Ukraine war latest live: SBU releases greatest hits video of 2025 drone strikes on Russian aircraft
This is Chris York reporting from Kyiv on day 1,435 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Today's top story so far:
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) on Jan. 28 released a video compilation of what it claimed was the destruction of more than $1 billion worth of Russian military aircraft in long-range drone strikes conducted by its "A" Special Operations Center, also known as "Alpha."
"The enemy is used to feeling safe in the deep rear. But for the special forces of 'Alpha,' distance has long ceased to matter," the SBU wrote in a post on social media.
The accompanying video features first-person-view (FPV) drone footage showing several Russian aircraft being targeted.
According to the SBU, the tally includes 11 fighter bombers, three helicopters, and one transport aircraft, bringing the combined total to more than $1 billion.
SBU strikes also target other aspects of Russia's military — several production halls were destroyed at a large drone factory in Taganrog after a joint strike operation by the Ukrainian Navy and the SBU last week.
The Atlant Aero factory, among other drone parts and military hardware, produced Russia's notorious Molniya ("Lightning") drone, a cheap fixed-wing loitering munition used widely by Russian forces across the front line.
The announcement confirming the damage to the facility's production capacity was posted by the Navy on Jan. 16, after the SBU first reported the strike three days earlier.
Ukraine targets oil depot in Russia's Voronezh Oblast, strikes several military facilities in occupied territories, General Staff says
Last updated 1:46 p.m. Kyiv time.
Ukrainian forces struck the Khokholskaya oil depot in Russia's Voronezh Oblast and several Russian military facilities in occupied territories on Jan. 27–28, the General Staff said.
Ukraine regularly strikes Russian military facilities, as well as oil infrastructure that helps Russia finance its war and supply the Russian army with weapons, fuel, and equipment.
The attack on the oil depot caused a fire at the facility and ignited stored petroleum products. Thick smoke is rising above the site, the General Staff said. Damage from the strike is still being assessed.
Ukrainian forces also targeted Russian troop locations in the village of Kolotilovka in Russia's Belgorod Oblast, as well as near the villages of Velyka Novosilka, Shakhove, and Hryhoriivka in the occupied part of Donetsk Oblast, and near the town of Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, the report read.
Huliaipole has been at the center of heavy fighting in recent months, even as Russian forces press their advance in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The city, however, remains under Ukrainian control.
During the recent strikes, the Ukrainian army attacked a drone control center near Velyka Novosilka, a battalion command post near the village of Berezove in partially occupied Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, and an ammunition depot near the village of Nyzhnia Duvanka in the occupied part of Luhansk Oblast, according to the General Staff.
Russian losses in Ukraine 'more than any major power' in any war since World War II, report says
Last updated 3:24 a.m. Kyiv time.
Russia has suffered "more losses than any major power in any war since World War II," according to a new report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which says Moscow has paid a steep price for only limited territorial gains as its war in Ukraine drags into its fourth year.
The CSIS report, published Jan. 27, estimates that Russian forces have sustained nearly 1.2 million casualties — including troops killed, wounded or missing — since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in Feb. 2022. As many as 325,000 Russian soldiers have been killed, the report found.
While Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly claimed that his forces have seized the battlefield initiative, CSIS concludes that Russia's advances have been slow and difficult, even after years of fighting.
Near Pokrovsk, the hottest area of the front line throughout 2025, Russian forces advanced at an average rate of only 70 meters per day — a pace slower than even some of the bloodiest battles of the past century.
Overall, Russian forces have gained less than 1.5% of Ukrainian territory since the start of 2024, highlighting what the report describes as "the attritional nature of the war," which has been marked by massive loss of personnel and equipment but limited battlefield gains.
The study also describes Russia as a "second- or third-rate economic power," citing challenges such as declining manufacturing, a labor shortage, and dwindling capital.
At least 15 killed, 37 injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine over past day
Russian attacks killed at least fifteen Ukrainians and injured 37 others over the past day, local authorities said on Jan. 28.
Russia launched one missile and 146 drones of various types at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine's Air Force reported. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 103 drones, but one missile and 36 drones struck 2 locations across the country.
Explosions were heard in Kyiv around 1:26 a.m. local time, according to Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground. Local authorities reported that air defense systems were activated to intercept incoming Russian drones.
Kyiv Oblast Governor Mykola Kalashnyk reported that two people, a man and a woman, were killed in the Bilohorodka community, located on the outskirts of the capital. Several other people were also treated by paramedics but did not require hospitalization.
The killed civilians were the parents of a 20-year-old man and a 4-year-old child who survived the attack. Their relatives are now taking care of them, Anton Ovsiienko, head of the Bilohorodka village, told Suspilne.
The 4-year-old child was carried out of the burning building by Radio Liberty war correspondent Marian Kushnir, Ukrainian TV channel 1+1 reported.
In Odesa, overnight on Jan. 28— a day of mourning for those killed in a Russian attack the previous day — another Russian strike injured three men aged 21, 67, and 80, according to Serhii Lysak, head of the city military administration.
Russia launched two attacks on residential areas in Zaporizhzhia, injuring at least six people, Governor Ivan Fedorov said. The attacks also damaged 14 apartment buildings and about 20 cars.
Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the Kryvyi Rih Defense Council, said two civilians — a 51-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man — were injured in a ballistic missile strike on the city. Vilkul added that an infrastructure facility was struck, without providing details.
In Kherson Oblast, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported one civilian was killed and three were injured in Russian attacks.
In Donetsk Oblast, four people were killed and four others injured, local Governor Vadym Filaskin reported.
In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, one person died and eight others were injured in Russian attacks over the past day, Governor Oleksandr Handza reported.
In Sumy Oblast, two people died and two others were injured, the local military administration said.
In Kharkiv Oblast, four people died and seven were injured, Governor Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram.
In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russian strikes killed one person and two others suffered injuries over the past day, Governor Ivan Fedorov reported.
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,236,570 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022
Russia has lost around 1,236,570 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Jan. 28.
The number includes 690 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
According to the report, Russia has also lost 11,609 tanks, 23,958 armored fighting vehicles, 76,102 vehicles and fuel tanks, 36,713 artillery systems, 1,629 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,286 air defense systems, 434 airplanes, 347 helicopters, 117,724 drones, 28 ships and boats, and two submarines.
