Air War over Ukraine - Cities Are Freezing
In this installment of the series, we cover the period from January 1, 2026 to January 31, 2026. During this month, Russia focused on attacks against energy infrastructure — power plants, heating plants, substations. The goal is to terrorize the civilian population with freezing temperatures. Apart from intensive shelling, not much happened in the air. There were several drone attacks on Ukrainian airfields, but their results were mixed.
At the turn of the year, two events related
to the drone attacks took place. First, Russian
Foreign Minister Lavrov accused Ukraine of
attacking the residence of Russian President
Putin near Lake Valdai in the Novgorod region.
According to Lavrov, all 91 Ukrainian drones
were shot down, Putin was not at the residence,
and no one was injured.
The problem is that no air alert was declared
in the area, local residents did not hear any
explosions that would normally accompany air
defense operations and falling drone debris,
and even the Russian military initially reported
Ukrainian drone attacks in completely different
areas — just not near Putin’s residence.
Lavrov’s claims were also rejected by foreign
intelligence services. It was merely another lie
aimed at disrupting peace negotiations.
The second incident involved Denis Kapustin,
commander of the Russian Legion fighting on
Ukraine’s side. At the end of last year, reports
emerged that he had been killed in a drone
attack in the Zaporizhzhia region. A week later,
however, it became clear that the report was
false. It was part of a secret operation that had
lasted for over a month. Russian intelligence
services had ordered Kapustin’s assassination,
but Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR)
learned about the plan. They staged a video
showing an FPV drone attacking Kapustin
near a vehicle. The footage was cut off at the
moment of “impact.” Subsequently, another
drone recorded the vehicle engulfed in flames.
The Russian Legion announced that Kapustin
had died and that they would avenge his death.
Together with the drone footage, this served as
proof, and the Russians paid the “perpetrator”
half a million dollars. In reality, the money was
collected by HUR, which later released a video
showing Kapustin alive.
Russian Shame
While these two incidents brought a ridicule
to Russia from abroad, throughout the entire
month it brought shame upon itself through
terrorist attacks on Ukrainian civilians. How
else can one describe the deliberate bombing
of energy infrastructure during severe frosts?
The result was hundreds of thousands of
residents left without electricity and heat.
At the end of the month, U.S. President
Trump announced that the Russians would
refrain from attacking energy infrastructure
for one week, but even this truce was not fully
observed. Moreover, during this period they
attacked civilians in other ways. In frontline
areas, they began targeting road traffic,
including civilian buses. Deep inside Ukrainian
territory, they targeted trains, with Shahed/
Geran drones guided using Starlink terminals
mounted on them.
The Ukrainian side is trying to retaliate
against attacks on energy infrastructure, but
its options are limited. The Belgorod region
near the border is therefore a primary target,
whose local officials have already complained
Miro Barič
Cities Are Freezing
In this installment of the series, we cover the period from January 1, 2026
to January 31, 2026. During this month, Russia focused on attacks against
energy infrastructure — power plants, heating plants, substations. The goal
is to terrorize the civilian population with freezing temperatures. Apart from
intensive shelling, not much happened in the air. There were several drone
attacks on Ukrainian airfields, but their results were mixed.
Air War over Ukraine
A series of images of Su-27 aircraft from the Ukrainian 831st Myrhorod Tactical Aviation Brigade.
UKRAJINA
INFO Eduard28
March 2026