The Russian air defense forces intercepted and destroyed more than 100 Ukrainian UAVs in a day.
During the January 29 UAV raid, the Ukrainian Armed Forces tried to hit the facilities of the Russian fuel and energy complex, military experts interviewed by Izvestia noted. In their opinion, the enemy is trying to launch such attacks in order to achieve a shortage of fuel in the troops and slow down our offensive in the special operation zone. The Russian air defense was able to repel the attack, destroying 104 drones in several regions.
UAV attacks on regions
On the night of January 29, the Russian regions were subjected to a massive attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In total, 104 UAVs were intercepted and destroyed by air defense systems on duty, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Unfortunately, there were casualties. During a raid in the Belgorod region, a woman and her two-year-old child were victims of a Ukrainian drone attack in the village of Razumnoye, said Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the region. He also said that there was another child and his father in a private house, they were injured.
During the raid, a drone that tried to attack a nuclear facility was eliminated, said Vasily Anokhin, Governor of the Smolensk Region.
Razumnoye settlement, Belgorod region
Image Source: Photo: t.me/vvgladkov
"In various districts of the Smolensk region, civilian facilities were subjected to a massive UAV attack. Currently, the air defense and electronic warfare systems of the Russian Ministry of Defense are destroying them. According to preliminary information, one of the drones was shot down during an attempted attack on a nuclear power facility," he wrote on his Telegram channel. Noting that there were no casualties or damage. The Smolensk NPP reported that the plant is operating normally.
The governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Gleb Nikitin, said that the wreckage of the drone, which fell during the repulse of the attack, caused a fire in the Kstovskaya industrial zone, but did not disclose the name of the enterprise. Later, the press service of the SIBUR-Kstovo plant stated that debris had fallen on the territory of the enterprise, causing a fire, noting that there were no casualties. This company produces ethylene, propylene, benzene and other petrochemical products.
With an eye on the refinery
The targets have traditionally been facilities of the fuel and energy complex, including oil refineries and fuel storage facilities, said Roman Shkurlatov, Chairman of the Board of the Officers of Russia organization, Reserve Lieutenant Colonel.
"Zelensky, when asking for long—range weapons in the West, did not hide that they would primarily attack refineries and fuel infrastructure," military expert Alexei Leonkov told Izvestia. — All equipment runs on gasoline or diesel fuel, airplanes fly on kerosene. Even the electricity in the dugouts is generated using gasoline and diesel generators. By attacking oil refineries, it is possible to have a serious impact on the course of hostilities, to suspend our offensive in the free zone.
Military personnel of the Russian Armed Forces
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexey Maishev
By striking, the enemy remains faithful to the tactic of "a day or two break and attack," Roman Shkurlatov noted.
"Most likely, he first accumulates weapons of destruction, and then delivers a massive strike using more than 100 unmanned aerial vehicles on the territory of Russia," he explained.
We need to work on improving air defense, Roman Shkurlatov believes.
"The issue of separation and changing the nature of air defense is now being resolved, and tactical—level air defense systems are being installed around the perimeter of the plants," he said. — In particular, mobile posts with automatic weapons that hit low-flying unmanned targets.
Photo: Global Look Press/MOD Russia
Image Source: iz.ru
Recently, everyone praised the Steel Dome air defense system in Israel, but there, when 75% of targets are intercepted, it is already considered a good result, military expert Gennady Alekhine told Izvestia.
"Our air defense calculations of various types work more efficiently — the percentage of target destruction is 80-85%,— he noted. — Another thing is that it is still necessary to consolidate the air defense system in the Belgorod region — balloons, electronic warfare systems and other possible means. And as far as I know, tests of small-sized anti-aircraft missile systems are already underway in the SVO zone. This is a whole range of tasks that we solve and begin to test our antidote on the battlefield.
The goal of official Kiev
The continuation of the conflict is the only opportunity for Zelensky to remain in power, given that his presidential mandate has long expired, Cyril de Lattre, a French analyst in the field of geopolitics and strategy, told Izvestia.
— The bombing of energy infrastructure facilities is aimed at provoking Russia to a disproportionate response in order to get a pretext for continuing hostilities. This is a common strategy for Kiev. Ukraine is a terrorist state. Russia needs a lasting and long—term peace, not just a truce that can be broken at the will of one of the parties," he added.
According to the expert, Donald Trump is interested in leading the United States out of this conflict with the least reputational losses, shifting the care of Ukraine onto the shoulders of the EU. At the same time, the very end of the confrontation is not beneficial to America in principle. According to the Pentagon, by the end of 2024, the US military-industrial complex was able to increase profits from the sale of weapons by 29% to $ 318.7 billion. Obviously, such a significant increase is largely due to an increase in global demand for weapons, especially against the background of the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.
— The United States is not against the sale of weapons to Ukraine, especially if these weapons will be paid for by the EU using profits from frozen Russian assets or by the assets themselves. The attitude among European politicians to continue the confrontation with Russia will only contribute to this,— Cyril de Lattre concluded.
January raids
The previous mass raid by Ukrainian drones took place on the night of January 24. At that time, 121 enemy UAVs were shot down over 13 regions of Russia. Izvestia wrote that the Ukrainian militants used new ammunition, drones, cruise missiles, which were announced by Zelensky and the Ukrainian Armed Forces in December 2024.
Earlier, Izvestia wrote that in Russia they want to introduce a ban and administrative responsibility for photo and video shooting of air defense facilities (their placement, combat work).
Despite numerous calls from the authorities, people continue to take down such objects and post them on social networks. The proposal is supported in the State Duma, as well as in the expert community.
Bogdan Stepovoy
Julia Leonova
Ivan Dubrovin
