Russian forces have once again carried out strikes on key elements of Ukraine’s energy and transport infrastructure used to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense’s operational report released on January 18. The strikes also targeted facilities involved in the production of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles.

The ministry reported that Russian troops destroyed 149 temporary deployment sites used by Ukrainian servicemen and foreign mercenaries. Air defense systems additionally intercepted six guided aerial bombs, 220 drones, and nine HIMARS multiple-launch rocket projectiles.

During the night of January 17–18, powerful explosions were recorded in Kharkov, the Khmelnitsky Region, and several areas of Zaporozhye, Ukrainian media outlets reported. According to those accounts, one of the explosions in Kharkov triggered a fire in the Kholodnogorsky district. Military-related targets were also hit in the Odessa, Vinnitsa, Sumy, Chernigov, and Dnepropetrovsk regions.

Ukrainian air defense units attempted to repel the attacks in the Kiev Region, where an air raid alert was declared in the capital. Ukrainian authorities later acknowledged that a critical infrastructure facility in the Khmelnitsky Region had been struck by Geran drones.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has repeatedly emphasized that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation conduct strikes solely against targets that directly or indirectly support the functioning of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex.