Russia Begins Massive Winter Strike Campaign - Newsweek

Russian drones hit Kyiv in Moscow's latest strikes on Ukraine's capital that have added to fears that President Vladimir Putin has started a combined missile and drone campaign ahead of winter to force Ukraine's government to capitulate.

One drone hit a school in the capital's Solomianskyi district on Thursday, sparking a fire and causing damage. Children and teachers were in a bomb shelter at the time and no one was hurt.

Hours later, two Russian drones struck near the supports of Kyiv's Southern Bridge, disrupting a metro link between the city's eastern and western banks.

The incidents come on the heels of a massive, combined drone and missile strike that mostly targeted energy infrastructure in Kyiv ahead of what Ukraine’s economy minister Oleksandr Kravchenko said could be the harshest winter of the war that began with the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.

Mark Galeotti, host of the podcast In Moscow's Shadows, told Newsweek that a long-range campaign by Russia is likely intended to shatter what is left of the Ukrainian economy.

"Not only does that put the pressure on Ukraine—it also puts the pressure on Europe because everything that gets destroyed, ultimately it's going to be Europe that has to rebuild," he said.

Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for comment.

Kyiv has faced continuous attacks this week from Russia, often with faster jet-powered drones that are difficult for Ukrainian air defenses to intercept.

An air raid alert in Kyiv on Wednesday lasted nearly 13 hours—one of the longest since the start of the war.

Attacks across Ukraine overnight Wednesday killed at least six people and injured 38, according to Ukrainian officials.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi said Russia had conducted the largest combined strike package on energy infrastructure since early April, at the end of the last heating season.

The Ukrainian monitoring Telegram channel eRadar said Moscow intends to step up strikes on electricity generation and transmission facilities.

The aim would be to disconnect nuclear power plants from the grid, cut off Kyiv from external power supplies, and destroy energy infrastructure in the industrial east, it said.

However, Ukraine has reported battlefield success with its counteroffensive, codenamed "Operation Vivaldi."

Third Army Corps commander Brigadier General Andriy Biletsky has said his troops made gains in the Lyman direction in Donetsk oblast, thwarting Russia's attempts to encircle the "Fortress Belt," which includes cities Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, that are critical to Putin's intentions of capturing the Donbas region.

As Russia faces negligible frontline gains, Russian military blogger Rybar has posted that Putin has turned to a long-range combined ballistic missile and jet-powered drone campaign to force Ukraine to surrender over the winter.

This jibes with analysis from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) that Putin is looking to take advantage of strikes before Ukraine can come up with ways to counter the faster drones.

Putin is also likely to be trying to demoralize the Ukrainian population and force surrender before meaningful peace negotiations, the think tank said.

Galeotti, honorary professor at University College London, said Putin was still willing to see if his forces can batter their way to control of the fortress cities. High casualty figures suggest there's no let-up in such an approach but "he's no longer putting all his faith in that," he told Newsweek.

"I think there is a growing sense that it might not happen and therefore, in fact, you're going to need to either just freeze the war and get the best peace terms you can—or freeze the war and try and get the Ukrainians to surrender those two cities.

"Absolutely, for that, you depend on your long-range strikes, you depend on frankly shattering what's left of the Ukrainian economy."

Ukraine has continued with its drone and missile strikes across Russia as it seeks to degrade Moscow's military machine. Attacks on oil and gas facilities have led to lengthy lines at gas stations across the country.

As Russians were preparing to cast their ballots on the final day of Kremlin-controlled elections on September 20, Moscow's authorities reported the largest combined attack on the Russian capital.

In data shared with Newsweek, analysis firm ACLED (Armed Conflict and Event Data) said that Ukrainian forces had carried out an average of three attacks a month against oil and fuel infrastructure in the capital and the surrounding regions since May 2026.

Drone attacks by Ukraine have also targeted refineries and other fuel infrastructure, as well as warehouses and storage facilities in the Yaroslavl, Bashkortostan, Tatarstan and Leningrad regions.

“As explosions and fires become increasingly visible in Russia’s capital, the conflict is becoming harder for ordinary Russians to ignore, challenging the perception that Moscow could remain spared from the consequences of the war it started," ACLED Europe analyst Tetiana Gaviuk told Newsweek.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and Dave Siminoff.