Three civilians killed in Russian drone attack on Vilniansk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast

Russian drone strikes on the town of Vilnyansk killed three civilians and injured another overnight, local authorities reported.

The victims include a 62-year-old man and two women aged 26 and 50. A 57-year-old man was wounded in the attack and is currently receiving medical care.

The drones struck a residential area, destroying one house and damaging seven others. The attack also sparked multiple fires, including a blaze that engulfed a gas pipeline. Emergency crews extinguished the fires, which covered an area of approximately 100 square meters.

Russian attack on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast injured two and set the community arts centre and a coffee shop on fire

Russian attacks on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast injured two people and sparked multiple fires across several communities, regional authorities reported.

The Mykolaivka hromada ( hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories) in the Synelnykove district came under drone attack, leaving two men wounded. A 43-year-old man was hospitalized in critical condition, while a 33-year-old received outpatient treatment. The strikes set a community arts centre and a car ablaze.

In the Bohdanivka hromada of the Pavlohrad district, several cars were set on fire, while a café building caught fire in the Pishchanka hromada of the Samar district. In Kryvyi Rih, Russian drones damaged a single-storey building and two vehicles.

Meanwhile, the Chervonohryhorivka hromada in the Nikopol district was shelled using Grad multiple-launch rocket systems.

Emergency services continue to assess the damage and eliminate the consequences of the attacks.

Residential buildings in Kryvyi Rih were hit by a drone attack, causing casualties and fire

Russian forces attacked the city of Kryvyi Rih with drones on January 29, striking residential buildings in two locations, killing one woman and injuring three others, local authorities reported.

According to the head of the Kryvyi Rih Defence Council, the strikes caused fires at both impact sites, prompting an emergency rescue operation. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blazes, while rescue workers continued clearing debris and searching for victims. Two women and a man were injured in the attack. He subsequently reported that the body of an elderly woman was found beneath the rubble of a destroyed building.

Authorities are still assessing the full extent of the damage.

Ukraine will lose 0.4% of its GDP in 2026 due to Russian strikes on energy infrastructure

Ukraine’s National Bank has downgraded its 2026 GDP growth forecast from 2.0% to 1.8%, citing the ongoing impact of Russian attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure, NBU Governor Andrii Pyshnyi said at a press briefing on monetary policy decisions.

According to the central bank, the electricity deficit widened to 7% in the fourth quarter of last year and is now projected to remain elevated at 6% in 2026 — double the previous forecast of 3%. The NBU said the strikes have directly reduced expected economic growth by 0.4 percentage points, meaning GDP growth could have reached 2.2% without the damage to energy facilities.

“The NBU has slightly lowered its forecast for real GDP growth in 2026 to 1.8% due to damaged logistics and a larger-than-expected electricity deficit in recent months,” Pyshnyi said, adding that disruptions in the energy sector will continue to weigh on business activity in the near term.

Looking ahead, the central bank expects gradual improvements in the energy system, continued infrastructure recovery, and rising private investment to help accelerate growth to around 3–4% in 2027–2028.

Russians strike 50 km from the front line with Molniya drones operated via Starlink

Russian forces have carried out drone strikes roughly 50 kilometers behind the front line using Molniya unmanned aerial vehicles operated via Starlink satellite internet, Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, reported.

“Several strikes with Molniya drones equipped with Starlink occurred within a single day along the Pavlohrad–Pokrovsk road, about 50 kilometers from the front,” Beskrestnov said, warning that extra caution is now required when transporting critical cargo, particularly during daylight hours.

Images released by Beskrestnov show the approximate strike area and its distance from the combat zone, as well as damage to civilian vehicles, a destroyed military vehicle, and drone wreckage left at the impact site.

Beskrestnov has previously warned of Russia’s expanding use of Starlink-controlled drones. On January 15, he reported the first discovery of a Russian BM-35 drone operated via Starlink, noting that the technology had earlier been observed only on Molniya-type UAVs. On January 25, he said Russian forces likely used a Shahed munition guided through Starlink near Kropyvnytskyi.

Russian forces have been actively modernizing their drone fleet, adapting Molniya drones for aerial reconnaissance and converting them into strike platforms and drone carriers. Ukrainian units first encountered Molniya drones in 2024, when they were deployed at distances of 18–20 kilometers from relatively stable sections of the front line — significantly closer than the current strikes.