russia is continuing its concerted deep strike campaign against Ukrainian energy critical national infrastructure, almost certainly seeking to cause a humanitarian crisis amongst Ukraine's civilian population over winter, the UK Defense Intelligence reports.
In November 2025, russia launched approximately 5,400 one way attack unmanned aerial systems against Ukrainian infrastructure targets, as well as more than 90 missiles from Long Range Aviation aircraft. Russia has launched over 5,000 OWA UAS in each of the past three months, with the objective of saturating Ukraine's air defense.
Read more: UK Defense Intelligence: russian Forces Sustained an Estimated 382,000 Killed and Wounded in 2025 Alone
Daily reliance on large numbers of cheap, mass-produced UAS, both armed and decoy, is indicative of russia's attritional approach to the war, and affords Ukraine minimal respite. Launch rates are regularly limited by adverse weather conditions and geopolitical considerations; however, lulls are often followed by peaks as perceived conditions improve.
As Defense Express previously reported, russian President Vladimir Putin's December 2, 2025, reported claim that the russian Ground Forces have taken complete control of the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk is almost certainly inaccurate.
It is likely that Ukrainian forces retain a limited capability to launch small-scale raids into the northern part of the city, contesting full russian control, and delaying russian efforts at consolidation.
Read more: UK Defense Intelligence Confirms Vladimir Putin's Claim of Capturing Pokrovsk Is Almost Certainly False
