services at the very moment residents rely on them most. Ukrainian accounts describe how Russian attacks on have forced emergency crews to work through the night to restore heat and power, while hospitals and shelters switch to backup generators that are themselves vulnerable to fuel shortages and further strikes.
The human cost is immediate and brutal. When missiles and drones knock out central boilers and power lines, apartment blocks lose radiators, water pipes freeze and elderly residents find themselves trapped in dark stairwells without elevators or reliable communications. Reports from the capital describe at least two people killed when heating facilities were hit in recent attacks, reinforcing how the line between “infrastructure” and “civilian” targets has effectively vanished. As I see it, this focus on Kyiv’s heating grid is not an accident of imprecise weapons but a calculated effort to use cold as a weapon against Ukraine’s population and leadership.
Attacks timed against diplomacy and peace efforts
What makes this latest campaign stand out is not only the volume of firepower, but also the timing. Earlier this year, as delegations gathered in Abu Dhabi to advance an America-led push for talks, Russia carried out a brutal massive missile strike against Ukraine’s two largest cities. Ukrainian officials stressed that the attack came right while negotiators were meeting in Abu Dhabi, a sequence that turned a diplomatic backdrop into a stage for escalation. That brutal massive missile was interpreted in Kyiv as an attempt to show that Moscow would not be pressured into concessions by conferences held far from the front.
Ukrainian leaders have argued that the Kremlin is using these barrages to signal contempt for peace efforts it does not control. One senior figure pointed to how Moscow again targeted energy infrastructure and residential areas during meetings involving the United States and other partners, calling the assault further evidence that the Kremlin is trying to negotiate from a position of terror rather than compromise. In that account, Moscow and the are essentially using every high-level discussion as a cue to remind the world that they retain escalation dominance over Ukraine’s cities, even as their ground forces struggle to achieve decisive breakthroughs.
Nighttime raids and the pressure on Ukraine’s air defenses
Most of these attacks have been launched at night, a tactic that complicates detection and adds psychological pressure on civilians who wake to the sound of explosions and air raid sirens. Ukraine’s air force has reported that Russia launched another drone and missile attack striking major cities overnight, with officials describing how waves of incoming targets forced defenders to fire interceptors in multiple directions at once. In one such episode, Russia launched another that lit up the skies above several regions, leaving debris scattered across residential districts even where missiles were successfully shot down.
The capital has borne the brunt of some of the most intense raids. On a recent Sunday morning, breaking reports described Russia launching a deadly missile and drone attack against Ukraine’s capital, with explosions heard across Kyiv as emergency services rushed to burning buildings and damaged power lines. That Sunday morning attack highlighted a grim reality for Ukraine’s air defenders: even when they manage to intercept a high percentage of incoming weapons, the sheer number of missiles and drones means that fragments and the few that get through can still cause lethal damage in crowded neighborhoods.
Western response and the long war of attrition
As Russia continues to pound Ukraine with drones and missile attacks, Western governments are trying to adapt their support to a conflict that has become a grinding test of endurance. Analysts describe how Russia continues to pound Ukraine with drones and missile attacks, targeting energy infrastructure and residential areas while neither side achieves decisive breakthroughs on the ground, leaving the conflict unresolved as winter drags on. That pattern of stalemate and aerial escalation is captured in reports that Russia continues to with these weapons, using them as a substitute for large-scale maneuver offensives that have proven costly and difficult.
In response, allies are stepping up deliveries of air defense systems, long-range missiles and financial aid. In the United Kingdom, Mr Healey has framed a new package of £500 million worth of missiles as part of a broader effort to hammer what he calls Vladimir Putin’s war machine, arguing that the UK and its partners are more committed than ever as the conflict moves into its fifth year. He has linked this funding directly to the need to help Ukraine withstand relentless drone and missile attacks, presenting it as Britain working in lockstep with the United States and other backers. That message, captured in reports that Mr Healey said the UK would hammer Putin’s war machine, underlines how central the aerial battle has become to Western policymaking.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
