Putin Hopes to Break Ukraine's Resistance This Winter – The Telegraph
Russia hopes to break Ukraine’s resistance this winter by intensifying attacks not only on the energy sector but also on transportation, industrial, and digital infrastructure.
The Telegraph published an article titled “Why Russia Believes It Can Finally Defeat Ukraine This Winter,” in which it analyzes Russia’s new winter strategy aimed at undermining the Ukrainian economy and destroying the basic conditions for the population’s survival.
Since late August 2026, the nature of the attacks has changed—Kyiv is increasingly being attacked during the day, and in early October, for the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion, strikes were launched against the North and South Bridges across the Dnipro River. Also, since the beginning of the year, Naftogaz facilities have been subjected to more than 300 attacks, compared to 229 in all of 2025.
In September, the enemy began deliberately targeting data centers and telecommunications facilities, causing disruptions in the alert system and government services. Since the beginning of the year, Ukrzaliznytsia facilities and trains have come under 1,700 attacks, complicating logistics, causing agricultural exports in September to drop to 2.4 million metric tons, which is about 46% of the usual volume.
In addition, Russia is deploying “Geran-4” and “Geran-5” jet-powered UAVs capable of speeds up to 600 km/h, which can strike moving targets. This has temporarily reduced the effectiveness of Ukraine’s interception efforts from 90% to less than 60%. According to Ukrainian intelligence, Russia manufactures more than 200 ballistic and cruise missiles and about 3,000 jet-powered strike drones each month, while Ukraine plans to produce up to 400 jet-powered interceptor drones per month by the end of October.
Despite the pressure, Ukraine is actively building up its backup power generation capacity, protecting its power grids, and has larger gas reserves than last year. According to a KMIS poll, more than 60% of Ukrainians are prepared to endure the war for as long as necessary, and political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko notes that there are no signs of a critical decline in morale.
Source: The Telegraph.
Russian jet-powered drones flying from the temporarily occupied Crimea traveled 820 km to Lviv and 880 km to Lutsk. Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to the President of Ukraine with the call sign “Flash,” reported that the enemy is testing the feasibility of using such drones to attack the country’s western regions.
Earlier, a Russian jet drone attacked Ternopil and damaged an administrative building.
As a reminder, Russian drones attacked the Chernihiv region and damaged a gas station and a resort.
