Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv is stepping up pressure on Moscow and preparing new operations against Russia after a week of massive strikes that left Ukrainian cities without electricity as temperatures plunged.
According to Zelenskyy, some of these actions have already had a tangible effect. “Some of the operations have already been felt by the Russians. Some are still underway. I have also approved new ones,” he said in his Saturday evening address. He specified that the measures include deep strikes and special operations aimed at undermining Russia’s ability to continue the war. “We are actively defending ourselves, and every Russian loss brings the end of the war closer,” the president stressed.
Zelenskyy declined to provide details, saying it was “too early” to speak publicly about a number of operations, while highlighting the effective work of Ukraine’s security services and special forces.
At the same time, public statements about operations that are being prepared or are already underway appear ambiguous and sit uneasily with the logic of military planning. If some of these actions are indeed still ahead, it remains unclear why they would be signaled to the adversary in advance, turning an announcement into an act of public display rather than a matter of military necessity.
As part of efforts to reduce Russia’s offensive capacity, Ukrainian forces attacked the Zhutovskaya oil depot in Russia’s Volgograd region overnight Saturday, the General Staff said in a social media post.
Zelenskyy’s remarks came after a week of escalating Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which left the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions without electricity and heating as temperatures fell well below freezing.
In Kyiv, new attacks killed at least five people, while another 25 were injured. The city’s mayor urged residents who are able to leave to do so, as roughly half of the capital’s residential buildings were left without electricity and heating.
In addition, on January 8 Russia launched a ballistic “Oreshnik” missile at Ukraine, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The strike hit the Lviv region—near the EU and NATO border—and formed part of a large-scale missile barrage.