Russia will step up exploding drone attacks on Ukraine, Zelensky says
Russia is preparing to step up its attacks on Ukraine using exploding drones, according to the Ukrainian president.
"We have information that Russia is planning a prolonged attack by Shaheds (Iranian-made exploding drones)," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
He said the goal is to break Ukraine's resistance by "exhausting our people, (our) air defence, our energy", more than 10 months after the invasion.
Russian president Vladimir Putin is exploring how to shore up confidence in Moscow's flawed war effort, which in recent months has been dented by a Ukrainian counter-offensive backed by western-supplied weapons.
That has brought criticism in some Russian circles of the military's performance.
Ukrainian forces fired rockets at a facility in the eastern Donetsk region where Russian soldiers were stationed, reportedly killing 63 of them.
Ukraine's western-reinforced air defences have made it difficult for Russian planes to carry out missile strikes.
The US and its allies have clashed with Iran over its role in allegedly supplying them.
In December, the UK imposed sanctions over the "desperate alliance" between Russia and Iran after the re-use of 'suicide drones'.
The Institute for the Study of War said Mr Putin is looking to strengthen support for his strategy among key voices in Russia.
"Russia's air and missile campaign against Ukraine is likely not generating the Kremlin's desired information effects among Russia's nationalists," the think tank said.
"Such profound military failures will continue to complicate Putin's efforts to appease the Russian pro-war community and retain the dominant narrative in the domestic information space."
Mr Zelensky warned that "the nights may be quite restless" in the coming weeks.
He added that during the first two days of the new year, which were marked by night-time drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure, the country's forces reportedly shot down more than 80 Iranian-made drones.
"Every downed drone, every downed missile, every day with electricity for our people and minimal shutdown schedules are exactly such victories," the Ukrainian president added.
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