Ukrainian drones have wiped out 15 of Putin‘s military aircraft on Russian airfield deep behind the front lines.
Dramatic footage showed drones successfully striking the planes across five different military airfields.
Ukraine’s spy service, the SBU, claimed to have taken out 11 Sukhoi and MiG fighter jets, three helicopters and an Antonov An-26 cargo plane.
It said that these aircraft were worth more than $1billion.
The SBU said its top Alpha unit was behind the strikes. Su-30SM and Su-34 jets, some of the Kremlin’s most important frontline planes, were destroyed alongside older Su-27 and Su-24 planes, which are used to hit Ukraine.
Ukraine also destroyed MiG-31 interceptors. These are a key part of Russia‘s air defence system, and are often used to launch hypersonic Kinzhal missiles.
The three choppers – a Mi-8, a Mi-26 and a Mi-28 – will have hurt Russia’s transport and logistics capabilities.
Dramatic footage showed drones successfully striking the planes across five different military airfield
Ukraine’s spy service, the SBU, claimed to have taken out 11 Sukhoi and MiG fighter jets, three helicopters and an Antonov An-26 cargo plane
The SBU said that these aircraft were worth more than $1billion
The SBU added that fuel and ammo depots were also destroyed in the operation.
The strikes come just weeks after the same Alpha unit destroyed or disabled an estimated $4billion worth of Russian air defence systems.
Missile launchers including the S-300, S-350 and S-400, as well as advanced radar systems were hit.
Though the destruction of the aircraft gave the SBU much to celebrate over, a senior Ukrainian lawmaker today said that life will be particularly tough for Ukrainians over the next three weeks due to plunging temperatures and intense Russian attacks on the energy system that have already deprived millions of light and heat.
Despite progress in peace talks that has led to trilateral negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the United States for the first time, Russia has stepped up bombardments beyond the front line that stretches across eastern and southern Ukraine.
Temperatures of below -20 degrees Celsius are expected in the northern and eastern part of Ukraine next week, according to official forecasts, extremely low for the country.
‘The bad news is that there will indeed be frosts, and it will be difficult,’ Andriy Gerus, the head of the parliament’s energy committee, told the national TV channel, Marathon.
‘The good news is that we need to hold out for three weeks, and then it will get easier,’ he added, citing predicted warmer temperatures and increased solar power from longer days.
The last two Russian missile and drone attacks on the capital Kyiv in January left about a million people without electricity and 6,000 apartment buildings without heating. After weeks of repairs, about 700 buildings still lack heat.
That picture is replicated across the country, with northern and eastern Ukraine, home to major cities including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Sumy, regularly targeted, resulting in power restrictions for industry and power cuts for consumers.
People warm themselves at a bonfire at a party with DJ and food at a sports ground in a neighborhood left without electricity after recent Russian strikes on the capital’s civilian infrastructure, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, during sub-zero temperatures in Kyiv, Ukraine January 24, 2026
A firefighter works in a residential area damaged during overnight Russian drone strikes, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine January 28, 2026
Servicemen from the brigade firing BM-21 Grad MLRS at an undisclosed location near the frontline city of Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, 24 January 2026
Attacks on power stations, the energy transmission system and the gas sector have long been key elements of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched by Russia in February 2022. Moscow says it is seeking to undermine Ukraine’s ability to fight.
The head of Ukraine’s largest private power producer DTEK told Reuters last week that Ukraine is nearing a ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ due to the damage to its energy systems amidst the freezing temperatures, calling for a ceasefire on attacks on energy assets. Kyiv has targeted Russian oil processing infrastructure to reduce state revenues funding the war.
Ukraine’s solar energy association said around 1.5 gigawatts of new solar capacity was commissioned by Ukraine in 2025 and the total installed solar capacity in Ukraine exceeded 8.5 gigawatts, including residential installations.
The volume is higher than the installed capacity of all three Ukrainian-controlled nuclear power plants of 7.7 gigawatts – and helped the country cope during repairs to those plants last summer – but output depends on the weather.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said this month Ukraine’s damaged energy system was meeting only 60% of the country’s electricity needs this winter, with electricity generation capacity of 11 gigawatts against a need of 18 gigawatts.
Maximum electricity imports from EU countries, combined with power cuts across entire regions, are allowing the system to remain balanced nevertheless.
