Russia launches a major drone and missile attack on Ukraine, targeting gas and energy facilities. Russia remains committed to destroying Ukraine as a state in any future talks, ISW says.
Russia launches major drone, missile attack on Ukraine, targeting gas and energy facilities
Russia launched 117 missiles and drones at Ukraine on Wednesday, targeting gas infrastructure and other energy facilities. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia used 43 missiles in the attack. The missiles included an Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missile, seven Kh-22/32 cruise missiles launched from Tu-22M3 strategic bombers, four sea-launched Kalibr missiles, 27 Kh-101/Kh-55SM cruise missiles launched from Tu-95MS strategic bombers, and four Kh-59/69 air-launched missiles. Russia also sent into Ukraine 74 Shahed attack drones and other unidentified types of drones used as decoys to tie up Ukrainian air defenses.
Ukraine’s Air Force said it had shot down three Kalibr missiles, 23 Kh-101/Kh-55SM cruise missiles, four Kh-59/69 air-launched missiles, and 47 drones, while 27 more drones disappeared off radar after likely being disabled by electronic warfare systems.
The Russian missiles targeted gas infrastructure facilities in the regions of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Kharkiv, the Ukrainian Air Force said.
“It’s the middle of winter, and the target for the Russians remains the same: our energy sector,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi wrote in a statement on X. “Among the targets are gas infrastructure and energy facilities that ensure normal life for our people. Over 40 missiles were launched in this attack, including ballistic missiles. At least 30 were destroyed. Additionally, more than 70 Russian attack drones were launched overnight. Thanks to our air defense forces and all involved units, we’ve managed to maintain the functionality of our energy system,” he said.
He added that Ukraine needs to strengthen its air shield and that the need is ongoing.
“Partners at the NATO summit in Washington and in the Ramstein format made promises that have not yet been fully implemented. We also talked about licenses for the production of air defense and anti-missile systems, which can become one of the effective security guarantees for Ukraine, and this is also realistic and must be fulfilled,” Zelenskyi continued.
“We are grateful to everyone who helps our state,” he wrote. “But it is not only about our state. Right now, the defense of Ukraine is proving whether Europe and the democratic world in general are capable of stopping wars — reliably and for a long time.”
“The focus of the enemy attack were energy facilities in Ukraine’s western regions,” MP Serhiy Nahornyak, member of the parliamentary committee on energy and utilities told Kyiv24 television news channel, commenting on the attack.
“The enemy wants to create a picture for domestic audience by showing our gas storage facility on fire. But they will not succeed in that,” Nahornyak said, explaining that the underground gas storage site was not harmed.
“The equipment located above ground could be partially damaged. The enemy may put that on the news, but [the damage] has no strategic meaning for our gas transportation system. We will be able to withdraw gas from our storage facilities regardless of minor damage to the equipment. There could be financial burden, but not the strategic one. The enemy is not meeting their goals,” the MP said.
Nahornyak also said Russia had previously directed missiles at the underground gas storage facility, but the attempts to hit it were not successful. “It is located deep under ground. Even last year, there was a precedent when a Kinzhal missile targeted the site, but did not explode. The missile penetrated 10 meters under ground, and our services removed and disassembled it to see its components together with our partners,” he explained.
Russia remains committed to destroying Ukraine as a state in any future talks, ISW says
The Kremlin remains committed to achieving the original goals of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in any future peace negotiations — namely the destruction of the Ukrainian state, dissolution of the current Ukrainian government, demilitarization of Ukraine, and a permanent ban on Ukraine’s future membership in NATO, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a report on Tuesday. The paragraphs below are quoted from the report.
Russian Presidential Aide and former Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev rejected the suggestion that Russia could be willing to cede any occupied territory to Ukraine in future negotiations during an interview with Russian outlet Komsomolskaya Pravda published on January 14 and stated that this idea is “not even up for discussion.” Patrushev falsely claimed that sham referendums in occupied Ukraine in September 2022 legitimized Russia’s claim to occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson oblasts and insinuated that international recognition of Russia’s illegal occupation and annexation of the four oblasts and occupied Crimea is a non-negotiable condition for a future peace agreement.
Patrushev stated that Russia’s goals in Ukraine remain unchanged and that Russia remains committed to achieving all of the goals that Russian President Vladimir Putin used to justify the full-scale invasion. Putin identified the “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine as the key goals of the full-scale invasion during a speech on February 23, 2022 — and these goals amount to the destruction of Ukraine’s ability to defend itself and replacement of the legitimate Ukrainian government with a pro-Russian puppet government. Former Roscosmos (Russian space agency) head and Zaporizhia Oblast occupation senator Dmitry Rogozin stated during an interview with Russian outlet Gazeta.Ru on January 14 that the Russian government continues to pursue “denazification” in Ukraine, which Rogozin defined as the “liquidation of those who instill a misanthropic Russophobic spirit” in people.
Putin has consistently demanded that the Ukrainian people concede their right to determine their own government, the right to defend themselves against ongoing and future aggression, and the right to choose their own security alliances before and throughout the full-scale invasion. ISW continues to assess that Putin’s goals in Ukraine are to break up NATO and seize full control over Ukraine and that Putin remains committed to these goals, and ISW has not observed any indication that Putin is willing to concede on such goals in future negotiations.
Russian officials continue to deny the existence of a Ukrainian identity and state that is independent of Russia as part of ongoing Russian efforts to justify the destruction of the Ukrainian state. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov referred in a press conference on January 14 to “the country that is now called Ukraine” — a clear effort to discredit Ukraine’s existence as a sovereign and independent state. Patrushev also emphasized the “fraternal” connection between Russia and Ukraine and rejected any suggestion that Russia and Ukraine have distinct cultural and historical identities. Putin published an essay in July 2021 arguing that ethnic Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Russians all belong to the same “Russian nation,” and Kremlin officials have reiterated these false narratives throughout the war.
