Overview
- Ukraine’s Security Service said its Alpha unit used long-range drones to strike Arsenal No. 100 near Neya in Kostroma Oblast and an oil facility near Usman in Lipetsk, with reports of ammunition detonations and a large fire.
- A Ukrainian military expert reported the first discovery of a MANPADS mounted on a Russian Shahed-type drone, warning of a new risk to helicopter interceptors while noting the system’s effectiveness remains unproven.
- Ukraine’s General Staff logged 191 combat clashes on Jan. 5, with the heaviest fighting around Huliaipole and Pokrovsk, reflecting sustained high-tempo operations across multiple fronts.
- Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said Russia is producing more than 400 long-range UAVs daily, and Ukrainian officials reported record December drone results, including extensive strikes on air-defense assets and personnel.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed 360 Ukrainian drones were downed in a day and touted growing integrated air–ground drone operations and robotic logistics, figures and effects that have not been independently verified.