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Ukraine Overhauls Air Defenses After Mass Drone Barrage Cuts Power in Five Regions

Zelensky taps a new Air Force deputy to field mobile interceptor‑drone units to counter Russia's escalating winter attacks on the power grid.

Overview

  • Ukraine said Russia launched 145 attack drones overnight on Jan. 18–19, with 126 downed, but strikes damaged energy assets and left parts of Sumy, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv without power.
  • Odesa authorities reported damage to energy and gas infrastructure and one injury, DTEK said a key facility was substantially hit, and Kharkiv officials reported a critical infrastructure site struck by missiles.
  • Zelensky announced a transformed air-defense approach centered on mobile fire groups and interceptor drones and appointed Pavlo Yelizarov as deputy Air Force commander to implement it, warning of a potential large new Russian strike.
  • Ukraine’s military said it hit a Russian UAV warehouse in occupied Novokrasnianka, Luhansk Oblast, and confirmed earlier damage to oil facilities in Russia’s Tuapse and Belgorod regions.
  • Heavy ground fighting continues in the PokrovskMyrnohrad area, with Ukraine reporting roughly 50 daily clashes and actions to block Russian force buildup near Hryshyne while holding defensive lines.