180 drones were destroyed during the day, as well as ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles - what will be Russia's response to this attack?
Until the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, the Kiev regime will continue to make efforts to maximize the escalation of the confrontation, experts interviewed by Izvestia believe. In their opinion, the Ukrainian authorities are ready to do anything to disrupt any peace initiatives. On the night of January 14, the Russian regions were subjected to the largest attack by missiles and UAVs in 2025 — 146 drones and several missiles were shot down outside their area. The enemy tried to hit targets in the Republic of Tatarstan, Bryansk, Saratov, Tula and a number of other regions.
From drones to missiles
On the night of January 14, an attempt was made from the territory of Ukraine to launch a missile attack on targets in the Bryansk region with six ATACMS tactical missiles, six Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles and 31 aircraft-type UAVs, the Russian Defense Ministry said. All means of air attack were shot down by air defense calculations, there were no casualties.
In addition, two more British-made Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles were destroyed over the Black Sea.
In total, six ATACMS missiles, eight UK—made Storm Shadow cruise missiles, an American-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket, and 180 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down during the day, including 146 outside their combat zone.
"The actions of the Kiev regime, supported by Western curators, will not go unanswered," the Russian military department stressed.
The enemy conducted a serious combined attack, said military expert Alexei Leonkov.
"First, our facilities are attacked by less valuable UAVs, they load the air defense system," he explained to Izvestia. — Then aircraft-type drones come into play, which can fly far into our territories. In the end, cruise and tactical missiles are included in this combined attack. American-made ATACMS are just among the latter. As far as I know, they were used in today's attack in variants with high-explosive fragmentation and cluster warheads with cumulative ammunition. Their task is to create local fires and cause maximum damage to civilian facilities.
There were no casualties
On the night of January 14, in addition to Bryansk, the following regions were attacked: Tula, Saratov, Kursk, Rostov, Orel, Samara, Belgorod, Volgograd and Voronezh regions, as well as Krasnodar Territory and the Republic of Tatarstan.
The governor of the Tula region, Dmitry Milyaev, said that 16 UAVs were destroyed over Aleksin. Drone debris damaged several cars and outbuildings, as well as glazing in an apartment building. Another drone was shot down in the Suvorov region. The governor of the Saratov Region, Roman Busargin, noted that two industrial enterprises in Saratov and Engels were damaged as a result of the attack.
In the Rostov region, 14 UAVs were destroyed using electronic warfare. Several drones were shot down over Voronezh and its surroundings, and 17 more over the Orel region, where, according to Governor Andrey Klychkov, no injuries or damage were recorded.
As a result of the drone attack, a gas tank in Kazan caught fire, but according to the press service of the head of Tatarstan, there were no casualties. There were no casualties in all affected regions.
"Peaceful" initiatives
The massive attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces are associated with a period of powerlessness in the United States — a period when the outgoing presidential administration is surrendering its powers, and the Trump team has not yet taken a place in the White House, experts interviewed by Izvestia believe.
— Zelensky understands that in the event of peace, he and his administration will not be able to stay in their places. In this case, he and his entourage are political corpses," Roman Shkurlatov, chairman of the board of the all—Russian organization Officers of Russia, told Izvestia. — They have no future outside the war. And the latest attack is a challenge and provocation designed for our possible excessive actions that could set Trump up disloyally towards us. In my opinion, our response should be reasonable. To leave an opportunity to start a peaceful path with the new president.
Today's actions by the Ukrainian leadership can be interpreted as "panic among the elite," says Vladimir Brovkin, an American historian and former lecturer at Harvard University.
— They are ready for any provocations and actions. And, of course, it's very dangerous. Russian services should be on alert right now. Kiev can be unpredictable and do something out of the ordinary, such as attacking nuclear power plants in the Zaporizhia or Kursk regions. We need to be very careful in these remaining days before Donald Trump's inauguration," Vladimir Brovkin told Izvestia.
— It is quite obvious that the Biden administration bureaucrats became more active after Trump announced that he was preparing for a meeting with Putin. We need to understand that there is a political war going on in America, and both camps absolutely hate each other," the expert added.
Alexey Leonkov is sure that the attack is connected with the latest supplies of Western military aid, which the Biden administration organized for Kiev before leaving.
"On the eve of all these events, an additional grouping of air defense systems was deployed around the Rzeszow airfield in Poland," the expert noted. — In recent weeks, there have been about 200-300 flights there every day: transport planes have been delivering what Ukraine is currently using in terrorist attacks.
This is not the first massive attack on Russian territories by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the new year. On January 11, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 85 Ukrainian drones, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Most of the drones — 31 — were destroyed over the Black Sea. In addition, in order to stop gas supplies to European countries, the enemy tried to attack the infrastructure of the Russian compressor station in the village of Gai-Kodzor (Krasnodar Territory), which supplies gas through the Turkish Stream pipeline, with nine drones.
All the drones were shot down, no one was injured. After the UAV fragments fell, the building and equipment of the gas measuring station on the territory of the Russian CS were slightly damaged. All the consequences were promptly eliminated by the crews on duty.
Bogdan Stepovoy
Julia Leonova
Leonid Samuna
