Ukraine war latest: Ukraine targets Russian industrial plants, ammunition depots in overnight strike

January 14, 2025

By Ukraine

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Key developments on Jan. 14:

Ukraine targets Russia's industrial plants, ammunition depots in 'massive' strike overnight
Equipping troops takes priority over lowering draft age, Zelensky says
Ukraine denies transferring Air Force personnel to infantry amid troop shortages
Germany to deploy Patriot at Poland's key hub for Ukraine aid by end of January
European allies grow optimistic about Trump not abandoning Ukraine, Bloomberg reports

Ukraine launched its "most massive" attack against Russian military and industrial facilities in a range of up to 1,100 kilometers (620 miles) overnight on Jan. 14, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported.

Chemical plants, refineries, and the Engels airbase's ammunition depots were successfully targeted, a source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) told the Kyiv Independent.

"The SBU, together with the Defense Forces, continues to strike enemy military facilities and enterprises supporting Russia’s military-industrial complex. Each hit — whether on ammunition depots, refineries, oil depots, or chemical plants — weakens Russia’s capacity to wage war in Ukraine," an SBU source told the Kyiv Independent.

Ukrainian drones reportedly targeted multiple regions, including Saratov, Voronezh, and Orel oblasts, as well as Tatarstan. The Russian Defense Ministry did not specify the number of drones involved.

Dmitry Milyaev, the governor of Russia's Tula region, described a "massive drone attack" in a Telegram post, claiming at least 17 drones were launched. In Aleksin, debris from a downed drone reportedly damaged vehicles and outbuildings, with no casualties reported.

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The SBU source indicated the Aleksino chemical plant — producing gunpowder and ammunition for the Russian military — was successfully hit, igniting a large fire.

In Saratov and Engels, Governor Roman Busargin confirmed damage at two industrial facilities following drone strikes. The General Staff said that the Kristal oil facility in Engels, which burned for five days after an earlier strike on Jan. 8, was again successfully targeted.

The Engels airfield, located in Saratov Oblast over 750 kilometers (460 miles) from Ukraine's nearest controlled territory, allegedly sustained hits to ammunition depots containing FAB glide bombs, KAB bombs, and cruise missiles. The Saratov oil refinery was also reportedly engulfed in a fire.

Engels hosts three types of Russian strategic bombers — the Tupolev Tu-95, Tu-22, and Tu-160 — all frequently used to launch missile strikes on Ukrainian cities.

Mikhail Isayev, the acting head of the Engels district, announced that schools in the city would transition to remote learning due to the continued threat of drone strikes.

Explosions were reported in the town of Seltso near Bryansk, where the chemical plant reportedly was hit, according to the Russian opposition Telegram channel Astra.

Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces confirmed the strike, saying that the plant produces gunpowder, explosives, and missile fuel components, including ammunition for barrel artillery, multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), aircraft, and Kh-59 cruise missiles. It also carries out overhauls of Grad, Uragan, and Tornado-G MLRS.

The unit reported that the drones distracted Russian air defense, paving the way for missiles to hit the main targets. Following the missile strike, long-range drones allegedly destroyed substations and other critical infrastructure.

In Tatarstan’s capital, Kazan, a fuel facility was struck in the early hours of Jan. 14, igniting a gas tank. The fire occurred about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) from the Ukrainian border. Tatarstan Republic head Rustam Minnikhanov confirmed that a fire broke out in the city as a result of the drone strike but claimed that it resulted in no significant damage.

"I went to the scene of a fire that occurred as a result of the drone attack. Emergency services quickly arrived at the scene to extinguish the fire. I heard reports that there were no casualties or serious damage," Minnikhanov wrote on his Telegram channel.

The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claims.

`Equipping troops takes priority over lowering draft age, Zelensky says`

Ukraine's immediate focus is on adequately equipping its military, rather than further reducing the draft age, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 14, according to Interfax-Ukraine.

"When we talk about increasing the number of our people (in the military), we must first address the issue of adequately equipping our brigades. Our partners have all these requests," Zelensky said.

Zelensky noted that Ukraine fields over 100 brigades, all requiring sustained staffing and consistent resupply of equipment to maintain their combat effectiveness.

The remarks follow reports that U.S. lawmakers and NATO allies are urging Ukraine to lower its draft age from 25 to 18 to address manpower shortages. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has reportedly advocated for the move as part of broader efforts to address Ukraine's personnel needs at the full-scale war with Russia stretches into its third year.

However, Kyiv has resisted the proposal, citing concerns over equipment shortages and the economic impact of drafting younger workers.

Under martial law, men aged 18 to 60 are prohibited from leaving Ukraine, but only those aged 25 and older are eligible for the draft.

The Ukrainian government lowered the draft age from 27 to 25 in April 2024, adding 50,000 troops to its forces. While the measure bolstered numbers, it fell short of meeting the military's full requirements.

`Ukraine denies transferring Air Force personnel to infantry amid troop shortages`

The Ukrainian Air Force will transfer military personnel "en masse" to reinforce the Ground Forces' combat brigades in early 2025, Ukrainska Pravda reported on Jan. 14, citing an undisclosed Air Force source.

Facing an infantry shortage along the front lines, Ukraine has been forced to make difficult adjustments as Russia ramps up its offensive in Donetsk Oblast.

According to Ukrainska Pravda, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi issued an order on Jan. 11 to transfer over 5,000 Air Force personnel to Ground Forces units. A senior Air Force officer, speaking anonymously, said transfers began in spring 2024 and have now reached a "critical level," with unit staffing dropping to 50%.

"If we carry out the order of the 11th, which was sent to us by the commander-in-chief, the manning of units will drop to 40%" the officer told Ukrainska Pravda. They added that even transferring "unimportant personnel" weakens unit effectiveness, particularly for anti-aircraft missile systems, which rely on cohesive teams.

Over 200 personnel are reportedly set to be taken from seven Air Force brigades, including units defending Kyiv, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing an undisclosed source.

The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify these claims.

In a Jan. 14 statement, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces denied transferring Air Force engineering and aviation personnel to infantry units, emphasizing that technical and flight personnel numbers are increasing.

However, some Air Force and other branch personnel, after training, are being reassigned to strengthen ground brigades due to a critical infantry shortage. The General Staff noted this as a necessary measure to bolster frontline defense but confirmed that specialists in high-tech roles or those trained abroad on foreign equipment are exempt from transfers.

`Germany to deploy Patriot at Poland's key hub for Ukraine aid by end of January`

Germany will deploy the promised Patriot air defenses around the Polish airport of Rzeszow by the end of January, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said during his visit to Warsaw on Jan. 13.

Monitoring group German Aid to Ukraine wrote earlier that two MIM-104 Patriot fire units and a total of 200 Bundeswehr soldiers will be deployed to Poland for an estimated six months to protect Polish airspace.

Pistorius called Rzeszow a key logistics hub for Ukraine and said he would personally ensure that the U.S.-made air defenses begin operating by the end of the month.

The Rzeszow-Jasionka airport is located less than 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Ukrainian border and transports a significant percentage of Western materiel bound for the front lines in Ukraine. It is also a main stopover point for foreign leadership traveling to Kyiv on official visits.

Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said that the airport is also a key conduit for humanitarian support heading to Ukraine, adding that more than 90% of all allied aid flows through it.

Currently, a NASAMS air defense system protects the airport, which is manned by Norwegian soldiers.

`European allies grow optimistic about Trump not abandoning Ukraine, Bloomberg reports`

Kyiv's European partners are growing optimistic that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will not pressure Ukraine into accepting a painful peace deal, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 14, citing undisclosed European officials.

Following closed-door talks with Trump's team, the officials see a rising chance that the new U.S. leadership will seek to help Ukraine negotiate from the position of strength, the outlet wrote.

Trump, returning to the White House on Jan. 20, initially caused concern among the pro-Kyiv coalition by his declared sympathies for Russian President Vladimir Putin and criticism of the Biden administration's military support for Ukraine.

The president-elect has reportedly proved more flexible on the matter than expected. His team is particularly receptive to arguments about Russia's victory emboldening China and dealing the U.S. a humiliation similar to the Taliban's victory in Afghanistan in 2021, according to Bloomberg's sources.

Trump has pledged to bring a swift end to the war but provided few details on how he plans to achieve this. A pitch leaked from his team — freezing the front lines, postponing Ukraine's NATO accession by 20 years, and deploying European peacekeepers on the ground — has already been rejected by Russia.

There were other signals that Trump does not intend to cut the support for Ukraine completely as part of his plan to resolve the war. Speaking to the Time magazine, the president-elect said he would not "abandon" the besieged country, though criticizing the Biden administration for permitting long-range strikes on Russian soil.

According to the Financial Times, Trump told the Europan allies he plans to continue supporting Ukraine while asking them to raise their defense spending levels to 5% of GDP. This echoes Trump's earlier appeals to Europe to take up greater responsibility both for Ukraine's defense and for their own security.

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